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Understanding Trends

Article 107 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Before and After 2019

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 22 courts-martial charging Article 107 (false official statement) from 2019 to 2023.

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 107

Short answer: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 22 courts-martial charging Article 107 (false official statement) from 2019 to 2023. 95% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 67% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases overall and 67% at Camp Lejeune in 2017–2018. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months in both comparisons.

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

The Earlier Period for Comparison

Camp Lejeune had 19 Article 107 cases in 2017–2018, about 10 a year. In 2019–2023 it had 22, about 4 a year, counting full years only. The median confinement went from 6 months to 9 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 67% to 95%. Convictions with confinement went from 83% to 100%. General courts-martial went from 32% of cases to 41%.

The records cannot show why the numbers changed. With groups this small, a few cases can move each rate, so the changes show direction, not precise size.

2017–20182019–2023
Cases1922
Contested (of pleas recorded)—47%
Convictions with confinement83%100%
Median confinement6 months9 months
Punitive discharge (enlisted)67%95%
General courts-martial32%41%

Almost Every Conviction Included a Punitive Discharge

Of 21 enlisted members convicted in 2019–2023, 20 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (95%). That is higher than the 67% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases in 2019–2023. Of the 20 discharges, 3 were dishonorable.

A punitive discharge is part of the sentence the court imposes: a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not show what happened to the 1 convicted member who did not receive a punitive discharge.

Every Conviction Included Confinement

All 21 convictions included confinement. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases, 19% of convictions had no confinement. The median confinement at Camp Lejeune was 9 months, compared with 6 months for Article 107 cases overall. 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 longer than one year were 6 of 21 convictions (29%), compared with 22%. No sentence was 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Adjudged confinementConvictionsShare hereShare, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases in 2019–2023
No confinement00%19%
Under 6 months629%33%
6 months to 1 year943%26%
More than 1 year, under 5 years629%19%
5 years or more00%3%

False Statement Charges Came With Other Charges

Article 107 was almost never the only charge. Only 1 of the 22 cases charged Article 107 by itself. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 15 of 156 Article 107 cases did.

Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared with it 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. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, so these companion offenses are part of the confinement and discharge figures.

Pleas

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Only 15 of the 22 records list a plea. Of those, 8 were guilty pleas and 7 were contested. The contested share was 47%, compared with 38% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The plea is missing from 7 records, so the contested share is based on a small number of cases. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. The table does not show a contested share for 2017–2018.

Who Faced These Charges

The accused were 18 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 4 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 officers. That group is more junior than the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, where 61% were junior enlisted.

General courts-martial made up 9 of the 22 cases (41%), the same 41% as in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Cases by Year

The 22 cases were tried from March 2019 through December 2023. There were 3 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 12 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. Together they make up 8% of the 283 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune in those years. 2021 had the most cases: 12 of the 22. No other year had more than 4.

Limits on What Can Be Known

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. A case tried in 2019 may involve conduct from the earlier period. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They also leave out cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.

How We Counted

Courts-martial tried at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina that charged Article 107 (found guilty, not guilty, or both): 2017–2018 (19) and 2019–2023 (22). Comparisons use every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 107 in 2019–2023.

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.

Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 107 Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2019–2023

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.

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