Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show
Aviano AB, Italy tried 16 courts-martial from May 2016 through December 2018. 6 of them ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 20% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Aviano AB, Italy › 2016–2018
Short answer: Aviano AB, Italy tried 16 courts-martial from May 2016 through December 2018. 6 of them ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 20% across the Air Force. Article 112a (drug) was charged in 60% of cases with charges listed, and 40% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 55% Air Force-wide.
A High Full-Acquittal Rate
Of the 16 cases, 6 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge (38%). Across the Air Force in those years, the rate was 20%.
The base for that rate is every case tried, since guilty pleas are seldom recorded in Air Force records from 2016 to 2019. For the same reason, this page gives no contested share.
Drug Charges in 6 of 10 Charge Lists
Charges are listed for 10 of the 16 cases. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, so these shares come mostly from cases with a conviction. One case can count under several articles.
Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 6 cases (60%), compared with 48% Air Force-wide. Article 128 (assault), Article 134 (general article), and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 2. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), Article 118 (murder), Article 111 (drunken or reckless driving), and Article 112 (drunk on duty) each appeared in 1.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 6 | 60% | 48% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 20% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 20% | 25% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 10% | 10% |
| Art. 118 Murder | 1 | 10% | 1% |
| Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving | 1 | 10% | 4% |
| Art. 112 Drunk on duty | 1 | 10% | 0% |
Short Sentences and Fewer Discharges
All 10 convictions included confinement (100%). The median term was 3 months, shorter than the 4 months median Air Force-wide. A quarter of the terms were 10 months or longer.
Punitive discharges went to 4 of the 10 convicted enlisted members (40%), and 2 of those 4 were dishonorable. In the rest of the Air Force, 55% received one.
Sentence figures are as adjudged at trial and come before any clemency or appeal. A later administrative separation remains possible even when no punitive discharge was adjudged.
Junior Enlisted Accused at Special Courts-Martial
Of the accused, 14 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 2 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). No officers appear. That mix is more junior than the Air Force as a whole, where 63% were junior enlisted.
Aviano held 5 general and 11 special courts-martial. The general share was 31%, compared with 47% across the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Forum
Of the cases with the forum listed, 38% went to members, with 4 officer panels and 2 enlisted panels. The remaining 10 were tried by a military judge alone. The choice between a judge alone and members usually belongs to the accused.
Beside Hill and Moody
Hill AFB, Utah and Moody AFB, Georgia each tried 20 Air Force cases in the same years. Their median confinement was 6 months and 4 months, both longer than 3 months at Aviano. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 53% and 67%, both higher than 40% at Aviano.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviano AB, Italy | 16 | — | — | 3 months | 40% |
| Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | — | — | 6 months | 53% |
| Moody AFB, Georgia | 20 | — | — | 4 months | 67% |
Case Count
There were 6 trials in 2016, 6 in 2017, and 4 in 2018. The 16 cases were 2% of the 991 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 did not take effect until January 1, 2019, after the last of these trials. Its fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements did not apply here.
Not in the Records
Missing from these records are offense dates, the evidence, plea terms, and any matter handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Aviano AB, Italy with a trial date in 2016–2018 (16 cases), compared with all 991 Air Force trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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
- Aviano AB, Italy: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases (another period)
- Inside 14 Courts-Martial at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026 (another period)
- JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 16 Cases (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 2016–2018? 16 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Aviano AB, Italy, 2016–2018
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 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.