Article 107 Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2019–2023: 22 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 107, 2019–2023

Based on 22 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges in 95% of Enlisted Convictions

This post covers one offense at one installation: Article 107 cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, from 2019 through 2023. The largest difference is the discharge share. 95% of enlisted convictions here included a punitive discharge, compared with 67% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases in the same years.

Of those, 17 were bad-conduct discharges and 3 were dishonorable discharges. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

Every Conviction Included Confinement

Of the 22 cases, 21 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and all 21 sentences included confinement (100%). Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases, 19% of convictions had no confinement.

The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 6 months across the service. A quarter of the sentences were 1.2 years or longer. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 43% of convictions here, compared with 26% across the service. Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 29%, compared with 19%. Sentences under 6 months were less common, at 29% compared with 33%.

How the Sentence Lengths Compare

Sentences longer than one year were more common than in Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases overall: 6 of 21 convictions (29%), compared with 22%. No sentence here was 5 years or more, compared with 3% across the service.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. At Camp Lejeune, false official statement charges were almost never the only charge.

Article 107 Was Almost Never the Only Charge

Only 1 of the 22 cases charged Article 107 by itself. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases in 2019–2023, 15 of 156 did. Article 92 (orders violation) was the most common companion charge, in 13 cases.

Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 9. Article 128 (assault), Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019), and Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 7 each. The companion charges include property, drug, violence, and obstruction offenses. Each sentence covers the whole case, so these charges are part of every confinement and discharge figure in this post.

How Many Cases Were Contested?

Only 15 of the 22 records list a plea. Of those, 8 accused pleaded guilty and 7 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 47%, higher than the 38% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases. The plea is missing from 7 records, so this figure is based on a small number of cases.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and the counts here use only the records that list one. A guilty plea usually ends a case without a trial on the merits. Of the 22 cases, 21 ended in a conviction on at least one charge.

Court Level Was the Same as Across the Service

The cases split into 9 general courts-martial and 13 special courts-martial. The general share was 41%, the same as the 41% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial tried by a judge alone is capped at six months with no punitive discharge.

Junior Enlisted Members Made Up Most of the Accused

By rank, 18 accused were junior enlisted members, 4 were NCOs, and 0 were officers. That mix is more junior than across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole for this offense.

Most Cases Were Tried in 2021

The trials took place from March 2019 to December 2023. 12 of them were in 2021. The other years had 3 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. The 22 cases make up 8% of the 283 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune in those years.

With counts this small, the cases from a single year can affect every percentage in this post.

Gaps in the Record

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or offense dates. Conduct handled outside a court-martial is not counted.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 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.