Fewer or More? Insubordination Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 91 › Army

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

How the Count Changed

There were 14 cases in 2021, 13 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. The 43 cases were 2% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

The share of convictions also went down. Convictions that included Article 91 were 3% of Army convictions with offenses listed in 2021 and 2022, 1% in 2023, 0% in 2024, and 1% in 2025. The yearly number of these convictions was highest in 2021, at 12, and lowest in 2024, at 2. Shares make years with different total caseloads comparable, but counts this small can change with a few cases.

Almost Half the Cases Were Contested

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 20 cases were contested and 23 ended in guilty pleas. The contested share was 47%, compared with 30% across the Army. Of the 23 guilty pleas, 22 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

Most Contested Cases Ended in a Partial Acquittal

Of the 20 contested cases with a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal (15%). That is lower than the 38% in the rest of the Army. Another 13 (65%) ended in a partial acquittal: 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 a case with several charges, the accused can be found not guilty of one charge and guilty of another.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 91 was the only charge in 3 of the 43 cases. The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault) in 15 cases, Article 86 (absence without leave) in 12, Article 89 (disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer) in 12, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 11, and Article 134 (the general article) in 10.

Every sentence covers all the charges in a case. The figures below include punishment for these other charges, not the insubordination charge alone.

Mostly Short Sentences

Confinement was part of 80% of the 40 convictions. Half of those terms were 4 months or less. The Army median was 6 months. A quarter of terms here were 1 year or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.

Terms under 6 months made up 52% of convictions, compared with 39% Army-wide. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 7 of 40 convictions (18%), compared with 28%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 4 convictions (10%), compared with 8% across the Army. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Of 40 convicted enlisted members, 19 received one (48%). In the rest of the Army, the share was 73%. Of the 19 discharges, 5 were dishonorable. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Court Level, Forum, and Rank

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. There were 20 general and 21 special courts-martial. The court level is not listed for 2 cases. The general share was 49% of the cases with a court level listed, compared with 73% Army-wide. At general courts-martial, 100% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 5 months. At special courts-martial, 67% did, and the median was 55 days.

The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. A judge alone decided 35 cases, and enlisted panels decided 8. No case went to an officer panel. Members heard 19% of cases, about the same as the 18% Army-wide. They heard 8 of the 20 contested cases (40%).

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 63% of the accused and NCOs 37%. Officers were 0%. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 55%.

Installations and Law Changes

Fort Hood, Wheeler Army Airfield, and Fort Bragg had 5 cases each. Fort Riley and Fort Sill had 3 each. Those five installations had 49% 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.

The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. The lower counts after 2023 happened in the same period, and the records cannot show whether the two are connected.

What the Records Do Not Show

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Insubordination handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not included.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.