> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Courts-Martial in Europe: How the Services Compare, 2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-europe-2016-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-30T05:30:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:30:58.000Z - Description: The records hold 443 courts-martial tried in Europe from 2016–2025, most of them Air Force cases (243), followed by the Army (165) and the Navy and Marine Corps (35). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › Europe **Short answer:** The records hold 443 courts-martial tried in Europe from 2016–2025, most of them Air Force cases (243), followed by the Army (165) and the Navy and Marine Corps (35). 47% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 34% across all courts-martial in those years, and 65 of 152 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (43%). Based on 443 cases · 2016–2025 · Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## A Higher Share of Contested Cases 331 of the 443 records list the plea. 154 accused contested at least one charge, through a not-guilty or mixed plea, and 177 pleaded guilty. The contested share, 47%, is higher than the 34% for all courts-martial in those years. The share differed by charge. Cases charging Article 134 (the general article) ended in a guilty plea 72% of the time (48 of 67), the most among the top charges. Cases charging Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) ended in a guilty plea 15% of the time (10 of 65). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges. ## Verdicts in Contested Cases Of 152 contested cases with a verdict, 65 ended with the accused acquitted of all charges (43%). The full-acquittal rate across all courts-martial in those years was 40%. 38 more cases ended in a partial acquittal (25%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. ## Cases by Service and Installation The Air Force accounts for 243 of the 443 cases, the Army for 165, and the Navy and Marine Corps for 35. Vilseck (Europe) had the most cases (82), followed by Ramstein AB, Germany (76), Kaiserslautern (Europe) (61), RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom (43), and Aviano AB, Italy (42). Those five account for 69% of the 443 cases. RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom (32), Spangdahlem AB, Germany (31), and Naples, Italy (28) follow. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem. The yearly count was 32 in 2016, 31 in 2017, 24 in 2018, 29 in 2019, 39 in 2020, 72 in 2021, 44 in 2022, 39 in 2023, 67 in 2024, and 66 in 2025. | Service | Cases | | ----------------- | ----- | | Army | 165 | | Air Force | 243 | | Navy-Marine Corps | 35 | ## Assault and Sexual Assault Charges 367 of the 443 records list the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 110 cases (30%), compared with 25% across all courts-martial in those years. Article 120 was charged in 73 cases (20%), against 15%. Article 134 appeared in 24% of cases, against 20%, and Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) in 11%, against 8%. Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged less often: 14% compared with 24%. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all courts-martial in those years | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------- | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 110 | 30% | 25% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 89 | 24% | 20% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 73 | 20% | 15% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 58 | 16% | 16% | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 53 | 14% | 24% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence, numbered since 2019 | 42 | 11% | 8% | | [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 31 | 8% | 8% | | [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements | 28 | 8% | 8% | ## Conviction Rates and Sentences by Charge Article 134 had the highest conviction rate among the top charges: 83 of 89 cases ended in a conviction on that article (93%), with a median confinement of 1.2 years. Article 120 had the lowest: 45 of 73 (62%). Those Article 120 convictions brought a median of 2.3 years. Article 128 ended in a conviction in 89 of 110 cases (81%), with a median of 6 months. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) ended in a conviction in 50 of 58 cases (86%), with a median of 5 months. The rows overlap, because one case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another. | Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it | | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | Art. 128 Assault | 110 | 89 (81%) | 6 months | | Art. 134 General article | 89 | 83 (93%) | 1.2 years | | Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 73 | 45 (62%) | 2.3 years | | Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 58 | 50 (86%) | 5 months | ## Longer Sentences More Often 339 cases ended in a conviction, and 294 of those sentences included confinement (87%). The median was 6 months, the same as across all courts-martial in those years. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.8 years or longer. 102 of the 339 convictions brought more than one year of confinement (30%), compared with 25% across all courts-martial. The band from more than 1 year to under 5 years held 77 convictions (23%), against 18%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all courts-martial in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 45 | 13% | 16% | | Under 6 months | 140 | 41% | 40% | | 6 months to 1 year | 52 | 15% | 19% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 77 | 23% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 25 | 7% | 7% | ## Court Level, Discharges, and Rank 259 of the cases were general courts-martial (58%), compared with 53% across all courts-martial in those years. 93% of their convictions brought confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. At the 176 special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year, 81% did, with a median of 3 months. The level is not listed for 8 cases. Among 316 enlisted members convicted, 199 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (63%), the same share as across all courts-martial. 82 of those were dishonorable. 23 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in the records, and 14 were dismissed. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 56% of the accused, NCOs 38%, and officers 7%. Across all courts-martial, junior enlisted members were 60%. ## Law Changes and Record Limits The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and brought in written plea agreements and judge-alone special courts-martial. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Both depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. These records cover only what reached a courtroom. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or cases with no action, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Courts-martial at installations in Europe with trial dates in 2016–2025 (443 cases), all services. Navy and Marine Corps plea and forum records are incomplete before 2021. 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 - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [120 Courts-Martial in Joint Base San Antonio, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-joint-base-san-antonio-2016-2025/) - [Courts-Martial in Hawaii: How the Services Compare, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-hawaii-2016-2025/) - [Courts-Martial in Japan and Guam: How the Services Compare, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-japan-and-guam-2016-2025/) - [What Was Tried in Alaska? Courts-Martial 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-alaska-2016-2025/) - [What Was Tried in Korea? Courts-Martial 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-korea-2016-2025/) - [What Was Tried in Washington State? Courts-Martial 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-in-washington-state-2016-2025/) - [Smaller Air Force Installations: 177 Courts-Martial Together](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/smaller-air-force-installations-courts-martial/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/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](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.