Court-Martial Sentences: Junior Enlisted Members Compared With NCOs
From 2021–2025, the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records hold 2835 courts-martial with a convicted junior enlisted member (E-1 to E-4). 72% of them received a punitive discharge, compared with 53% of convicted NCOs.
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Short answer: From 2021–2025, the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records hold 2835 courts-martial with a convicted junior enlisted member (E-1 to E-4). 72% of them received a punitive discharge, compared with 53% of convicted NCOs. The median confinement was 6 months for both groups, but junior enlisted members had no confinement less often: 11%, compared with 24% for NCOs.
Punitive Discharges Were More Common for Junior Enlisted Members
2044 of the 2835 convicted junior enlisted members received a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. That is 72%, higher than the 53% for convicted NCOs. 625 of the 2044 were dishonorable discharges.
A bad-conduct discharge and a dishonorable discharge are the punitive discharges for enlisted members. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
How Often Was Confinement Adjudged?
2509 of the 2835 sentences included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 6 months, about the same as the 6 months median for convicted NCOs. 1 sentence was confinement for life.
Only 326 junior enlisted convictions had no confinement (11%). For NCOs, 24% had no confinement. The share sentenced to 6 months to 1 year was 20% for junior enlisted members and 15% for NCOs.
Sentences of more than one year were also more common for junior enlisted members: 767 of 2835 convictions (27%), compared with 24% for NCOs. Within that group, 172 were 5 years or more (6%), compared with 8% for NCOs.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, convicted NCOs |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 326 | 11% | 24% |
| Under 6 months | 1166 | 41% | 38% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 576 | 20% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 595 | 21% | 15% |
| 5 years or more | 172 | 6% | 8% |
Drug Charges Were More Common, Orders Violations Less Common
The charge lists cover 2818 of the 2835 cases. A case is counted once under each article it charges. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 20% of junior enlisted cases, compared with 8% of NCO cases.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared less often: 14%, compared with 21% for NCOs. Assault under Article 128 was the most common charge, in 653 cases (23%), the same share as for NCOs. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 12% of cases in both groups.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, convicted NCOs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 653 | 23% | 23% |
| Art. 134 General article | 626 | 22% | 24% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 577 | 20% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 404 | 14% | 21% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 352 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 347 | 12% | 14% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 203 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 178 | 6% | 7% |
Convictions and Confinement by Top Charge
Among the top charges, Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article in 573 of 577 cases. Article 128 did so in 623 of 653 cases, the lowest of the top charges. Article 134, the general article, led to a conviction on that article in 602 of 626 cases, and Article 92 in 391 of 404.
The median confinement for a conviction on Article 134 was 1.3 years. For Article 128 it was 6 months, and for Article 112a and Article 92 it was 4 months. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the article in the row.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 653 | 623 (95%) | 6 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 626 | 602 (96%) | 1.3 years |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 577 | 573 (99%) | 4 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 404 | 391 (97%) | 4 months |
Court Level and Sentence Length
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 and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 55% of the 2810 cases with a court level listed (1534 of 2810).
At the 1534 general courts-martial, 93% of convictions brought confinement, and the median was 1.2 years. At the 1276 special courts-martial, 83% did, and the median was 3 months. The court level is not listed for 25 cases.
Fewer Junior Enlisted Members Contested Their Charges
The plea is listed in 2783 of the 2835 records. 2178 accused pleaded guilty, and 605 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 22%, lower than the 30% for convicted NCOs.
Of the 605 contested cases, 252 ended in a partial acquittal (42%). The accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.
Cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea 85% of the time (477 of 562). Cases charging Article 128 did so 74% of the time (480 of 646). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
Where These Cases Were Tried
Camp Pendleton, California, tried 189 of these cases, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, tried 177. Fort Hood tried 122, Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 115, and Fort Bliss tried 107. These 5 installations account for 25% of the 2835 cases.
Larger installations try more cases of every kind. A high count at one installation does not by itself show more misconduct there.
Cases by Year
2021 had the most cases, with 676. The count was 593 in 2022, 526 in 2023, 540 in 2024, and 500 in 2025.
Rule Changes and What the Records Leave Out
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence. Both rules depend on the offense date, and the records give only trial dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.
All sentences here are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. The records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Convictions of junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), all services, trial dates 2021–2025 (2835), compared with convicted NCOs (E-5 to E-9, 1526).
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
- Sentences (hub)
- Are Convicted Military Officers Dismissed?
- Can a Special Court-Martial Give a Dishonorable Discharge?
- Does Every Court-Martial Conviction Bring a Punitive Discharge?
- Does Pleading Guilty at a Court-Martial Mean Confinement?
- How Often Do Army Courts-Martial End in a Partial Acquittal?
- How Often Do Contested Courts-Martial End in a Full Acquittal?
- Judge Alone or Members: How Contested Army and Air Force Cases Ended
- 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.