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Understanding Trends

Articles 113 and 90 in the Same Case: What the Records Show

The records list 10 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2022–2026 that charged both Article 113 (misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019; drunken or reckless driving since) and Article 90 (disobeying an officer).

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read

Trends › By Offense › Article 113 › With Article 90

Short answer: The records list 10 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2022–2026 that charged both Article 113 (misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019; drunken or reckless driving since) and Article 90 (disobeying an officer). 70% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 45% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 113. The median confinement was 1.1 years, compared with 4 months for Article 113 cases overall.

Based on 10 cases · 2022–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges

Of the 10 enlisted members convicted, 7 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (70%). That is more often than the 45% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 113. Of those 7 discharges, 2 were dishonorable discharges.

A punitive discharge is a sentence imposed by the court-martial. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Confinement Terms

Confinement was part of 80% of the 10 convictions. The median term was 1.1 years, compared with a median of 4 months across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 113. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 3.3 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 113 count.

Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

Guilty pleas resolved 7 cases. The other 3 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 30% compares with 22% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 113.

Other Charges

Every case charged Article 90 along with Article 113. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 4 cases. Article 86 (AWOL), Article 87a (resisting apprehension), and Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 3 each.

Rank and Court Level

By rank, the accused were 7 junior enlisted members and 3 NCOs, with no officers. The group is more junior than all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 113.

General courts-martial heard 7 of the 10 cases (70%), and special courts-martial heard the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge; a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Trial Years, Law Changes, and Limits

The trials ran from July 2022 through March 2026. By year: 2022: 2, 2023: 3, 2024: 1, 2025: 2, and 2026: 2, with 2026 a partial year.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, and military judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on mix cases under both sets of rules.

The records cover courts-martial only. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms. With 10 cases, a single case changes each percentage by a large amount.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 113 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 113 and Article 90 (10 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.

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.

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