What the Army Tried in October 2025
The Army tried 28 courts-martial in October 2025. Only 58% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% for the Army across 2025.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › October 2025
Short answer: The Army tried 28 courts-martial in October 2025. Only 58% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% for the Army across 2025. Violence charges were more common than for the year: Article 128 (assault) was charged in 32% of cases (compared with 19%), and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 36% (compared with 26%).
Fewer Punitive Discharges
For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge adjudged as part of the sentence. Of 24 convicted enlisted members in October 2025, 14 received one: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges.
The month had 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still be separated administratively. These records do not cover administrative separation.
Violence Charges Were the Most Common
All 28 records list charges. Each article counts once per case. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 10 cases, and Article 128 (assault) in 9. Both shares were higher than the Army's shares for the year.
Article 134 (general article) was charged in 7 cases (25%, compared with 22%). Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment) was charged in 2 cases (7%), compared with 1% for 2025. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 11%, the same as for the year. Article 92 (orders violations) was charged in 11%, compared with 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 36% | 26% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 32% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 25% | 22% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 11% | 11% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 11% | 8% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 7% | 6% |
| Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment | 2 | 7% | 1% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 7% | 8% |
Results in Domestic Violence and Assault Cases
All 10 cases charging Article 128b ended in a conviction on that article (10 of 10). The median confinement for those convictions was 11 months. Article 128 cases ended in a conviction in 6 of 9, with a median of 2 months. One case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 10 | 10 (100%) | 11 months |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 6 (6 of 9) | 2 months |
Confinement and Court Level
Of 25 convictions, 22 included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, slightly shorter than the 8 months for the year. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or more. More than one year was given in 7 of 25 convictions (28%), about the same as the 30% for the year. Terms under 6 months made up 44%, compared with 36%. Convictions with no confinement made up 12%, compared with 19%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 8%, compared with 11%.
A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. The 18 general courts-martial (64% of cases) had a median confinement of 1 year, and 33% were contested. The 10 special courts-martial had a median of 4 months, and 10% were contested.
Every figure is an adjudged sentence covering all charges in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 12% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 44% | 36% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 16% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 20% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 8% | 11% |
Pleas and Acquittals
The accused pleaded guilty in 21 cases and contested 7. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 25%, compared with 20% for the Army in 2025. All 21 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. The records do not include the terms.
Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal.
Panels and Rank
A military judge alone decided 23 cases. Of cases with a forum listed, members decided 15%: 3 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. The accused usually chooses the forum. Guilty pleas are usually heard by a judge alone.
By rank, the accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 15 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more senior than the Army for the year.
Cases Spread Across Many Installations
No installation tried more than 3 cases. Fort Campbell tried 3, and Fort Irwin, Fort Bliss, Fort Polk, and Vilseck (Europe) tried 2 each. Together these installations account for 39% of the month. Larger installations try more cases overall.
Compared With October 2024
October 2024 had 43 cases. October 2025 had 28. Enlisted punitive discharges were 58%, compared with 78% in October 2024. The general court-martial share was 64%, compared with 79%. The contested share was 25%, compared with 16%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 3 of 7, compared with 2 of 6. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months. Convictions that included confinement were 88%, compared with 85%. In a month this small, a few cases can change these figures by a large amount.
| October 2024 | October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 43 | 28 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 16% | 25% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 6 | 3 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 85% | 88% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 78% | 58% |
| General courts-martial | 79% | 64% |
Law Changes and Limits of the Records
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Military judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give only trial dates. They cannot sort these cases by which rules applied or show that the changes affected any number. Evidence, plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial are not in the records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with a trial date in October 2025 (28 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)
- Army Courts-Martial, September 2025: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- November 2025 at Army Courts-Martial: 29 Cases (previous / next)
- Army Courts-Martial in 2025: Year in Review (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.