General Article Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 134

Based on 29 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Dishonorable Discharges Outnumbered Bad-Conduct Ones

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge can come only from a general court-martial. At Camp Lejeune, 86% of enlisted convictions in these cases included a punitive discharge: 15 dishonorable and 9 bad-conduct. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the share was 75%.

The share was also high before 2024. In 2019–2023, 83% of convicted enlisted members in Article 134 cases at Camp Lejeune received a punitive discharge. The change to 86% is small. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Which Charges Came With Article 134?

Article 134 punishes conduct that is prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting, and it covers a wide range of specific offenses. In 11 of the 29 cases, Article 134 was charged by itself. In the rest, Article 82 (solicitation) was the most common companion charge, in 5 cases. Child sexual abuse under Article 120b appeared in 4. Orders violations (Article 92), attempts (Article 80), and false official statements (Article 107) were each charged in 2 cases.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case. The companion charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures, along with the Article 134 count.

Few Cases Were Contested

A contested case is one in which the accused enters a not-guilty or mixed plea. Of the 28 records listing a plea, 25 were guilty pleas and 3 were contested (11%). In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, 29% of Article 134 cases were contested.

None of the 3 contested cases ended in a full acquittal. In 2019–2023, 0 of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict did. With so few contested cases, a single case either way would change the contested share noticeably.

Confinement by Length

Every case ended in a conviction, and 25 sentences included confinement. Those sentences had a median of 1.5 years, the same as in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter were 2.5 years or longer.

Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases, 45% of convictions included more than one year. Here it was 48% (14 of the 29). Sentences of 5 years or more were less common here: 10%, compared with 17%. Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years were 38%, compared with 28%. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were 21%, compared with 15%. 14% of convictions here had no confinement, compared with 21% across the service. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

General Courts-Martial and Junior Accused

22 of the 29 cases were general courts-martial (76%), compared with 65% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 134 cases. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

23 of the accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4). There were 5 NCOs (E-5 to E-9) and no officers or warrant officers. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 63% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group was more junior.

Compared With 2019–2023

The earlier period had 54 cases, about 11 a year. Since then there have been about 10 a year, counting full years only. The later yearly counts were 13 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 9 in 2026, a partial year. These 29 cases make up 24% of the 119 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune in 2024–2026.

The contested share went from 26% to 11%. The median confinement went from 1.7 years to 1.5 years. Convictions with confinement went from 93% to 86%. The general court-martial share went from 83% to 76%. In groups this small a few cases can move each figure, so these changes show direction, not precise size.

Rules That Changed at the Turn of 2024

2 rule changes took effect at the end of 2023. From December 28, 2023, the decision to prosecute covered offenses, including sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, belongs to special trial counsel instead of commanders. In a case where all guilty findings are for offenses after December 27, 2023, a military judge now sets the sentence using new sentencing parameters.

Each rule applies based on the offense date. These records give only trial dates, so the 2024–2026 trials are a mix of old-rule and new-rule cases. The changes described above happened in the same period. The records cannot show whether the new rules had any effect.

Outside the Courtroom Record

These records show only cases that reached a court-martial. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or plea agreement terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 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.