Bremerton, Washington Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show
Bremerton, Washington held 52 courts-martial from January 2024 through September 2026, Its sentences were lower than in the rest of the service. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Bremerton, Washington › 2024–2026
Short answer: Bremerton, Washington held 52 courts-martial from January 2024 through September 2026, Its sentences were lower than in the rest of the service. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps cases. 33% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 52% across the service.
Many Convictions Brought No Confinement
Of the 52 cases, 45 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Only 25 of those sentences included confinement (56%). 20 convictions (44%) had no confinement, compared with 30% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years.
When the sentence included confinement, the median was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months in the rest of the service. A quarter of the Bremerton sentences were 1.1 years or longer. 7 of 45 convictions (16%) included more than one year, compared with 20% across the service. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 20 | 44% | 30% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 31% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 9% | 14% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 13% | 13% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 2% | 7% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Among 42 convicted enlisted members, 14 received one (33%), including 5 dishonorable discharges. Across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, the share was 52%.
The records show 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those separations are not in these records.
Larceny and Sexual Assault Were More Common
Charge lists cover all 52 cases. A case with several articles appears in several rows. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 17% of cases, compared with 7% across the service. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 13%, compared with 6%.
The most common charge was Article 134 (general article), in 11 cases (21%), the same share as across the service. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 9 cases (17%). Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 4 cases, at 8% compared with 12% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 21% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 17% | 19% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 9 | 17% | 7% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 13% | 6% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 13% | 15% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 6 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 4 | 8% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 6% | 5% |
Convictions Charge by Charge
All 11 cases charging Article 134 ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 2 years. Larceny ended in a conviction on that charge in 9 of 9 cases, with a median of 1 year. Article 92 ended in a conviction in 8 of 9, with a median of 4 months.
These rows overlap. A single case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, and each sentence covers the whole case.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 11 | 11 (100%) | 2 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 8 (8 of 9) | 4 months |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 1 year |
Contested Cases and Verdicts
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 51 records listing a plea, 34 were guilty pleas and 17 were contested. The contested share was 33%, compared with 36% across the service.
Of the 17 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (35%). That is higher than the 26% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, but guilty of another.
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Bremerton held 34 special and 18 general courts-martial. General courts-martial made up 35% of cases.
Sentences and pleas differed by court level. General courts-martial had a median confinement of 2 years and a 53% contested share. Special courts-martial had a median of 35 days and a 24% contested share.
Compared With Kaneohe Bay and Okinawa
Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay and Okinawa, Japan tried a similar number of cases: 53 and 50. Their median confinement was 7 months and 1 year. Their punitive discharge shares were 69% and 56%, both higher than at Bremerton.
The accused at Bremerton were also more senior than the service as a whole. NCOs made up 56% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 42%, and officers made up 2%. Junior enlisted members were 59% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bremerton, Washington | 52 | 33% | 6 of 17 | 3 months | 33% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 53 | 31% | 1 of 16 | 7 months | 69% |
| Okinawa, Japan | 50 | 22% | 4 of 11 | 1 year | 56% |
Compared With 2019–2023
The yearly counts were 17 in 2024, 18 in 2025, and 17 in 2026, a partial year. Together they were 5% of the 1,013 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in this period. In 2019–2023 Bremerton tried about 31 cases a year. Since then it has tried about 18 a year, counting full years only.
The median confinement went from 4 months to 3 months. Convictions with confinement went from 76% to 56%. Punitive discharges went from 42% to 33%. Full acquittals went from 14 of 43 to 6 of 17. In small groups a few cases can move a figure, and the records cannot show why any figure changed.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 153 | 52 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 29% | 33% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 14 of 43 | 6 of 17 |
| Convictions with confinement | 76% | 56% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 42% | 33% |
| General courts-martial | 34% | 35% |
Rules That Changed, and Gaps in the Data
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 involves an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date. These records do not give offense dates, so this period includes cases tried under both the old and new rules.
The records also omit the evidence and plea terms. They do not include anything resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Bremerton, Washington with a trial date in 2024–2026 (52 cases), compared with all 1,013 Navy and Marine Corps 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
- Bremerton, Washington: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 221 Cases (another period)
- Bremerton, Washington, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 153 Cases (another period)
- What Was Tried at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 2024–2026? 53 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Inside 50 Courts-Martial at Okinawa, Japan, 2024–2026 (same years, similar size)
- Did Drug Cases at Bremerton, Washington Change After 2019?
- Assault Cases at Bremerton, Washington: 2013–2018 vs. 2019–2023
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Bremerton, Washington, 2024–2026
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.