Article 128 at Camp Pendleton, California Before and After 2024

Trends › By Installation › Camp Pendleton, California › Article 128

Based on 28 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Assault Cases, More of Them Contested

In 2019–2023, the records hold 86 Article 128 cases at Camp Pendleton, about 17 a year. Since 2024, there have been about 11 a year, counting full years only: 10 cases in 2024, 12 in 2025, and 6 so far in 2026, a partial year.

The contested share was 19% in the earlier period and 27% in the later one. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Full acquittals went from 0 of 6 contested cases that reached a verdict in the earlier period to 2 of 7 since. These groups are small, and a few cases can change the figures. The changes show a direction, not a precise size.

Shorter Confinement

The median confinement was 7 months in 2019–2023 and 4 months in 2024–2026. Convictions that included any confinement were 85% and then 77%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 65% and then 54%.

In the recent period, confinement was part of 77% of the 26 convictions. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases. A quarter of terms were 6 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Sentence Lengths

13 of the 26 convictions (50%) carried confinement under 6 months, compared with 45% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 19% here and 15% service-wide. Only 2 of 26 convictions (8%) carried more than one year, compared with 10% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. No conviction carried 5 years or more, compared with 3%. 23% carried no confinement, compared with 30%.

Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year. Here, 9 of the 28 cases (32%) were general courts-martial. In 2019–2023, the share was 45%.

Punitive Discharges Were Still More Common Than Service-Wide

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Of 24 convicted enlisted members, 13 received one: 12 bad-conduct and 1 dishonorable. That 54% share is lower than the earlier 65%. It is still higher than the 43% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps for this charge.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not show administrative separations.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

12 of the 28 cases charged Article 128 alone. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, 68 of 148 did. The most common other charge here was Article 115 (communicating threats), in 5 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 4, Article 95 (sentinel offenses) and Article 107 (false official statement) in 2 each, and Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving) in 1.

Pleas and Verdicts

26 records list a plea. Of those, 19 were guilty pleas and 7 were contested. The contested share of 27% compares with 39% in Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases. Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal. In 2019–2023, 0 of 6 did.

Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 65% of the accused. NCOs were 31%, and officers were 4%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, junior enlisted members were 62% of the accused. The 28 cases are 20% of the 142 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton in 2024–2026.

Law Changes Since 2024 and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related charges, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation. 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. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. The 2024–2026 trials therefore include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether the rules caused any change described above.

The records also leave out the evidence, the plea terms, and conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.

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.