Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 92 in the Army

Trends › By Offense › Article 92 › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 132 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Convictions Included a Discharge

Of 128 convicted junior enlisted members, 99 received a punitive discharge: 87 bad-conduct and 12 dishonorable. Across all Army Article 92 cases, the share was 55%.

For enlisted members, the punitive discharges are the bad-conduct discharge and the dishonorable discharge. A sentence without either does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not include.

Orders Violations Were Rarely the Only Charge

Article 92 was the only charge in 7 of 132 cases. The other cases also charged other offenses: Article 112a (drug) in 42 cases, Article 128 (assault) in 40, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 28, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 22, and Article 134 (general article) in 20.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case, so the confinement and discharge figures include punishment for these other offenses. The records cannot show how much of a sentence was for the orders violation.

Length of Confinement

Confinement was part of 93% of the 128 convictions. Half of those terms were 6 months or less. The median across all Army Article 92 cases was 4 months. A quarter of sentences here were 1.2 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.

Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 30 of 128 convictions (23%), compared with 18%. Only 7% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 21% in the wider group. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, heard 73% of the 131 cases with a court level listed (96 of 131). Special courts-martial, capped at one year of confinement, heard 35. The court level is not listed for 1 case.

At general courts-martial, 94% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 9 months. At special courts-martial, 91% did, and the median was 3 months.

Pleas and Plea Agreements

The plea is listed in 131 of 132 records: 107 guilty pleas and 24 contested cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 18%, lower than the 32% across all Army Article 92 cases.

Of the 107 guilty pleas, 100 are recorded with a plea agreement and 7 have no entry. Army records do not describe the terms.

Results in Contested Cases

Of the 24 decided contested cases, 17% ended in a full acquittal, lower than the 25% across all Army Article 92 cases. Another 17 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 contested cases, members acquitted in full 9% of the time, and military judges 23% of the time. The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so the two groups of cases are not alike.

Military Judge or Members?

A military judge alone decided 119 cases, and an enlisted panel decided 13. No case went to an officer panel. Members heard 10% of cases, compared with 16% across all Army Article 92 cases. Members heard 11 of 24 contested cases (46%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

Rank, Years, and Installations

Every accused here was a junior enlisted member. Across all Army Article 92 cases, junior enlisted members were 41% of the accused. The 132 cases were tried from January 2021 through December 2025. There were 33 in 2021, 32 in 2022, 21 in 2023, 31 in 2024, and 15 in 2025.

Fort Riley had the most cases (15). Fort Bliss had 14, Fort Bragg 12, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Fort Hood 11 each. Those five installations had 48% of the 132 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.

What the Records Do Not Show

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

Orders violations handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in this data. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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.