Is Army Article 93a Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 93a, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 93a › Army

Based on 28 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

What Article 93a Covers

Article 93a punishes prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee by someone in a position of special trust, such as a trainer. The records show 28 Army cases charging it between January 2021 and November 2025, which is 1% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

The number of cases by year was 4 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 3 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 7 in 2025. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these counts show when a case reached a courtroom.

No Clear Rise or Fall

Shares of all convictions with offenses listed keep years comparable when the total number of cases changes. In 2021–2022, Article 93a was part of 11 of 891 Army convictions (1%). In 2024–2025 it was part of 13 of 816 (2%). By year, the share was 1% in 2021, 2% in 2022, 0% in 2023, 1% in 2024, and 2% in 2025. The number of convictions including Article 93a was highest in 2022, at 8.

Each year had fewer than 10 cases, so 1 or 2 cases make a visible change in the share. The share did not rise or fall steadily.

No Case Went to a Panel of Members

A military judge alone decided all 28 cases. There were 0 enlisted panels and 0 officer panels. Members heard 0% of these cases, compared with 18% across the Army.

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. The records do not show plea terms, so any sentence limits in a plea agreement are not visible.

Members are a panel of service members who decide guilt in place of a military judge. None of these 28 accused had one.

Short Confinement Sentences

All 28 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 23 of those sentences included confinement (82%). The median confinement was 50 days, compared with 6 months for the Army as a whole. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 3 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. Sentences under 6 months made up 79% of convictions, compared with 39% in the rest of the Army. 0 of 28 convictions included more than one year of confinement, compared with 28% of Army convictions.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge followed 33% of enlisted convictions here: 9 bad-conduct and 0 dishonorable. Army-wide, 73% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge.

The records list 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

NCOs, Not Junior Enlisted

The records list 0 junior enlisted members, 27 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group is more senior than all Army cases in those years.

Most cases were tried at special courts-martial. General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 30% of the 27 cases with a court level listed (8 of 27). Special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge, made up the rest.

Most Cases Were at Training Installations

The 5 installations with the most of these cases were Fort Knox (14), Fort Jackson (4), Fort Sill (4), Fort Lee (2), and Fort Benning (1). Together they account for 89% of the 28 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.

Other Charges in These Cases

Only 10 of the 28 cases charged Article 93a by itself. The most common other charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 12 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 8, Article 131b (obstruction) in 4, Article 107 (false official statement) in 3, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 2. A sentence covers every charge in the case.

What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Offenses after December 27, 2023 are sentenced under new parameters. Both depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action 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.