How Camp Humphreys Handled Assault Cases (Article 128), 2021–2023

Trends › By Installation › Camp Humphreys › Article 128, 2021–2023

Based on 21 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Assault in 33% of All Cases

At Camp Humphreys, assault charges appeared in 21 of the 63 courts-martial tried in 2021–2023 (33%). The trials took place between April 2021 and November 2023: 7 in 2021, 8 in 2022, and 6 in 2023.

The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, so the period starts there.

Shorter Confinement Than Across the Army

The 21 cases produced 17 convictions, and confinement was part of 88% of them. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 5 months for Article 128 cases across the Army. A quarter of the sentences were 5 months or longer.

These figures are adjudged sentences, the punishment announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. When other charges were joined, the sentence covers more than the assault count.

Which Charges Came With Assault?

In 18 of the 21 cases, at least one other article was charged. The most common companion charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6, Article 134 (the general article) in 5, Article 92 (orders violation) in 3, Article 93 (maltreatment) in 2, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 1.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault count can describe part of the same incident. In those cases the sentence covers all the findings. The records do not show how much of the sentence relates to the assault.

Pleas and Plea Agreements

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here 13 accused pleaded guilty and 8 entered not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 38%, about the same as the 41% in the rest of the Army. A guilty plea usually ends a case without a trial on the merits.

All 13 guilty pleas (13 of 13) are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records note that an agreement existed but not what it said, so the data cannot show any agreed sentence limits.

Punitive Discharges

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 60% of enlisted convictions here included one: 8 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. That is lower than the 70% in Army Article 128 cases overall.

The group also includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and none was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track. Either court level can impose a bad-conduct discharge. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

Court Level and Rank

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 60% of the 20 cases with a court level listed (12 of 20). The court level is not listed for 1 case. Special courts-martial made up the rest. They cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused. NCOs made up 33%, and officers made up 10%. Across Army Article 128 cases overall, junior enlisted members were also 57%.

Judges and Panels

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Of the cases with the forum listed, members heard 24%: 4 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. A military judge alone decided the other 16.

Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split mostly follows how many cases were contested.

Where the Law Stands, and What Is Missing

Assault under Article 128 is not itself a covered offense. Covered offenses are now handled by special trial counsel. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation. The records do not show which office handled any case here.

The data shows what reached a courtroom. It does not show conduct resolved through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action. It does not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement. With only 21 cases, a few outcomes either way can change any percentage on this page.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.