> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Handled Obstruction Cases (Article 131b), 2019–2023 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-article-131b-2019-2023/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:48:01.000Z - Description: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 23 courts-martial charging Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 2019–2023, and every case ended in a conviction. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Article 131b, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Camp Lejeune, North Carolina](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-lejeune-north-carolina/) › Article 131b, 2019–2023 **Short answer:** Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 23 courts-martial charging Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 2019–2023, and every case ended in a conviction. 91% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 82% in Navy and Marine Corps obstruction cases overall. The median confinement was shorter: 8 months, compared with 10 months. Based on 23 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Obstruction Was Never the Only Charge At Camp Lejeune, obstruction under Article 131b was always charged together with something else. In 0 of the 23 cases was it the only charge. The companion charges covered many offenses. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 12 cases and Article 121 (larceny) in 10\. Article 112a (drug) and Article 128 (assault) appeared in 8 each. Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 7\. Every sentence covers all the findings in a case, so the sentences here include the other charges as well as the obstruction count. ## Punitive Discharges in 91% of Convictions For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Among 23 enlisted members convicted, 21 received one (91%). That is more often than the 82% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 131b cases. Of those, 3 were dishonorable discharges. No officers appear in this group. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track. ## Shorter Median Confinement, More Sentences Over One Year Of 23 convictions, 21 included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, shorter than the 10 months for obstruction cases across the service. A quarter of the sentences were 1.7 years or longer. More sentences here were under 6 months: 30%, compared with 23%. Fewer were 6 months to 1 year: 22%, compared with 31%. Sentences longer than one year were also more common: 9 of 23 convictions (39%), compared with 35%. No sentence reached 5 years or more (0%), compared with 5% in the rest of the service. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. The median was shorter than across the service. At the same time, sentences longer than one year were more common. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 131b cases | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 2 | 9% | 11% | | Under 6 months | 7 | 30% | 23% | | 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 22% | 31% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9 | 39% | 30% | | 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 5% | ## Sentences by Court Level General courts-martial made up 48% of these cases (11 of 23). Special courts-martial made up the rest. The 11 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.7 years. The 12 special courts-martial had a median of 5 months. The 2 levels have different limits. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement. ## What the Plea Records Show A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Only 10 of the 23 records list a plea: 5 guilty pleas and 5 not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 50%, compared with 26% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. So few pleas are on record that this share is based on a small number of cases. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and most of these cases were tried in 2019 through 2021\. Every case ended in a conviction on at least one charge. None of the contested cases ended in a full acquittal. ## Rank of the Accused Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 70% of the accused. NCOs made up 30%, and officers made up 0%. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 68%, so the rank mix here was about the same. With no officers or warrant officers in the group, every discharge figure on this page describes enlisted members only. ## Cases by Year The trials took place from February 2019 to August 2023: 9 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 3 in 2022, and 1 in 2023\. The yearly count was lower at the end of the period than at the start. The records cannot show why. Obstruction cases made up 8% of the 283 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune in those years. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so the yearly figures show when cases were tried. ## Gaps in the Record Trial records list the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence behind an obstruction charge, the terms of any plea agreement, or misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action at all. They also do not show when in an investigation the obstruction charge arose or how it related to the other allegations in the case. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Courts-martial tried at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in 2019–2023 that charged Article 131b (23 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 131b in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-lejeune-north-carolina/) (hub) - [Article 131b (Obstruction, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-131b-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 283 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 140 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-courts-martial-2017-2018/) - [What Was Tried at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2024–2026? 119 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-lejeune-north-carolina-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Obstruction Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 131b, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-131b-trend-2017-2025/) - [13 Obstruction Courts-Martial at Norfolk, Virginia, 2014–2018: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/norfolk-virginia-article-131b-2014-2018/) - [Article 131b Cases at San Diego, California, 2019–2023: 17 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/san-diego-california-article-131b-2019-2023/) - [Obstruction Charges at San Diego, California, 2013–2018: Pleas, Verdicts, and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/san-diego-california-article-131b-2013-2018/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 131b Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2019–2023 - [Keaton Harrell](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-keaton-harrell/) - [Nicholas Henry](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-nicholas-henry/) - [Ryan Stormer](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-ryan-stormer/) - [Adam Workman](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-adam-workman/) 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership. **Compare: federal court.** [Obstruction of Justice and Perjury: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obstruction-perjury-vs-courts-martial/) **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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.