Article 128 at Camp Pendleton, California Before and After 2019
Camp Pendleton, California tried 86 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2019–2023, 30% of all its cases. Where the plea is recorded, only 19% were contested, compared with 40% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall. The median confinement was 7 months.
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Short answer: Camp Pendleton, California tried 86 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2019–2023, 30% of all its cases. Where the plea is recorded, only 19% were contested, compared with 40% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall. The median confinement was 7 months. It was 1 year in 2017–2018, and it was slightly longer than the 6 months service-wide.
Most Assault Cases Ended in Guilty Pleas
Only 32 of the 86 records list a plea. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit it. Of those 32, 26 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge, meaning they entered a not-guilty or mixed plea.
The contested share of 19% is lower than the 40% in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases. Contested shares were about the same at both court levels: 20% at general courts-martial and 18% at special courts-martial. The records do not give a reason for any plea.
Most Convictions Included Confinement
Of 86 cases, 82 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 70 of those sentences included confinement (85%). The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or more.
Terms longer than one year came in 20 of 82 convictions (24%), the same share as in the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were more common here: 34% of convictions, compared with 27%. Terms under 6 months made up 27%, compared with 35%. 15% of convictions carried no confinement, compared with 14%. 7% carried 5 years or more, compared with 5%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in a case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 12 | 15% | 14% |
| Under 6 months | 22 | 27% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 28 | 34% | 27% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 14 | 17% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 6 | 7% | 5% |
Shorter Confinement Than in 2017–2018
The 2017–2018 records hold 43 assault cases over 2 years, about 22 a year. Since then, there have been about 17 a year. The later count went down each year: 30 in 2019, 23 in 2020, 15 in 2021, and 9 in each of 2022 and 2023.
The median confinement was 1 year in the earlier period and 7 months in the later one. Convictions with confinement were 92% and then 85%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 67% and then 65%. General courts-martial were 47% of cases and then 45%. Too few earlier records list a plea to compare. With groups this size, a few cases can change these figures, so they show a direction only.
| 2017–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 43 | 86 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0 of 1 | 19% |
| Convictions with confinement | 92% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 67% | 65% |
| General courts-martial | 47% | 45% |
Other Charges in the Same Cases
Article 128 was the only charge in 37 of the 86 cases. When other articles were charged, Article 92 (orders violation) was the most common, in 15 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 14, Article 134 (general article) in 7, Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 7, and Article 114 (dueling before 2019; endangerment since) in 4.
When an assault charge appears with a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case.
Punitive Discharges and Dismissal
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 65% of enlisted convictions included one: 37 bad-conduct and 14 dishonorable. That compares with 61% in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Sentences by Court Level
General courts-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. They tried 39 cases (45%), and the median confinement was 2 years. Special courts-martial are capped at one year of confinement. The 47 special courts-martial had a median of 5 months.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year, so all the sentences longer than one year in this group came from general courts-martial. The 2-year median at general courts-martial is much longer than the overall median of 7 months.
Rank of the Accused
The accused were 58 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 20 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer or warrant officer. That group is more junior than in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2019–2023, where 63% were junior enlisted.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include assaults handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Plea counts on this page use only the records that list a plea.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California that charged Article 128 (found guilty, not guilty, or both): 2017–2018 (43) and 2019–2023 (86). Comparisons use every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 128 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.
Related Analysis
- Camp Pendleton, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases (the whole docket)
- What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial (the whole docket)
- Inside 142 Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026 (the whole docket)
- Did Assault Cases at Norfolk, Virginia Change After 2019? (same offense, another installation)
- Did Assault Cases at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Change After 2019? (same offense, another installation)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025
- S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case (podcast, members)
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128 Cases at Camp Pendleton, California, 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.
Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
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.