Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges in the Army, Year by Year, 2021–2025
A punitive discharge followed 73% of Army enlisted convictions from 2021 to 2025: 996 bad-conduct discharges and 430 dishonorable discharges. The yearly share was 70% in 2021 and between 72% and 76% in each later year.
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Trends › Sentences › Army discharges
Short answer: A punitive discharge followed 73% of Army enlisted convictions from 2021 to 2025: 996 bad-conduct discharges and 430 dishonorable discharges. The yearly share was 70% in 2021 and between 72% and 76% in each later year. Dishonorable discharges were 23% of enlisted convictions in 2021 through 2023, 21% in 2024, and 20% in 2025.
Discharge Shares for Each Year
In 2021, 435 enlisted members were convicted, and 70% received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. The share was 76% of 398 in 2022, 74% of 380 in 2023, 72% of 390 in 2024, and 73% of 353 in 2025.
Bad-conduct discharges were 46% of enlisted convictions in 2021 and 51% to 53% in each year after. Dishonorable discharges held at 23% from 2021 to 2023, then were 21% in 2024 and 20% in 2025.
| Year | Convicted enlisted | Bad-conduct | Dishonorable | Either |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 435 | 46% | 23% | 70% |
| 2022 | 398 | 53% | 23% | 76% |
| 2023 | 380 | 52% | 23% | 74% |
| 2024 | 390 | 51% | 21% | 72% |
| 2025 | 353 | 53% | 20% | 73% |
Which Court Can Impose Which Discharge
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable one.
Of 1339 enlisted members convicted at a general court-martial, 32% received a dishonorable discharge and 51% a bad-conduct discharge. Of 565 convicted at a special court-martial, 53% received a bad-conduct discharge.
| Court | Convicted enlisted | Bad-conduct | Dishonorable |
|---|---|---|---|
| General court-martial | 1339 | 51% | 32% |
| Special court-martial | 565 | 53% | 0% |
Confinement in the Same Sentences
2123 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 1768 of those sentences included confinement (83%). The median confinement was 6 months, and 5 sentences were for life. Sentences here are adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
836 convictions (39%) carried under 6 months, and 355 (17%) carried no confinement. 590 convictions (28%) carried more than one year. The 1731 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1 year, and the 633 special courts-martial had a median of 2 months. The court level is not listed for 58 cases.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 355 | 17% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 836 | 39% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 342 | 16% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 417 | 20% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 173 | 8% | 8% |
Officers
165 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these records, and 80 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea
2417 of the 2422 records list the plea. 1684 were guilty pleas, and 733 were contested, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea. 1573 of the guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 111 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.
Of 723 contested cases with a verdict, 276 ended in a full acquittal (38%) and 299 in a partial acquittal (41%). A partial acquittal is not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common.
In decided contested cases with the forum listed (702 cases), members returned a full acquittal 44% of the time and military judges 25%. The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so the groups are not alike.
Charges and Their Sentences
Charges are listed for 2384 cases, and a case can count under several articles. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 643 cases (27%), Article 134 (general article) in 520 (22%), Article 120 (sexual assault) in 491 (21%), and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 410 (17%).
Article 128b most often ended in a conviction on that article (355 of 410, or 87%). Article 120 least often did (255 of 491, or 52%), and a conviction under Article 120 carried the longest median confinement of the 4, at 2 years. The median was 1 year for Article 134, 6 months for Article 128b, and 5 months for Article 128.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 643 | 27% | 27% |
| Art. 134 General article | 520 | 22% | 22% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 491 | 21% | 21% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 410 | 17% | 17% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 319 | 13% | 13% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 214 | 9% | 9% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 197 | 8% | 8% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 181 | 8% | 8% |
Conviction Rates for the Top Charges
A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can happen in the same case, so these rows overlap. Article 134 cases ended in a guilty plea 74% of the time, the most among the top charges, and Article 120 cases 29% of the time. The records do not say why an accused pleaded or fought.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 643 | 510 (79%) | 5 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 520 | 435 (84%) | 1 year |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 491 | 255 (52%) | 2 years |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 410 | 355 (87%) | 6 months |
Rank, Forum, and Installations
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. A military judge alone decided guilt in 1959 of 2399 cases with the forum listed (82%). Members heard 440, including 430 of 712 contested cases.
Fort Hood had the most cases (246), followed by Joint Base Lewis-McChord (195), Fort Bragg (192), Fort Bliss (163), and Fort Campbell (152). Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Rules and Record Limits
The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and for offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. These rules turn on offense dates, which the records do not give, and the records cannot show whether the rules changed discharge rates.
Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The evidence and plea terms are not described.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army courts-martial with trial dates in 2021–2025 (2422 cases).
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
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.