When Article 108 and Article 121 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
From 2021–2026, 23 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 108 (military property) and Article 121 (larceny).
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Trends › By Offense › Article 108 › With Article 121
Short answer: From 2021–2026, 23 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 108 (military property) and Article 121 (larceny). All 23 ended in a conviction, and 65% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as for all Article 108 cases.
NCOs Outnumbered Junior Enlisted
The accused were 14 NCOs and 9 junior enlisted members. No officers appear. The sheet describes this group as more senior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108.
Because no officers were charged, all 23 people convicted appear in the enlisted discharge figures below. The records do not show the duties or positions of the accused.
Punitive Discharges
Among 23 enlisted members convicted, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (65%). Of those, 2 were dishonorable discharges. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108, the share was 58%.
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Most Terms Were Between 6 Months and 1 Year
21 of the 23 sentences included confinement (91%). The median was 6 months, the same as the 6 months median in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 10 months or longer.
The largest band was 6 months to 1 year, with 10 convictions (43%), compared with 29% for all Article 108 cases. Under 6 months held 7 convictions (30%), compared with 37%. 2 convictions (9%) carried no confinement, compared with 19%.
Terms longer than one year came in 4 of 23 convictions (17%), about as often as the 15% for all Article 108 cases. Of those, 3 (13%) were more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 11%, and 1 (4%) was 5 years or more, compared with 3%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 2 | 9% | 19% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 30% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 43% | 29% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 13% | 11% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 4% | 3% |
General Versus Special Courts-Martial
There were 12 general and 11 special courts-martial. The general share, 52%, compares with 50% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108.
The general courts-martial produced a median confinement of 10 months, and the special courts-martial produced 5 months. The contested shares were 27% and 9%. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge; a special court-martial is capped at one year.
Pleas
22 of the 23 records list the plea. 18 were guilty pleas and 4 were contested. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
The contested share was 18%, compared with 21% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 108. The records do not show why an accused chose a plea or what any plea agreement said.
Other Charges in These Cases
Article 108 was never the only charge. Besides Article 121, the most common charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 6 cases, Article 107 (false official statement) in 6, Article 134 (general article) in 5, and Article 131b (obstruction) in 4.
Each sentence covers every charge in the case. The sentence figures here are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
When and Where
The cases were tried from April 2021 to February 2026: 9 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 1 in 2026. The 2026 count is a partial year. The year with the most trials was 2021, with 9.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 6 cases. Camp Pendleton, California and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 3 each, and Fort Benning and Fort Campbell had 2 each. Together these five installations account for 70% of the 23 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with these offenses.
Rule Changes and What the Records Leave Out
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on mix cases under the old and new rules.
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 108 and Article 121 (23 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 108 (Military Property; Loss, Damage, Destruction): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 121 (Larceny): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- When Article 108 and Article 92 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Military Property Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 108 and 134
- When Article 108 and Article 128 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Fewer or More? Military Property Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? Military Property Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
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.