Article 109 Across the Services: Cases, Pleas, and Sentences, 2021–2025
The median confinement in Article 109 (property damage) cases was 8 months from 2021–2025, compared with 6 months for all courts-martial in those years. Of 23 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (17%), compared with 37% for all courts-martial.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 109 › Across the services
Short answer: The median confinement in Article 109 (property damage) cases was 8 months from 2021–2025, compared with 6 months for all courts-martial in those years. Of 23 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal (17%), compared with 37% for all courts-martial. The records hold 73 Article 109 cases across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
Sentences Were Longer Than the Overall Median
Across the 3 services, the median confinement for a conviction in a case charging Article 109 was 8 months. The median for all courts-martial in the same years was 6 months. A case charging Article 109 can also carry other charges, and the sentence covers all of them.
The Navy-Marine Corps had the longest median, at 11 months, from 17 convictions. The Army and the Air Force each had a median of 6 months, from 40 and 12 convictions. Sentences longer than 1 year made up 29% of Navy-Marine Corps convictions, 28% of Army convictions, and 8% of Air Force convictions.
Confinement was part of 88% of Army convictions, 88% of Navy-Marine Corps convictions, and 100% of Air Force convictions. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Service | Convictions | Included confinement | Median confinement | More than 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 40 | 88% | 6 months | 28% |
| Air Force | 12 | 100% | 6 months | 8% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 17 | 88% | 11 months | 29% |
Small Numbers in Every Service
The Army tried 42 of the 73 cases. The Navy-Marine Corps tried 19, and the Air Force tried 12. Article 109 was charged in 2% of all Army cases and 1% of cases in each of the other services.
With groups this small, a few cases can move a percentage by a large amount. The service figures here show direction, not precise rates.
| Service | Cases charging Article 109 | Share of that service's cases |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 42 | 2% |
| Air Force | 12 | 1% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 19 | 1% |
Contested Cases and Full Acquittals
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The Navy-Marine Corps had the highest contested share, 42% of 19 cases with a plea recorded. The Army share was 29% of 42 cases, and the Air Force share was 25% of 12.
In the Army, 17% of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. In the Navy-Marine Corps, 2 of 8 did. No Air Force rate is given. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in a full acquittal, so a rate for a single offense cannot be computed from them.
| Service | Contested share | Cases with a plea recorded | Full acquittal (contested, verdict reached) | Contested cases with a verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 29% | 42 | 17% | 12 |
| Air Force | 25% | 12 | — | — |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 42% | 19 | 2 of 8 | 8 |
Punitive Discharges Were Common
A punitive discharge means a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. The Air Force imposed one on 82% of its 11 convicted enlisted members. The Navy-Marine Corps rate was 76% of 17, and the Army rate was 70% of 40.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
General or Special Court-Martial
The Army tried 66% of its Article 109 cases at a general court-martial. The Air Force share was 50%, and the Navy-Marine Corps share was 42%. 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.
The Navy-Marine Corps had the longest median sentence even though it had the lowest general court-martial share.
| Service | Convicted enlisted members | Punitive discharge | General court-martial share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 40 | 70% | 66% |
| Air Force | 11 | 82% | 50% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 17 | 76% | 42% |
Fewer Cases Each Year
The yearly total went from 25 in 2021 to 21 in 2022, 11 in 2023, and 8 in both 2024 and 2025. The Army count went from 15 in 2021 to 3 in 2025. The Navy-Marine Corps had 7 cases in 2021 and 1 in 2024. The Air Force had between 1 and 4 cases each year.
| Year | Army | Air Force | Navy-Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | 3 | 7 |
| 2022 | 13 | 4 | 4 |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Rank of the Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up most of the accused in all 3 services. In the Navy-Marine Corps, 95% were junior enlisted and 5% were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). In the Army, 62% were junior enlisted and 38% were NCOs. In the Air Force, 67% were junior enlisted, 25% were NCOs, and 8% were officers.
No Army or Navy-Marine Corps officers appear among these cases.
| Service | Cases with rank | Junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) | NCOs (E-5 to E-9) | Officers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 42 | 62% | 38% | 0% |
| Air Force | 12 | 67% | 25% | 8% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 19 | 95% | 5% | 0% |
Law Changes and What the Records Leave Out
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For cases where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules turn on the offense date, which these records do not give.
These records cover only cases that reached a court-martial. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence, the amount of damage, or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial in all three service groups with trial dates in 2021–2025 that charged Article 109 (73 cases). Coast Guard cases are not included.
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
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- 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.