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# How Camp Pendleton, California Handled AWOL Cases (Article 86), 2017–2018
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-article-86-2017-2018/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:51:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:52.000Z
- Description: Camp Pendleton, California brought 29 courts-martial charging Article 86 (AWOL) in 2017–2018. 79% of the enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Camp Pendleton, California, Article 86, Navy-Marine Corps

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Camp Pendleton, California](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) › Article 86, 2017–2018

**Short answer:** Camp Pendleton, California brought 29 courts-martial charging Article 86 (AWOL) in 2017–2018\. 79% of the enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge, compared with 70% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Confinement was about the same as elsewhere, with a median of 4 months in both.

Based on 29 cases · 2017–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Most Convicted Members Received a Bad-Conduct Discharge

Of 28 enlisted members convicted, 22 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (79%). That share is higher than the 70% for Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases overall. All of the punitive discharges here were bad-conduct discharges. None was dishonorable.

Almost every case was a special court-martial, which can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Almost All Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

The 29 cases were 1 general court-martial and 28 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 3%, compared with 11% in Article 86 cases across the Navy and Marine Corps.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. For nearly all of these cases, that one-year cap was the maximum confinement the court could impose.

## How Much Confinement?

All 29 cases ended in a conviction, and 26 of the sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the 4 months for Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases elsewhere. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 6 months or longer.

These figures are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial. They do not reflect any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, including any drug or assault charge in the same case as the absence.

With a median of 4 months and a quarter of terms at 6 months or longer, most AWOL sentences here were well under the one-year limit of a special court-martial.

## Most Terms Were Under 6 Months

18 convictions, or 62%, carried less than 6 months of confinement, compared with 52% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Another 24% were 6 months to 1 year, compared with 31% elsewhere. 10% carried no confinement, compared with 8%.

Only 1 of 29 convictions (3%) carried more than one year, lower than the 9% across Navy and Marine Corps AWOL cases. That 1 sentence was 5 years or more. No sentence here was more than 1 year and under 5 years. Elsewhere, that range was 8% of convictions.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps Article 86 cases overall |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 3           | 10%        | 8%                                                    |
| Under 6 months                  | 18          | 62%        | 52%                                                   |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 7           | 24%        | 31%                                                   |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 0           | 0%         | 8%                                                    |
| 5 years or more                 | 1           | 3%         | 2%                                                    |

## AWOL Was Usually the Only Charge

Only 8 of the 29 cases charged another article along with Article 86\. The most common was Article 112a (drug), in 4 cases. Article 92 (orders violation), Article 107 (false official statement), and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 2, and Article 134 (general article) in 1.

For most of these members, the court-martial concerned the absence alone.

When a drug or assault charge was in the same case, the sentence covers the whole case. The records do not divide confinement or discharge by charge. They cannot show how much of a sentence was for the absence alone.

## Rank of the Accused

Of the accused, 26 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4) and 2 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). No officers or warrant officers appear in this group. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 87% of those charged with AWOL, so the Camp Pendleton group was more junior.

## Cases by Year

The cases were tried between January 2017 and November 2018: 19 in 2017 and 10 in 2018\. AWOL was charged in 19% of the 149 courts-martial at Camp Pendleton, California in 2017 and 2018.

## The Rules That Applied

These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. That law set fixed panel sizes. It created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge. It also brought in written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to the cases on this page.

## What the Records Do Not Show

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. This page therefore does not say how many AWOL cases were contested, meaning cases where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The records give trial dates, not the dates or length of the absence. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Absences handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 86 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Courts-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California in 2017–2018 that charged Article 86 (29 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps case charging Article 86 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 Pendleton, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-camp-pendleton-california/) (hub)
- [Article 86 (AWOL): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-86-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub)
- [What Was Tried at Camp Pendleton, California, 2019–2023? 291 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2019-2023/)
- [Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2017-2018/)
- [Inside 142 Courts-Martial at Camp Pendleton, California, 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-pendleton-california-courts-martial-2024-2026/)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 86 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-86-trend-2017-2025/)
- [24 AWOL Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/bremerton-washington-article-86-2013-2018/)
- [30 AWOL Courts-Martial at San Diego, California, 2013–2017: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/san-diego-california-article-86-2013-2017/)
- [11 General Article Courts-Martial at Jacksonville, Florida, 2013–2018: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/jacksonville-florida-article-134-2013-2018/)
- [S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s1e33-dismissing-the-camp-pendleton-case/) (podcast, members)
- [Article 86 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com)

**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.