Disobeying An Officer Plus Orders Violation: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 90 and 92
The records show 62 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2014–2026 that charged both Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 92 (orders violation).
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Short answer: The records show 62 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2014–2026 that charged both Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 92 (orders violation). Of the 53 convicted enlisted members, 53% received a punitive discharge, compared with 67% in all cases charging Article 90. These cases were also contested more often: 38%, compared with 27%.
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than in All Article 90 Cases
Article 90 covers willfully disobeying a superior officer. Article 92 covers failing to obey an order or regulation. The 2 charges appeared together in 62 cases. Of the 53 enlisted members convicted, 28 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge: 23 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges.
That rate, 53%, is lower than the 67% across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 90. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later. The records list 4 convicted officers or warrant officers in this group, and 0 of them were dismissed.
How Often the Accused Pleaded Not Guilty
The plea is listed in 52 of the 62 records. There were 32 guilty pleas and 20 contested cases. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.
The contested share, 38%, is higher than the 27% for all Article 90 cases.
Verdicts in Contested Cases
Of the 20 contested cases with a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal (5%). That is lower than the 9% for all Article 90 cases.
Partial acquittals made up 13 of the 20, or 65%. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
The Same Median Confinement, Different Ranges
Of 60 convictions, 72% included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median in all Article 90 cases. A quarter of the terms were 1.1 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers the whole case.
The differences are at the short and long ends. No confinement was part of 28% of convictions here, compared with 15% in the Article 90 group. Sentences of more than 1 year followed 11 of 60 convictions (18%), compared with 24% in the comparison group. The table shows each length range.
Terms under 6 months made up 37% in both groups. Terms from 6 months to 1 year made up 17% here, compared with 24%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 3%, compared with 5%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 17 | 28% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 22 | 37% | 37% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 17% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9 | 15% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 3% | 5% |
Sentences at Each Court Level
General courts-martial can impose any lawful sentence, and they heard 27 of these cases. Special courts-martial are capped at 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. They heard 34 cases. The court level is not listed for 1 case.
At general courts-martial, confinement followed 88% of convictions, and the median confinement was 1 year. At special courts-martial, confinement followed 58% of convictions, and the median was 3 months. The general court-martial share, 44%, is lower than the 58% for all Article 90 cases.
Rank of the Accused
The records list 33 junior enlisted members, 20 NCOs, and 5 officers. This group is more senior than all Article 90 cases.
Officers receive a dismissal, not a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. So the discharge rate above counts enlisted members only.
Other Charges in These Cases
The general article (Article 134) was charged in 19 cases. Assault (Article 128) was charged in 17, drug offenses (Article 112a) in 12, and false official statement (Article 107) in 10.
A single sentence covers every charge in a case. So these other charges are part of every confinement and discharge figure on this page.
Cases by Year and Installation
The cases were tried from January 2014 to August 2026. Through 2020, no year had more than 5 cases. There were 14 cases in 2021, 10 in 2022, and 11 in 2023. There were 6 cases in 2024 and 4 in 2025. The 3 cases in 2026 cover only part of the year.
Camp Pendleton, California and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 10 cases each. Quantico, Virginia, Fort Bragg, and Norfolk, Virginia had 4 each. These 5 installations account for 52% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of all types.
What the Records Do Not Include
Legal changes that took effect on January 1, 2019, and December 28, 2023, changed panels, plea agreements, prosecution decisions for covered offenses, and sentencing. They apply by offense date, which these trial records do not include.
The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Orders violations handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action are not included.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 90 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 90 and Article 92 (62 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 90 (Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 92 (Failure to Obey Order or Regulation): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Is Army Disobeying An Officer Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 90, 2021–2025
- Air Force Article 90 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025
- AWOL Plus Disrespect: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 86 and 89
- Article 127 Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 127 and 134
- Articles 107 and 115 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Articles 107 and 120 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Articles 107 and 120c in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Article 90 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.