Assault Plus Disrespect: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 89
From 2013–2025, 22 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 128 (assault) and Article 89 (disrespect). 48% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, lower than the 64% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › With Article 89
Short answer: From 2013–2025, 22 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 128 (assault) and Article 89 (disrespect). 48% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, lower than the 64% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128. The median confinement was 5 months, and only 2 of 21 convictions brought more than 1 year.
Punitive Discharges Less Common
10 of the 21 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (48%). In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128, the share was 64%. 3 of the 10 were dishonorable discharges.
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. The remaining members left trial without one, which does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Most Sentences Were Under 1 Year
Confinement was part of 86% of the 21 convictions. The median term was 5 months, compared with 6 months in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128.
Sentences longer than 1 year were less common here: 2 of 21 convictions (10%), against 27% in the comparison group. The 2 longer sentences were both 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 14% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 48% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 6 | 29% | 20% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 0 | 0% | 18% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 10% | 9% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
10 cases went to a general court-martial and 11 to a special court-martial, with 1 not listed. The general share of 48% was lower than the 62% in the comparison group.
At the 10 general courts-martial, 80% of convictions brought confinement, with a median of 7 months. At the 11 special courts-martial, 90% did, with a median of 5 months. A special court-martial is limited to 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Guilty Pleas Were More Common
18 of the 22 records list the plea. Among them, 13 accused pleaded guilty and 5 contested at least one charge. The contested share of 28% was lower than the 40% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128.
Charges Filed Alongside Assault
None of the 22 cases charged assault by itself, compared with 670 of 2155 in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128. Besides Article 89 (disrespect) in all 22, the most common charges were Article 86 (AWOL) in 6 cases, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 6, Article 112a (drug) in 5, and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 4.
Rank and Location
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 59% of the accused and NCOs 41%, with no officers. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 128, junior enlisted members were 58%.
Fort Bragg had the most cases (3). Wheeler Army Airfield, Fort Irwin, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, had 2 each. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts say nothing about a base's rate of this offense.
Years, Rules, and Limits
The cases were tried between June 2013 and July 2025, with no more than 4 in any year (2021). The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and new special trial counsel and sentencing rules followed after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied.
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or misconduct handled outside a court-martial.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 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 128 and Article 89 (22 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 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 89 (Disrespect Toward Superior Officer; Assault of Superior Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Assault Plus Orders Violation: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 92
- Assault Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 128 and 134
- When Article 128 and Article 80 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? Assault Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 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.