When Article 81 and Article 82 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?

Trends › By Offense › Article 81 › With Article 82

Based on 28 cases · 2014–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Sentences Longer Than One Year

Of the 25 convictions, 9 included more than one year of confinement (36%). In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 81, the rate was 27%. Most of these long terms fell between 1 year and 5 years: 8 convictions here (32%), compared with 21% in the wider group. 1 conviction (4%) included 5 years or more.

At the other end, 3 convictions (12%) included no confinement, compared with 10% across Article 81 cases. Terms under 6 months were less common here: 20%, compared with 33%.

Median Confinement and Court Level

Confinement was part of 88% of the 25 convictions. The median confinement was 1 year. In all cases charging Article 81, the median was 8 months. A quarter of the sentences that included confinement were 1.3 years or longer.

The 17 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.2 years, and 93% of their convictions included confinement. The 11 special courts-martial had a median of 7 months, and 80% of their convictions included confinement. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

All of these are adjudged sentences. They are the terms announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case.

Contested Cases Were More Common

The plea is listed in 22 of the 28 records. Of those, 14 accused pleaded guilty and 8 contested at least one charge. A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea.

The contested share was 36%. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 81, it was 20%. This data does not break out verdict results for the contested cases in this pairing.

Punitive Discharges for Enlisted Members

A punitive discharge followed 83% of enlisted convictions. That count includes 15 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. In all cases charging Article 81, the rate was 79%.

1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in these records, and that officer was not dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Drug, Larceny, and Attempt Charges in the Same Cases

None of the 28 cases charged Article 81 alone. Across all cases charging Article 81, 16 of 406 had no other charge. Besides Article 82 (solicitation), the most common other charges here were Article 112a (drug) in 13 cases, Article 121 (larceny) in 9, Article 80 (attempt) in 6, and Article 134 (general article) in 5.

Because each sentence covers every charge in a case, these other charges are part of the sentences described above.

Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 81% of the accused. NCOs made up 15%, and officers made up 4%. In all cases charging Article 81, junior enlisted members were 74% of the accused.

General courts-martial made up 61% of these cases (17 of 28). Special courts-martial made up the rest.

Years and Installations

The cases were tried from June 2014 to March 2026. The highest yearly count was 8 cases in 2018. There were 5 cases in 2021 and 3 in each of 2016 and 2024. Several years had 1 case or none, and 2026 is a partial year.

Norfolk, Virginia had the most cases (5), followed by Bremerton, Washington (4), Camp Pendleton, California (4), Okinawa, Japan (2), and San Diego, California (2). These five locations account for 61% of the 28 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself mean a location has more of this conduct.

Rule Changes During These Years

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, added judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses before 2019 stayed under the old rules.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute certain covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. These records give trial dates only, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

Limits of These Records

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative action.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.