What Happens to Army NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Facing Disobeying An Officer Charges?

Trends › By Offense › Article 90 › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)

Based on 43 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Army Figure

Of 40 convicted NCOs, 19 received a punitive discharge: 13 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. Across all Army Article 90 cases, the share was 72%.

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

Mostly Short Confinement, With Some Long Sentences

Of 43 cases, 40 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 36 of those sentences included confinement (90%). The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months across all Army Article 90 cases.

Terms under 6 months made up 55% of convictions, compared with 40% in the wider group. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 9 of 40 convictions (22%), compared with 31%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 12% of convictions here, compared with 7% across Army Article 90 cases. Each figure is an adjudged sentence, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and it covers every charge in the case.

More Cases Were Contested

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 16 NCOs contested and 27 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 37%, compared with 25% across all Army Article 90 cases.

Of the 27 guilty pleas, 23 are recorded with a plea agreement and 4 have no entry. Army records show only whether an agreement existed.

Results in Contested Cases

Full acquittals were 19% of the 16 decided contested cases, higher than the 13% across all Army Article 90 cases. Another 11 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common.

Panels and Military Judges

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone decided 29 of these cases, an enlisted panel 13, and an officer panel 1. Members heard 33% of cases, compared with 16% across all Army Article 90 cases.

Among contested cases, members heard 14 of 16 (88%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the panel share mostly follows how many cases were contested.

General and Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, heard 55% of the 40 cases with a court level listed (22 of 40). Special courts-martial heard 18. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. The court level is not listed for 3 cases.

The median confinement was 9 months at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial. The contested share was 45% at general courts-martial and 33% at special courts-martial.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Only 1 of the 43 cases charged Article 90 by itself, compared with 6 of 155 across all Army Article 90 cases. Article 134 (general article) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 13 cases. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 12, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 10, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 8.

Years and Installations

These 43 courts-martial were tried from February 2021 through December 2025. There were 14 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 8 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. Every accused was an NCO. Across all Army Article 90 cases, junior enlisted members were 64% of the accused.

Wheeler Army Airfield had 6 cases. Fort Bragg and Fort Knox had 4 each, and Fort Irwin and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 3 each. Those five installations had 47% of the 43 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. Judges set sentences within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records do not include offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both the old and new rules.

Disobedience resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not counted. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They cannot show what order was disobeyed or what any agreement capped.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 90 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.