When Article 112a and Article 87 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
From 2013–2022, 14 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 112a (drug) and Article 87 (missing movement). Only 7% of the cases were contested, compared with 18% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 112a › With Article 87
Short answer: From 2013–2022, 14 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 112a (drug) and Article 87 (missing movement). Only 7% of the cases were contested, compared with 18% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a. The median confinement was 3 months, against 5 months.
Nearly All Guilty Pleas
13 of the accused pleaded guilty, and 1 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 7%. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a, it was 18%.
Short Confinement Terms
Confinement was part of 93% of the 14 convictions. Half of the terms were 3 months or less, while the median for all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a was 5 months. A quarter were 4 months or longer.
These are the sentences adjudged at trial for all charges in each case. Any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal came later and is not shown.
Only 1 General Court-Martial
1 of the 14 cases was a general court-martial (7%). The general share in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a was 27%.
The other cases were special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Bad-Conduct Discharges
10 of 13 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. All 10 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was dishonorable. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a, the share was 70%.
The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Absence Offenses Charged Alongside
Article 87 appeared in all 14 cases. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 7, Article 85 (desertion) in 5, Article 121 (larceny) in 3, and Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards, numbered since 2019) in 2.
Rank
12 of the accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 1 was an NCO (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. The sheet calls this mix more junior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 112a, where 76% were junior enlisted.
Trial Years
The cases were tried from April 2013 through March 2022: 2 in 2013, 2 in 2014, 1 in 2016, 1 in 2018, 2 in 2019, 3 in 2020, 2 in 2021, and 1 in 2022. None were recorded in 2015 or 2017.
Rules and Limits
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, bringing written plea agreements and a judge-alone special court-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge. Offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules, and the records give trial dates, not offense dates.
The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or cases handled outside a court-martial.
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
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 112a and Article 87 (14 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 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 87 (Missing Movement): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Drug Plus Orders Violation: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 112a and 92
- When Article 112a and Article 81 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Drug Plus AWOL: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 112a and 86
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025
- 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.