Which Charges Grew and Shrank at Army Courts-Martial? 2021–2022 Compared With 2024–2025

Trends › By Offense › Army: charges over time

Based on 2422 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

The Biggest Increase: Domestic Violence

In 2021–2022, Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 9% of Army cases. In 2024–2025, it was charged in 24%. No other article had an increase of that size. Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle) went from 2% to 3%, Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) from 1% to 2%, and Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) from 2% to 3%.

The shares use the cases whose records list charges: 1021 in 2021–2022 and 901 in 2024–2025. One case can include several articles.

Charges That Fell

Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 28% of cases in 2021–2022 and 13% in 2024–2025. Article 128 (assault) went from 33% to 21%. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) went from 17% to 10%, Article 112a (drug offenses) from 12% to 6%, and Article 107 (false official statements) from 10% to 5%.

Smaller decreases appeared for Article 115 (communicating threats), from 6% to 3%, Article 81 (conspiracy), from 5% to 3%, and Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment), from 3% to 2%.

The Most Common Charges, 2021–2025

Across all 5 years, the charge lists cover 2384 of 2422 cases. Article 128 was the most common charge, in 643 cases (27%). Article 134 (general article) followed with 520 (22%), then Article 120 with 491 (21%) and Article 128b with 410 (17%). Article 92 appeared in 319 cases (13%) and Article 112a in 214 (9%).

A case with 3 articles appears in 3 rows of the table.

Conviction Rates Differed by Charge

Article 128b cases ended in a conviction on that article most often among the top charges: 355 of 410 (87%). Article 120 cases did so least often: 255 of 491 (52%). For Article 128, the figure was 510 of 643 (79%), and for Article 134, 435 of 520 (84%).

When the accused was convicted of Article 120, the median confinement was 2 years. The median was 1 year for Article 134, 6 months for Article 128b, and 5 months for Article 128. A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can happen in the same case, so these rows overlap.

Pleas and Plea Agreements

Almost every Army record lists the plea (2417 of 2422). Of those, 1684 were guilty pleas and 733 were not-guilty or mixed pleas, which makes 30% of cases contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Of the 1684 guilty pleas, 1573 are recorded with a plea agreement, and 111 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said. Guilty pleas were most common in cases charging Article 134, at 74% (387 of 520), and least common in cases charging Article 120, at 29% (144 of 491).

Verdicts in Contested Cases

Of 723 contested cases that reached a verdict, 276 ended in a full acquittal (38%) and 299 in a partial acquittal (41%). A partial acquittal means 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 these records.

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Of 702 decided contested cases with the forum listed, cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 44% of the time (186 of 421). Cases decided by a judge alone ended that way 25% of the time (69 of 281). Overall, 1959 cases were judge alone, 367 went to enlisted panels, and 73 went to officer panels.

Sentences and Discharges

Of 2123 convictions, 1768 included confinement, with a median of 6 months. There were 5 life sentences. Sentences longer than one year made up 28% of convictions (590 of 2123), and 8% were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Of 1956 convicted enlisted members, 1426 received a punitive discharge: 996 bad-conduct and 430 dishonorable. Of 165 convicted officers or warrant officers, 80 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Court Level, Rank, and Installations

There were 1731 general courts-martial and 633 special courts-martial, with 58 not listed. The median confinement was 1 year at the general level and 2 months at the special level. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

By rank, 1330 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 898 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 190 were officers or warrant officers. Fort Hood had the most cases (246), followed by Joint Base Lewis-McChord (195), Fort Bragg (192), Fort Bliss (163), and Fort Campbell (152). The yearly count went from 536 in 2021 to 446 in 2025.

What These Shares Cannot Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. Those rules apply by offense date, and the records give only trial dates. The changes in charge shares happened in the same period, and the records cannot show whether the law caused them.

Army records are sparse before 2021. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.