Camp Pendleton, California in 2018: 78 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
Camp Pendleton, California tried 78 courts-martial in 2018, and the median confinement was 1 year, compared with 7 months for the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of terms were 3 years or longer. Article 86 (AWOL) was charged in 13% of cases, compared with 6% service-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Camp Pendleton, California › 2018
Short answer: Camp Pendleton, California tried 78 courts-martial in 2018, and the median confinement was 1 year, compared with 7 months for the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of terms were 3 years or longer. Article 86 (AWOL) was charged in 13% of cases, compared with 6% service-wide.
Long Terms, Including a Life Sentence
Of 74 cases with a conviction on at least one charge, 66 included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 1 year, and a quarter of terms were 3 years or longer. One sentence was confinement for life.
Terms longer than one year were part of 29 of 74 convictions (39%), compared with 30% across the Navy and Marine Corps. 8 convictions (11%) included 5 years or more, compared with 9%. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all the charges in the case.
Terms under 6 months made up 28% of convictions, compared with 32% service-wide. Terms from 6 months to 1 year made up 22%, compared with 23%. Only 8 convictions (11%) included no confinement, compared with 15%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 11% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 21 | 28% | 32% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 16 | 22% | 23% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 21 | 28% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 8 | 11% | 9% |
More General Courts-Martial
General courts-martial were 36 of the 78 cases (46%), compared with 23% at Camp Pendleton in 2017. 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.
Sentences differed by court level. The median confinement was 3 years in general courts-martial and 5 months in the 42 special courts-martial.
Assault and Sexual Assault Convictions
Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge. 24 of 25 cases charging it ended in a conviction on that article (96%), and the median confinement in those cases was 2.2 years. All 10 cases charging Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 3 years.
All 10 cases charging Article 92 (orders violation) ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 1 year. Drug cases under Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article in 17 of 19 (89%), with a median of 8 months. The rows overlap because one case can include several charges.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 25 | 24 (96%) | 2.2 years |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 19 | 17 (89%) | 8 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 10 (100%) | 3 years |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 10 (100%) | 1 year |
Which Charges Were Brought?
Charges are listed for 76 of the 78 cases. Assault was charged in 33% of them, about the same as the 34% service-wide. Drug charges were in 25%, compared with 26%. Article 120 was in 13%, compared with 16%.
AWOL under Article 86 was charged more often: 13% compared with 6% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Conspiracy under Article 81 was charged in 11%, compared with 9%. Larceny under Article 121 was charged in 11% and Article 92 in 13%, the same as the service rates. Article 134, the general article, was less common: 8% compared with 15%. Article 107 (false official statement) was also less common: 7% compared with 11%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 25 | 33% | 34% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 19 | 25% | 26% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10 | 13% | 16% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 10 | 13% | 13% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 10 | 13% | 6% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 8 | 11% | 11% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 8 | 11% | 9% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 8% | 15% |
Punitive Discharges at 70%
Of 73 convicted enlisted members, 51 received a punitive discharge: 36 bad-conduct discharges and 15 dishonorable discharges. That 70% rate was slightly higher than the 66% across the Navy and Marine Corps. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which is not in these records.
Rank of the Accused
The accused included 61 junior enlisted members, 12 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more junior than the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
How 2018 Differed From 2017
Camp Pendleton tried 71 cases in 2017 and 78 in 2018. The median confinement increased from 6 months to 1 year. Confinement was part of 89% of convictions in both years. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 71% to 70%. In a single year a few cases can change these figures, so they show direction, not precise measurements.
The 2018 records list no pleas. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit them. The data therefore cannot show how many cases were contested or how contested trials ended.
| 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 71 | 78 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0 of 1 | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 89% | 89% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 70% |
| General courts-martial | 23% | 46% |
Compared With Camp Lejeune and Norfolk
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (73 cases) and Norfolk, Virginia (55 cases) each had a median confinement of 7 months, shorter than Camp Pendleton's 1 year. Camp Lejeune gave a punitive discharge to 87% of convicted enlisted members, and Norfolk to 49%. At Norfolk, 29% of cases were contested, and 7 of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Pendleton, California | 78 | — | — | 1 year | 70% |
| Camp Lejeune, North Carolina | 73 | 0 of 1 | — | 7 months | 87% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 55 | 29% | 7 of 16 | 7 months | 49% |
Before the 2019 Changes
These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law introduced fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Camp Pendleton, California with a trial date in 2018 (78 cases).
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)
- By Year (hub)
- What Camp Pendleton, California Tried in 2017 (previous / next)
- Camp Pendleton, California in 2019: 74 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Camp Pendleton, California, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 149 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- S1 E33: Dismissing the Camp Pendleton Case (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.