NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 86 in the Army

Trends › By Offense › Article 86 › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)

Based on 35 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

NCOs Contested the Charges More Often

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of these 35 NCOs, 18 contested and 17 pleaded guilty, so 51% of cases were contested. Across all Army Article 86 cases, the contested share was 25%.

Of the 17 guilty pleas, 14 are recorded with a plea agreement and 3 have no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed but not its terms. Any limit an agreement placed on the sentence does not appear in this data.

How Contested Cases Ended

Of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (22%). That is higher than the 16% across all Army Article 86 cases.

Another 8 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal. A partial acquittal means the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. Of 31 convicted NCOs, 13 received one: 11 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. Across all Army Article 86 cases, the share was 67%, so punitive discharges were less common here.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separations.

Confinement Terms

Of the 35 cases, 31 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 22 of those sentences included confinement (71%). The median confinement was 4 months, the same as across all Army Article 86 cases. A quarter of sentences were 7 months or longer.

Only 1 of 31 convictions (3%) included more than one year, compared with 8% across all Army Article 86 cases. Sentences under 6 months made up 52% of convictions here, about the same as the 55% in the wider group. No confinement was adjudged in 29% of convictions, compared with 21%. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

General and Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. Here, 13 of the 33 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (39%), compared with 45% across all Army Article 86 cases.

At general courts-martial, 91% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 6 months. At the 20 special courts-martial, 67% did, and the median was 50 days. The court level is not listed for 2 cases.

Panels Heard More Cases

A military judge alone decided guilt in 24 cases, an enlisted panel in 10, and an officer panel in 1. Members heard 31% of these cases, compared with 13% across all Army Article 86 cases. Among the contested cases, members heard 11 of 18 (61%).

The accused usually chooses whether a judge or a panel decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the higher panel share matches the higher contested share.

Other Charges in the Same Case

Of the 35 cases, 30 charged at least one other article. Article 90 (disobeying an officer) appeared in 12 cases, Article 89 (disrespect) in 9, Article 128 (assault) in 8, and Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 91 (insubordination) in 7 each.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from January 2021 to August 2025. There were 10 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 7 in 2025. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Fort Sill and Fort Riley had 4 cases each. Fort Bragg, Kaiserslautern (Europe), and Wheeler Army Airfield had 3 each. Those five installations had 49% of the 35 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with AWOL.

Rule Changes and Gaps in the Records

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, military judges sentence within new parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any absence handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation instead of a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 86 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.