How Much Confinement for an Article 93a Conviction in the Army?

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Based on 26 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

An Offense Charged Against Trainers

Article 93a covers prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee by someone in a position of special trust, such as a drill sergeant or recruiter. This page looks only at Army courts-martial that ended in a conviction under it.

The ranks of the accused match that definition. NCOs made up 96% of those convicted and officers 4%. There were no junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4). Across all Army convictions in the same years, junior enlisted members were 57%.

No Sentence Was Longer Than One Year

Confinement was part of 85% of the 26 convictions. The median confinement was 50 days, and a quarter of sentences were 3 months or longer. Sentences under 6 months made up 81% of convictions, compared with 39% across Army convictions.

1 conviction included 6 months to under 1 year of confinement. 0 of 26 included more than one year. Across all Army convictions, 28% included more than one year: 20% were more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 8% were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Fewer Punitive Discharges Than Across the Army

A punitive discharge followed 36% of enlisted convictions: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 0 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army convictions, 73% of convicted enlisted members received one. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

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

No Case Went to a Panel of Members

A military judge alone decided guilt in 26 of 26 cases with the forum listed (100%). Members heard 0 cases: 0 enlisted panels and 0 officer panels. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. The records do not show plea terms, so they cannot show whether a plea agreement limited any sentence.

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. In this group, every accused had a military judge alone.

Most Were Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial made up 32% of the 25 cases with a court level listed (8 of 25), and special courts-martial made up the rest. The court level is not listed for 1 case. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable one. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, though none here exceeded one year of confinement.

The court level sets the maximum sentence. The sentences here were below those maximums at both levels. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge.

Charged With Orders Violations

Article 93a was the only charge in 10 of the 26 cases. The most common other charge was Article 92 (orders violation), in 10 cases. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 7, Article 131b obstruction of justice in 4, Article 107 false official statements in 3, and Article 90 disobeying a superior commissioned officer in 2.

Most Cases Were at Training Posts

Fort Knox had 13 of the cases. Fort Sill had 4, Fort Jackson 3, Fort Lee 2, and Fort Benning 1. Together these 5 installations account for 88% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not describe any one post.

The number of cases by year was 3 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 7 in 2025. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020.

Rules That Turn on Offense Dates

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates only, so trials from 2024 on mix cases under old and new rules.

What the Records Do Not Show

Only cases that reached a court-martial appear here. Misconduct with trainees resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not included. The records do not describe the conduct, the evidence, or the plea terms.

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.