Inside 17 Courts-Martial at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, 2016–2018
Cannon AFB, New Mexico tried 17 courts-martial from March 2016 through September 2018. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 71% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 48% in the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Cannon AFB, New Mexico › 2016–2018
Short answer: Cannon AFB, New Mexico tried 17 courts-martial from March 2016 through September 2018. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 71% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 48% in the rest of the Air Force. A punitive discharge followed 42% of enlisted convictions, compared with 55% across the Air Force.
Drug Charges in 10 of 14 Charge Lists
The records list charges for 14 of the 17 cases. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 10 of them (71%). Across the Air Force, the share was 48%.
Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 2 cases. Article 108 (military property), Article 128 (assault), Article 111 (drunken or reckless driving), Article 85 (desertion), and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 1. Each article counts once per case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 71% | 48% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 14% | 4% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 14% | 25% |
| Art. 108 Military property; loss, damage, destruction | 1 | 7% | 1% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 1 | 7% | 11% |
| Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving | 1 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 1 | 7% | 1% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 7% | 16% |
Officer Panels Heard 8 Cases
Members heard 53% of the cases with the forum listed: 8 officer panels and 1 enlisted panel. A military judge alone decided the other 8.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. In these years, Air Force records rarely list a guilty plea, so the records do not show how many cases were contested.
Bad-Conduct Discharges Only
Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 5 left with a punitive discharge. All 5 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was dishonorable. The share was 42%, compared with 55% in the rest of the Air Force.
The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and both were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Confinement Matched the Air Force Median
Of the 17 cases, 14 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 10 of those sentences included confinement (71%). The median term was 4 months, the same as the 4 months median in the rest of the Air Force. A quarter of the terms were 11 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Full Acquittals
3 of the 17 cases ended in a full acquittal (18%), compared with 20% across the Air Force. The rate uses all cases as its base, since Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list the plea when the accused pleaded guilty.
A Junior Group at Special Courts-Martial
The accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group is more junior than Air Force-wide.
General courts-martial made up 29% of the cases (5 of 17), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Next to Hill and Moody
Hill AFB, Utah and Moody AFB, Georgia each tried 20 Air Force cases in the same years. Moody's median confinement was 4 months, the same as Cannon's, and Hill's was 6 months. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 53% at Hill and 67% at Moody, both higher than 42% at Cannon.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannon AFB, New Mexico | 17 | — | — | 4 months | 42% |
| Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | — | — | 6 months | 53% |
| Moody AFB, Georgia | 20 | — | — | 4 months | 67% |
Case Count and Rules
There were 2 trials in 2016, 7 in 2017, and 8 in 2018. The 17 cases were 2% of the 991 Air Force courts-martial in those years. All came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019.
What the Records Leave Out
Offense dates, the evidence, and the plea terms are not in the records. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are not included. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Cannon AFB, New Mexico with a trial date in 2016–2018 (17 cases), compared with all 991 Air Force trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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
- Cannon AFB, New Mexico: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 29 Courts-Martial at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, 2019–2023 (another period)
- Inside 17 Courts-Martial at Minot AFB, North Dakota, 2016–2018 (same years, similar size)
- Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, 2016–2018
- Jefferson B. Brown
- Michael Dillinger
- Joseph S. Imburgia
- Bradley A. Morris
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Shelly W. Schools
- Matthew D. Talcott
- Brian D. Teter
- Marvin W. Tubbs II
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.
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.