Articles 107 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › With Article 128

Based on 133 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Longer Confinement Than Other Article 107 Cases

Of the 123 convictions, 81% included confinement. The median confinement was 10 months. For Article 107 cases as a whole, the median was 6 months. A quarter of terms were 2.1 years or more. Each figure is an adjudged sentence covering every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Long sentences were more common here. Of 123 convictions, 41 (33%) carried more than one year, compared with 18% in the broader Article 107 group. Terms of 5 years or more made up 11%, compared with 5%. Terms under 6 months made up 25%, compared with 38%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 23%, compared with 22%. Convictions with no confinement made up 19%, compared with 23%.

Almost Half Were Contested

Pleas appear in 104 of the 133 records: 56 guilty pleas and 48 contested cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. This includes a mixed plea, where the accused pleads guilty to some charges and not guilty to others. The contested share was 46%, higher than the 34% for Article 107 cases overall.

Of the 48 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal. That rate, 17%, was about the same as the 15% across Article 107 cases. Another 23 ended in a partial acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of some charges and guilty of others. The records do not say why any accused pleaded guilty or contested the case.

Most Cases at General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 92 of the 132 cases with a court level listed (70%), compared with 43% across Article 107 cases. Special courts-martial heard 40, and 1 case has no level listed. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge.

At general courts-martial, 86% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.4 years. At special courts-martial, 74% did, with a median of 5 months.

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of 115 convicted enlisted members, 80 received a punitive discharge (70%), compared with 60% across Article 107 cases. Of those 80, 31 were dishonorable discharges. Of 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, 4 were dismissed. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

A member whose sentence has no punitive discharge can still face an administrative separation later.

Sexual Assault Was the Most Common Other Charge

Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 53 of the 133 cases. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 33, Article 92 (orders violation) in 27, and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 19. A case counts under every other article it included, so these figures overlap. A sentence in any of these cases covers all of its charges together.

Rank of the Accused

By rank, 74 of the accused were junior enlisted members, 47 were NCOs, and 8 were officers. This mix was more junior than Article 107 cases in general.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. For officers, the equivalent is dismissal.

Years and Installations

The cases run from January 2013 to August 2026. The highest yearly count was 24, in 2021. There were 20 cases in 2017 and 15 in 2022. The 2026 count of 5 is a partial year.

Norfolk, Virginia had the most cases, 16. Next were Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (13), Yokosuka, Japan (9), Camp Pendleton, California (8), and Fort Campbell (7). Together these installations account for 40% of the 133 cases. Larger installations try more cases overall, so a high count alone does not show a local pattern.

Rule Changes and Missing Facts

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It introduced fixed panel sizes, written plea agreements, and judge-alone special courts-martial. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records carry trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied to a case or whether a change affected any figure here. The evidence and plea terms are also not in the records.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.