Orders Violation Charges at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2024–2026: Pleas, Verdicts, and Sentences

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 92, 2024–2026

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

Most Accused Pleaded Guilty

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The Camp Lejeune records show 7 not-guilty or mixed pleas and 22 guilty pleas, a contested share of 24%. Across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, 44% of Article 92 cases were contested in the same years.

Of the 29 cases, 26 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The records here do not break down how the contested cases ended. The full-acquittal rate is therefore not available for this group.

Punitive Discharges Were More Common

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Among 25 enlisted members convicted, 12 received one (48%), and 4 of those were dishonorable. In the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps, the share for Article 92 cases was 37%.

A member who receives no punitive discharge may still be separated administratively. These court-martial records do not include administrative separations.

More Sentences of 5 Years or More

Of 26 convictions, 18 carried confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, the same as the 3 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. 8 convictions carried no confinement (31%), compared with 45% service-wide.

The largest difference was in the longest sentences. Terms of 5 years or more came in 3 convictions (12%), compared with 3% elsewhere. Terms over one year came in 4 of 26 convictions (15%), compared with 5%. Most other sentences were short. Terms under 6 months made up 46% of convictions, compared with 42% service-wide. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 8% in both groups. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

24 of the 29 cases charged at least one other article. Article 128 (assault) was the most common, in 7 cases. Article 112a (drug) and Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 4 each, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 3, and Article 114 (endangerment) in 2.

The long sentences described above cover whole cases, not the orders violation alone. The records do not split a sentence by charge. They cannot show how much of any term was for the orders violation and how much was for the other offenses. Assault, the most common other charge, appeared in 7 of the 29 cases.

More General Courts-Martial

7 of the 29 cases were general courts-martial (24%), compared with 15% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge.

Rank of the Accused

The accused were 19 junior enlisted members, 9 NCOs, and no officers. That group is more junior than in Navy and Marine Corps Article 92 cases overall. No officers appear, so all of the discharge figures here describe enlisted members.

Law Changes That Apply to These Years

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both rules depend on the offense date. The records give only trial dates, so the 2024–2026 cases include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether either change affected these figures.

Cases by Year and What the Records Do Not Show

There were 11 cases in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 8 so far in 2026, a partial year. Article 92 was charged in 24% of the 119 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune over the period.

Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. The records also do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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.