Inside 14 Courts-Martial at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026
Aviano AB, Italy tried 14 courts-martial from January 2024 through August 2026. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 13% in the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Aviano AB, Italy › 2024–2026
Short answer: Aviano AB, Italy tried 14 courts-martial from January 2024 through August 2026. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 13% in the rest of the Air Force. A punitive discharge followed 50% of enlisted convictions, compared with 62% Air Force-wide.
Discharge Rate Lower Than the Air Force
Of 10 enlisted members convicted, 5 left with a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct and 1 dishonorable. Across the whole Air Force in these years, the share was 62%.
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. For officers, the equivalent is a dismissal, and the 1 officer or warrant officer convicted at Aviano was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Sexual Assault in 6 of 13 Charge Lists
The records list charges for 13 of the 14 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 6 (46%), compared with 13% Air Force-wide.
Article 134 (general article) was charged in 3 cases (23%), close to the 24% Air Force-wide. Article 115 (communicating threats) was charged in 2 cases (15%), compared with 3% Air Force-wide. Article 128 (assault), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 128b (domestic violence) also appeared in 2 cases each. Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) and Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle) appeared in 1 each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 46% | 13% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 23% | 24% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 15% | 13% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 2 | 15% | 3% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 15% | 16% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 15% | 15% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 1 | 8% | 2% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 1 | 8% | 5% |
Every Conviction Included Confinement
All 11 convictions carried confinement. The median term was 5 months, close to the 6 months for the whole Air Force. A quarter of the terms were 1.1 years or longer.
These figures are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence covers all charges in the case.
How 2024–2026 Compares With 2019–2023
Aviano tried 17 cases in 2019–2023, about 3 a year, and has tried about 4 a year since (full years only). The median confinement went from 10 months to 5 months. The enlisted punitive discharge share went from 69% to 50%.
Other measures moved less. The contested share was 43% before and 45% after, and general courts-martial were 53% before and 50% after. Convictions with confinement were 93% before and 100% after. A few cases can change any of these figures in a group this size, so they show direction only.
| 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% |
Pleas and Acquittals
The plea is recorded for 11 of the 14 cases: 6 guilty pleas and 5 contested cases. That is 45% contested, compared with 43% in the rest of the Air Force. A contested case has a not-guilty or mixed plea.
Among contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 of 5 ended in a full acquittal. In 2019–2023 the count was 3 of 6.
Enlisted Panels and Judge-Alone Trials
A military judge alone decided guilt in 10 of the 14 cases with the forum listed (71%). Members heard the other 4, and all 4 were enlisted panels. The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members.
Who Was Tried, and at What 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. The mix is more senior than the Air Force as a whole, where 58% were junior enlisted.
General courts-martial made up 50% of the cases (7 of 14), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
Ramstein and McConnell
Ramstein AB, Germany (20 cases) and McConnell AFB, Kansas (21 cases) tried a similar number of Air Force cases in these years. Median confinement was 9 months at Ramstein and 3 months at McConnell. The enlisted punitive discharge share was 65% at Ramstein and 44% 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% |
Timing and New Rules
There were 4 trials in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 5 so far in 2026. The 14 cases were 2% of the 598 Air Force courts-martial in those 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. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these trials mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
Outside the Records
The evidence, the plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial are not in these records. 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.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Aviano AB, Italy with a trial date in 2024–2026 (14 cases), compared with all 598 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 Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show (another period)
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases (another period)
- Inside 14 Courts-Martial at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, 2024–2026 (same years, similar size)
- JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 15 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026
- Willie J. Babor
- Jeremy L. Mooney
- Christine L. Norton
- Sterling C. Pendleton
- Michael J. Taber
- 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 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.