> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Assault Plus AWOL: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 86 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-and-article-86-charged-together/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:55:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:16.000Z - Description: Most cases that charged assault (Article 128) together with absence without leave (Article 86) ended in a guilty plea. Of 58 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026, only 25% of those with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 40% for all Article 128 cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Article 86 [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › With Article 86 **Short answer:** Most cases that charged assault (Article 128) together with absence without leave (Article 86) ended in a guilty plea. Of 58 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2013–2026, only 25% of those with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 40% for all Article 128 cases. The median confinement was 7 months, about the same as the 6 months for all assault cases. Based on 58 cases · 2013–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Most of the Accused Pleaded Guilty The plea is recorded in 51 of the 58 records. Of those, 38 were guilty pleas and 13 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 25% of cases were contested. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps assault cases, 40% were contested. Of the 58 cases, 55 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. ## Verdicts in Contested Cases Of the 13 contested cases that reached a verdict, 23% ended in a full acquittal. The full-acquittal rate for all Article 128 cases in these services was higher: 40%. Partial acquittals were common in this small group. In 8 contested cases, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. There are only 13 contested cases here. A change in 1 verdict would change these percentages by a large amount. The comparison with all assault cases shows a general direction, not a precise difference. ## Confinement About the Same as for All Assault Cases Confinement was part of 52 of the 55 sentences (95%). The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months across all assault cases in these services. A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers all the charges in the case. Terms of more than 1 year followed 15 of 55 convictions (27%). The rate for all Article 128 cases was the same, 27%. The table below groups the sentences by length. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 3 | 5% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 23 | 42% | 38% | | 6 months to 1 year | 14 | 25% | 20% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 10 | 18% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 5 | 9% | 9% | ## Sentences at Each Court Level General courts-martial and special courts-martial heard 29 cases each, so general courts-martial heard 50% of the total. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial cannot impose more than 1 year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. Confinement followed 96% of convictions at general courts-martial and 93% at special courts-martial. The median confinement was 1.1 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. ## How Many Received a Punitive Discharge? Of 54 convicted enlisted members, 36 received a punitive discharge. These included 26 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. The share for all assault cases in these services was 64%. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge imposed by a court-martial. A sentence without one does not prevent a later administrative separation. These records do not include administrative separations. ## A More Junior, Enlisted-Only Group The accused were 39 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 18 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). There were no officers or warrant officers. This group is more junior than all Article 128 cases, where 58% of the accused were junior enlisted. Other charges in these cases included Article 120 (sexual assault) in 15, Article 92 (orders violation) in 14, Article 112a (drug) in 13, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 11\. Across all assault cases, 670 of 2155 charged Article 128 as the only offense. ## When and Where the Cases Were Tried The 58 cases were tried from April 2013 to March 2026\. The highest yearly count was 9 cases in 2021\. Most years had between 2 and 6 cases. The 2026 count covers only part of the year. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and San Diego, California had the most cases, with 5 each. Camp Pendleton, California and Norfolk, Virginia had 4 each, and Wheeler Army Airfield had 3\. These five installations account for 36% of the cases. Larger installations hold more trials of every type, so a count alone says little about a given base. ## What the Records Do Not Show Court-martial rules changed on January 1, 2019, under the Military Justice Act of 2016, and again on December 28, 2023\. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. So they cannot show which rules applied to each recent case. Only cases that reached trial are counted. Absences or assaults handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 128 and Article 86 (58 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Article 86 (AWOL): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-86-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Assault Plus Orders Violation: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 92](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-and-article-92-charged-together/) - [Assault Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-and-article-134-charged-together/) - [When Article 128 and Article 80 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-and-article-80-charged-together/) - [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/) - [Fewer or More? Assault Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-trend-2016-2025/) - [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-article-128/) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.