Article 93 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025

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Based on 33 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

An Offense Charged Against Leaders

This post covers only Army courts-martial that ended in a conviction under Article 93, which makes it a crime to treat a subordinate with cruelty, oppression, or maltreatment. The offense requires authority over another service member. As a result, the people convicted are more senior than most Army accused.

NCOs made up 70% of those convicted and officers 24%. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 6%, compared with 57% across all Army convictions in the same years.

Confinement Was Less Common

Confinement was part of 55% of the 33 sentences. 15 convictions (45%) included no confinement, compared with 17% across all Army convictions.

The median confinement was 5 months. The Army-wide median was 6 months. A quarter of the sentences were 1.1 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Sentences longer than one year were less common than across the Army: 6 of 33 convictions (18%), compared with 28%.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge followed 56% of enlisted convictions: 10 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army convictions, the share was 73%.

Officers face dismissal rather than a discharge. Of 8 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.

More Cases Were Contested

Of the 33 convictions, 21 came from guilty pleas and 12 from contested cases, where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 36%, higher than the 21% across all Army convictions.

All 12 contested cases ended in at least one conviction, since this post counts only convictions. 10 of them 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 in Army data.

Of the 21 guilty pleas, 20 are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

Other Charges, Including Sexual Assault and Assault

Article 93 was the only charge in 5 of the 33 cases. Most included other offenses: Article 128 (assault) in 13, Article 134 (the general article) in 13, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 12, Article 92 (orders violation) in 11, and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) in 5.

A sentence covers the whole case. The confinement figures therefore include those other charges as well as the maltreatment conviction.

General Versus Special Courts-Martial

At general courts-martial (20 cases), 60% of convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 6 months. At special courts-martial (11 cases), 55% did, and the median was 2 months. General courts-martial made up 65% of the cases with a court level listed, lower than the 72% across all Army convictions.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

Judges, Panels, and Contested Cases

A military judge alone decided 27 cases. Members heard 6: 3 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. That is 18% of cases with the forum listed. Among contested cases, members heard 6 of 12 (50%). The accused usually chooses the forum, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

Timing and Location

The convictions came from February 2021 through December 2025: 11 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 7 in 2024, and 3 in 2025. Fort Drum had the most (5), followed by Joint Base Lewis-McChord (3), Fort Hood (2), Vilseck (Europe) (2), and Camp Humphreys (2). Together they had 42% of the 33. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

Trials from 2024 on mix cases under the old rules and the new sentencing parameters, which apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot sort the two. Also since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. The same limit applies to that change.

What the Records Do Not Show

Maltreatment handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative action, or no action at all does not appear here. The records also do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement.

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.