False Official Statement Plus Desertion: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 107 and 85
The records hold 13 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026 that charged both Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 85 (desertion). The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107.
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Short answer: The records hold 13 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026 that charged both Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 85 (desertion). The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107. 91% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, against 60%.
Longer Confinement Than the Comparison Group
All 13 cases ended in a conviction, and confinement was part of 85% of those sentences. Half of the terms were 11 months or less. The median for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107 was 6 months.
A quarter of the terms with confinement were 3.3 years or longer. These are sentences as announced at trial. They do not reflect a plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers all charges in the case.
Discharges and Dismissals
11 enlisted members were convicted, and 10 of them received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (91%). 2 of those were dishonorable. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107, the share was 60%.
The records also list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. Not receiving a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation.
Court Level
8 of the 13 cases were general courts-martial (62%). For all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107, the general share was 43%.
Confinement over one year and a dishonorable discharge are available only at a general court-martial. A special court-martial stops at one year of confinement.
Pleas
7 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested the charges with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 46%, was higher than the 34% for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107.
Companion Charges
Every case had at least one charge besides Article 107. After Article 85, the most frequent were Article 86 (AWOL) in 6 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 4, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 4, and Article 121 (larceny) in 3.
Who Was Charged
By rank, 9 of the accused were junior enlisted members, 2 were NCOs, and 2 were officers. The sheet calls this group more junior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 107.
Trial Years
Trials ran from June 2013 through July 2026. The counts were 1 in 2013, 1 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 1 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 1 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 1 in 2025, and 1 in 2026. No trials appear for 2014 through 2017 or for 2024, and 2026 is a partial year.
Law Changes and Missing Information
Changes from 2019 and 2023 both fall inside this period. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Which rules applied depends on offense dates, and the records show only trial dates.
Conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation is not included. The records also leave out the evidence and the terms of any plea agreement.
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.
How We Counted
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 107 and Article 85 (13 cases). Air Force cases are left out because Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals.
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
- Article 107 (False Official Statements): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 85 (Desertion): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- When Article 107 and Article 121 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- When Article 107 and Article 92 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Articles 107 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Army Article 107 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? False Official Statement Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Article 107 explained on the law firm's website
- 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.