Article 112a Cases at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018: 25 Courts-Martial

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Based on 25 cases · 2016–2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most of the Base's Cases Were Drug Cases

Of the 35 courts-martial held at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona in 2016–2018, 25 charged Article 112a. Article 112a covers wrongful use, possession, and distribution of controlled substances. These cases were 71% of the base's courts-martial in those years.

The cases were tried from June 2016 to November 2018: 6 in 2016, 9 in 2017, and 10 in 2018. With 25 cases in total, a single outcome can change the percentages below noticeably.

Few Punitive Discharges

The largest difference from the rest of the Air Force is in punitive discharges. Of 25 convicted enlisted members, 4 received a punitive discharge: 3 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. That 16% share compares with 45% in all Air Force Article 112a cases.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. It is the most severe way a court-martial can end military service. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Almost All Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Only 1 of the 25 cases was a general court-martial (4%), compared with 16% in all Air Force Article 112a cases in 2016–2018. The rest were special courts-martial.

Court level sets the maximum sentence. 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 can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Short Confinement Terms

All 25 cases in the count ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so a drug case that ended in acquittal may not appear in this count. Of the 25 convictions, 19 included confinement (76%). The median confinement was 3 months, the same as the 3-month median for the Air Force as a whole. A quarter of the sentences were 4 months or longer.

24% of convictions here included no confinement, compared with 15% across the Air Force. Terms under 6 months made up 72%. 0 convictions included a term from 6 months to 1 year, compared with 14% across the Air Force. Sentences longer than one year were about as common as elsewhere: 1 of 25 convictions (4%), compared with 5%.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Officer Panels Heard Most Cases

Panels of members, not a military judge alone, decided most of these cases. Officer panels heard 14, enlisted panels heard 2, and a judge alone heard 9. Members heard 64% of cases, compared with 34% in all Air Force Article 112a cases in 2016–2018.

The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. The records do not show why each accused made that choice. Air Force records from these years rarely list the plea, so the forum figures are not a count of contested trials.

Drug Charges Were Often the Only Charge

In 19 of the 25 cases, Article 112a was the only article charged. Across the Air Force, 279 of 381 Article 112a cases charged the drug article alone. The other cases at Davis-Monthan added Article 134 (the general article) in 3, Article 92 (orders violation) in 2, Article 111 (drunken or reckless driving) in 1, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 1.

Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted

The accused were 21 junior enlisted airmen (E-1 to E-4), 4 NCOs, and 0 officers. The group was more junior than the rest of the Air Force. According to the records, no officer faced a drug court-martial at this base in these years.

Before the 2019 Rule Changes

Every case here was tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 stayed under the old rules.

Gaps in the Air Force Records

Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements. From 2016 to 2019 they rarely list a guilty plea. For those reasons this post gives no acquittal rate and no contested share. The records also give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include the evidence or drug cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025

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.