24 AWOL Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: What the Records Show

Trends › By Installation › Bremerton, Washington › Article 86, 2013–2018

Based on 24 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Short Confinement for Almost Everyone

This post covers every AWOL court-martial at a single Navy installation, Bremerton, Washington, from 2013 through 2018. The sentences were similar to one another. Confinement was part of 100% of the 24 convictions. The sentences were short. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 5 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case, not only the absence offense.

Nothing Above One Year

Of 24 convictions, 19 (79%) included less than 6 months of confinement, compared with 63% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases. The other 5 (21%) were sentences of 6 months to 1 year, compared with 25% across the service.

No conviction included more than one year of confinement: 0 of 24, compared with 8% across the service. Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years were 0% here, compared with 6%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 0%, compared with 1%. Convictions with no confinement were also 0%, compared with 5% in the rest of the service.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

Among 24 enlisted members convicted, 8 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (33%). Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases, the share was 63%. All 8 were bad-conduct discharges; 0 were dishonorable.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those separations are not in these records, so the share of these members who left the service by that route is unknown.

Special Courts-Martial Handled Nearly All Cases

Only 1 of the 24 cases was a general court-martial (4%), compared with 8% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases. The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. No sentence in this group was longer than one year.

Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Of 24 cases, 23 ended in a guilty plea and 1 was contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 4%, compared with 6% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Few AWOL cases were contested across the service, and Bremerton was similar.

Drug Charges Often Came With AWOL

Only 2 of the 24 cases charged Article 86 by itself. The most common companion charge was Article 112a (drug offenses), in 15 cases. Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 4. Article 87 (missing movement) and Article 128 (assault) appeared in 3 each. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 2.

Because the sentence covers every charge, the figures above describe AWOL cases that usually included a drug charge as well. The records do not divide a sentence among its charges.

The absence offenses differ in what they require. Article 86 covers being absent without authority. Article 87, missing movement, covers missing the scheduled departure of a ship, aircraft, or unit. Desertion is a separate and more serious article. It adds an intent to remain away permanently or to avoid hazardous duty. It does not appear among the most common companion charges in this group of Bremerton cases.

Junior Sailors and the Timeline

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 88% of the accused. NCOs made up 12%, and there were no officers. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 83% of those charged under Article 86.

The trials took place from October 2013 to July 2018: 2 in 2013, 6 in 2014, 1 in 2015, 7 in 2016, 6 in 2017, and 2 in 2018. These cases made up 11% of the 221 courts-martial at Bremerton in those years. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, after the last of these trials. All of them were tried under the earlier rules.

What These Records Do Not Show

The records give trial dates, not the dates or length of any absence. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They also omit absences handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only records that list one.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 86 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.