Army Article 86 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025

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Based on 99 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Usually Charged With Other Offenses

Of the 99 courts-martial, 79 charged at least 1 other article with Article 86. The most common were Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 24 cases, Article 89 (disrespect) in 18, Article 112a (drugs) in 18, Article 128 (assault) in 18, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 16.

This affects every sentence figure below. A sentence covers every charge in the case. Confinement in an Article 86 case may therefore include punishment for an assault, a drug offense, or a false statement tried at the same time.

Few Contested Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least 1 charge. Of 25 decided contested cases, 4 ended in a full acquittal (16%). That is lower than the 38% in the Army as a whole. Another 13 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least 1 charge or specification, but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data.

Full acquittals were more common when members decided. Contested cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 27% of the time (3 of 11). Contested cases decided by a judge alone ended in a full acquittal 7% of the time (1 of 14).

Pleas and Plea Agreements

There were 74 guilty pleas and 25 contested cases. The contested share was 25%, lower than the 30% across all Army cases in those years. Of the 74 guilty pleas, 65 are recorded with a plea agreement and 9 have no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

Shorter Sentences Than the Army Overall

Of the 99 cases, 95 ended in a conviction on at least 1 charge, and 75 of those sentences included confinement (79%). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months across all Army cases in those years. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 7 months or longer.

Only 8 of 95 convictions (8%) included more than one year, compared with 28% Army-wide. Terms under 6 months made up 52 convictions (55%). These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Court Level and Discharges

General courts-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. They heard 43 of the 99 cases (43%). At general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 6 months. Special courts-martial cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. At special courts-martial, 80% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2 months.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One was adjudged in 67% of enlisted convictions: 50 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. Across all Army cases, the share was 73%. Of 8 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

A Smaller Share of Convictions Over Time

The Army tried 28 courts-martial that charged Article 86 in 2021, 19 in 2022, 21 in 2023, 19 in 2024, and 12 in 2025. Trials ran from January 2021 through September 2025. The 99 cases are 4% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

Convictions that included Article 86 peaked at 27 in 2021. As a share of all Army convictions with offenses listed, Article 86 was 6% in 2021, 4% in each year from 2022 through 2024, and 3% in 2025. Shares make years with different total caseloads comparable.

Convictions by Year

The chart below shows the number of Army convictions that included Article 86 each year: 27, 18, 17, 19, and 11 from 2021 to 2025. Public trial records under Article 140a began in December 2020, so the Army series starts in 2021.

Installations, Forum, and Rank

Fort Riley tried the most of these cases (13). Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wheeler Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, and Fort Hood tried 8 each. Those 5 installations had 45% of the 99 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with AWOL.

A military judge alone decided guilt in 86 of 99 cases (87%). Members heard 13: 12 with enlisted panels and 1 with an officer panel. Among contested cases, members heard 11 of 25 (44%). The accused usually chooses the forum, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

The accused included 56 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 35 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 8 officers or warrant officers. That mix is similar to the Army as a whole, where 55% were junior enlisted.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Military judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. The data cannot show whether the changes affected any figure here.

Cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or the terms of plea agreements.

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.