Understanding Trends
Article 85 (Desertion): Court-Martial Data and Trends
Analysis of the 140 Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial in the data that charged Article 85 (Desertion).
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 2 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 85
Analysis of the 140 Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial in the data that charged Article 85 (Desertion).
By Service
- Fewer or More? Desertion Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025
- Air Force Article 85 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 85, 2017–2025
Sentences
- What Sentence Follows an Army Desertion Conviction?
- How Much Confinement for an Article 85 Conviction in the Air Force?
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Conviction?
Contested Cases and Acquittals
Guilty Pleas
By Rank
- What Happens to Army Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Facing Desertion Charges?
- Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 85 in the Air Force
- Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
Charged Together With Other Articles
- When Article 112a and Article 85 Are Charged Together, How Do Cases End?
- Articles 85 and 86 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- False Official Statement Plus Desertion: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 107 and 85
How this data was built: methodology and known gaps.
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.