What the Army Tried in June 2021
The Army tried 57 courts-martial in June 2021. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 54% of them, compared with 38% for the Army across 2021. Only 54% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% for the year.
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Short answer: The Army tried 57 courts-martial in June 2021. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 54% of them, compared with 38% for the Army across 2021. Only 54% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% for the year. Of 22 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (23%).
Assault Charged in 54% of Cases
All 57 records list the charges. A case counts once under each article charged. Article 128 was charged in 31 cases (54%). Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 19 cases (33%), compared with 29% for the year.
Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) was charged less often than for the year: 11%, compared with 16%. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 115 (communicating threats) were each charged in 9% of cases, compared with 6% for 2021.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 31 | 54% | 38% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 19 | 33% | 29% |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 19% | 21% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 6 | 11% | 12% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 11% | 16% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 9% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 9% | 6% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 5 | 9% | 6% |
Few Guilty Pleas in Sexual Assault Cases
Only 11% of cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea (2 of 19). For cases charging Article 128, the guilty-plea rate was 55% (17 of 31), the highest among the most common charges. The records do not explain why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the case.
Article 120 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 12 of 19 cases (63%). The median confinement for those convictions was 2.8 years. Article 128 cases ended in a conviction in 27 of 31 cases (87%), with a median of 5 months. Article 134 (general article) cases ended in a conviction in 10 of 11 (91%), with a median of 1 year. The rows overlap when one case has a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 31 | 27 (87%) | 5 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 19 | 12 (63%) | 2.8 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 10 (91%) | 1 year |
How Contested Cases Ended
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 22 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (23%). That rate was lower than the 35% for the Army in 2021.
Another 11 (50%) 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 these partial results are recorded.
Members heard 14 of the 22 contested cases (64%). Across all cases with a forum listed, members decided 26%: 13 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 42.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
The month had 35 guilty pleas and 22 contested cases. The contested share was 39%, compared with 36% for the year. Of the 35 guilty pleas, 30 are recorded with a plea agreement and 5 have no entry. Army records show whether there was an agreement, not what it said.
Equal Numbers of Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges
Of enlisted convictions, 54% included a punitive discharge: 13 bad-conduct discharges and 13 dishonorable discharges. Of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separation.
Confinement by Court Level
Of 52 convictions, 43 included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, shorter than the 6-month median for 2021. A quarter of terms were 2.5 years or longer.
Terms under 6 months made up 48% of convictions, compared with 37% for the year. Another 5 convictions (10%) carried 5 years or more, compared with 8%. Sentences over one year were given in 12 of 52 convictions (23%), compared with 26%.
The 42 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 8 months, and 48% were contested. The 15 special courts-martial had a median of 2 months, and 13% were contested. A special court-martial is capped at one year. All sentences are adjudged at trial for every charge, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 17% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 25 | 48% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 12% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 13% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 10% | 8% |
Rank and Installation
The accused were 30 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 23 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 4 officers or warrant officers. This group was more senior than the Army in 2021, where 58% were junior enlisted. General courts-martial made up 42 of 57 cases (74%), compared with 73% for the year.
Fort Bragg tried 8 cases. Fort Bliss, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and Fort Carson tried 5 each, and Camp Humphreys tried 4. Together these five installations account for 47% of the month. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds.
Early Records and Gaps
Article 140a required the services to start publishing trial records by December 2020. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, so no earlier June is available for comparison.
Only cases that reached a courtroom are included. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases closed without action are not in the records. The records also do not describe evidence or plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in June 2021 (57 cases), compared with the whole year.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What the Army Tried in May 2021 (previous / next)
- July 2021 at Army Courts-Martial: 43 Cases (previous / next)
- How 2021 Went at Army Courts-Martial (the whole year)
- April 2023 at Army Courts-Martial: 49 Cases
- April 2024 at Army Courts-Martial: 46 Cases
- Army Courts-Martial, August 2025: The Month in Review
- Army Courts-Martial, December 2024: The Month in Review
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.