Article 112a Across the Services: Cases, Pleas, and Sentences, 2021–2025
Drug cases under Article 112a were contested less often than other courts-martial from 2021–2025: 22% of cases, compared with 35% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months overall.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 112a › Across the services
Short answer: Drug cases under Article 112a were contested less often than other courts-martial from 2021–2025: 22% of cases, compared with 35% across all courts-martial in those years. The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months overall. The records hold 797 Article 112a cases in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, and the services differed most in how often a conviction brought a punitive discharge.
Punitive Discharges Varied Widely by Service
The Army imposed a punitive discharge on 82% of 190 convicted enlisted members in Article 112a cases. The Navy-Marine Corps rate was 64% of 268. The Air Force rate was 44% of 244, the lowest of the three services.
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
Court level also differed. The Army tried 53% of these cases at a general court-martial, compared with 23% in the Navy-Marine Corps and 18% in the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
| Service | Convicted enlisted members | Punitive discharge | General court-martial share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 190 | 82% | 53% |
| Air Force | 244 | 44% | 18% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 268 | 64% | 23% |
The Air Force Charged Drug Offenses in a Larger Share of Its Cases
Article 112a appeared in 23% of all Air Force cases in these years, with 274 cases. In the Navy-Marine Corps, it appeared in 16% of cases (309). In the Army, it appeared in 9% (214). The Navy-Marine Corps had the most cases by count.
| Service | Cases charging Article 112a | Share of that service's cases |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 214 | 9% |
| Air Force | 274 | 23% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 309 | 16% |
Guilty Pleas Were the Norm
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Only 14% of Army cases with a plea recorded were contested, out of 214. The Air Force share was 21% of 254, and the Navy-Marine Corps share was 28% of 303. Across all 797 cases, 22% were contested, compared with 35% for all courts-martial.
Of the contested cases that reached a verdict, 35% ended in a full acquittal in the Army (31 cases) and 29% in the Navy-Marine Corps (86 cases). Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so no Air Force acquittal rate is given for this offense.
| Service | Contested share | Cases with a plea recorded | Full acquittal (contested, verdict reached) | Contested cases with a verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 14% | 214 | 35% | 31 |
| Air Force | 21% | 254 | — | — |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 28% | 303 | 29% | 86 |
Shorter Sentences in the Air Force
The Air Force had 258 convictions, and 86% included confinement. Its median confinement was 2 months, and 5% of its sentences were longer than 1 year. The Army and the Navy-Marine Corps each had a median of 5 months. In the Army, 90% of 203 convictions included confinement and 16% were longer than 1 year. In the Navy-Marine Corps, 84% of 281 convictions included confinement and 14% were longer than 1 year.
These figures are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A case charging Article 112a can include other charges, and the sentence covers every charge in the case.
| Service | Convictions | Included confinement | Median confinement | More than 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 203 | 90% | 5 months | 16% |
| Air Force | 258 | 86% | 2 months | 5% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 281 | 84% | 5 months | 14% |
Cases Fell Over the 5 Years
The total was 240 cases in 2021 and 205 in 2022. It fell to 121 in 2023, rose to 138 in 2024, and fell to 93 in 2025.
The Army count fell from 63 in 2021 to 13 in 2025. The Navy-Marine Corps count went from 106 in 2021 to 35 in 2025. The Air Force count went from 71 in 2021 to between 43 and 47 in each year from 2023 to 2025. In 2025, the Air Force had more Article 112a cases than either of the other services.
| Year | Army | Air Force | Navy-Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | 71 | 106 |
| 2022 | 62 | 68 | 75 |
| 2023 | 39 | 43 | 39 |
| 2024 | 37 | 47 | 54 |
| 2025 | 13 | 45 | 35 |
Mostly Junior Enlisted Accused
Among the accused with rank recorded, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were the largest group in all three services. Their share was 78% in the Navy-Marine Corps, 75% in the Air Force, and 73% in the Army. NCOs (E-5 to E-9) made up 19% to 21%.
Officers were 7% of Army cases and 6% of Air Force cases, compared with 1% in the Navy-Marine Corps. The Navy-Marine Corps shares use 294 cases with rank recorded.
| Service | Cases with rank | Junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) | NCOs (E-5 to E-9) | Officers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 214 | 73% | 20% | 7% |
| Air Force | 274 | 75% | 19% | 6% |
| Navy-Marine Corps | 294 | 78% | 21% | 1% |
Rules That Changed During These Years
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Separately, when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. That rule turns on the offense date, which these records do not give.
What the Records Do Not Show
These records cover courts-martial only. Drug cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. The records also do not show which substance was involved, the test results, the evidence, or the terms of any plea agreement. The changes over time happened in the same years as the law changes, and the records cannot show whether one caused the other.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial in all three service groups with trial dates in 2021–2025 that charged Article 112a (797 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
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
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- Army, Air Force, or Navy-Marine Corps: How Article 107 Cases Compare, 2021–2025
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- Article 112a explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 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.