> ## 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. # Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-before-after-2024/ - Published: 2026-10-30T08:06:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:06:05.000Z - Description: Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 46% of the courts-martial at Aviano AB, Italy in 2024–2026, compared with 13% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 5 months, down from 10 months in 2019–2023. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Aviano AB, Italy, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Aviano AB, Italy](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-aviano-ab-italy/) › Before and after 2024 **Short answer:** Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 46% of the courts-martial at Aviano AB, Italy in 2024–2026, compared with 13% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 5 months, down from 10 months in 2019–2023\. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 69% to 50%, compared with 62% Air Force-wide. Based on 14 cases · 2024–2026 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Sexual Assault Charges in Nearly Half the Cases The charges are listed for 13 of the 14 cases at Aviano from 2024 to 2026\. Article 120, which covers rape and sexual assault, was charged in 6 of them (46%). Across the Air Force in the same years, the share was 13%. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 3 cases (23%), about the same as the 24% service-wide. Article 128 (assault), Article 115 (communicating threats), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 128b (domestic violence) each appeared in 2 cases (15%). The Article 115 share was higher than the 3% across the Air Force. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) and Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle) each appeared in 1 case. Each article counts once per case, so a case can appear under several articles. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | --------------------------------- | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 46% | 13% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 3 | 23% | 24% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 2 | 15% | 13% | | [Art. 115](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-115/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Communicating threats | 2 | 15% | 3% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 15% | 16% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 2 | 15% | 15% | | Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 1 | 8% | 2% | | [Art. 113](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 1 | 8% | 5% | ## Shorter Confinement Than in 2019–2023 All 11 convictions included confinement (100%), compared with 93% in 2019–2023\. The median confinement was 5 months, lower than the 10 months in the earlier period and lower than the 6 months across the Air Force. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 1.1 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. | | 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | | ----------------------------------- | --------- | --------- | | Cases | 17 | 14 | | Contested (of pleas recorded) | 43% | 45% | | Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 6 | 3 of 5 | | Convictions with confinement | 93% | 100% | | Median confinement | 10 months | 5 months | | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 69% | 50% | | General courts-martial | 53% | 50% | ## Half of Convicted Enlisted Members Received a Punitive Discharge Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 5 received a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The share was 50%, compared with 69% at Aviano in 2019–2023 and 62% across the Air Force. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in the records, and that officer was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Pleas and Verdicts Of the 11 records that list a plea, 6 were guilty pleas and 5 were contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 45%, compared with 43% at Aviano in 2019–2023 and 43% across the Air Force. Among the contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 of 5 ended in a full acquittal. In 2019–2023, the count was 3 of 6. ## Who Decided Guilt Members decided guilt in 29% of cases with the forum listed. All 4 of those panels were enlisted panels, and there were 0 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 10 cases. The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel decides guilt. ## Rank and Court Level The accused were 7 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. Across the Air Force, 58% of the accused were junior enlisted, so the Aviano group was more senior. General courts-martial heard 7 of the 14 cases (50%), compared with 53% in 2019–2023\. Special courts-martial heard the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. ## Case Counts and Similar Bases The records show 14 cases from January 2024 to August 2026: 4 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 5 in 2026, a partial year. In 2019–2023 there were 17 cases. Counting full years only, that is about 3 a year before 2024 and about 4 a year since. In groups this small, a few cases can move a percentage by a large amount. Ramstein AB, Germany tried 20 cases in the same years, and McConnell AFB, Kansas tried 21\. The median confinement was 9 months at Ramstein and 3 months at McConnell. The contested share was 59% at Ramstein and 21% at McConnell, compared with 45% at Aviano. | Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | | --------------------- | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | | Aviano AB, Italy | 14 | 45% | 3 of 5 | 5 months | 50% | | Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% | | McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% | ## Rule Changes in These Years Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which these records do not give. Trials from 2024 on include cases under the old rules and the new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these numbers. ## What the Records Do Not Show The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Every court-martial tried at Aviano AB, Italy in 2019–2023 (17) and 2024–2026 (14). 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 - [Aviano AB, Italy: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-aviano-ab-italy/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-courts-martial-2016-2018/) - [Inside 14 Courts-Martial at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [Aviano AB, Italy, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-before-after-2019/) - [Andersen AFB, Guam Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/andersen-afb-guam-before-after-2019/) - [Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/davis-monthan-afb-arizona-before-after-2019/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026 - [Willie J. Babor](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-willie-j-babor/) - [Jeremy L. Mooney](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-jeremy-l-mooney/) - [Christine L. Norton](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-christine-l-norton/) - [Sterling C. Pendleton](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-sterling-c-pendleton/) - [Michael J. Taber](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-michael-j-taber/) - [Brian Michael Thompson](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-brian-michael-thompson/) Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the [Court-Martial Characters](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership. **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.