What Was Tried at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2024–2026? 10 Courts-Martial
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona tried 10 courts-martial from October 2024 through June 2026. The median confinement was 50 days, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Air Force. A punitive discharge followed 40% of enlisted convictions, compared with 62% Air Force-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona › 2024–2026
Short answer: Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona tried 10 courts-martial from October 2024 through June 2026. The median confinement was 50 days, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Air Force. A punitive discharge followed 40% of enlisted convictions, compared with 62% Air Force-wide.
A Median of 50 Days
All 10 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 9 of those sentences included confinement (90%). The median term was 50 days, shorter than the 6 months median in the rest of the Air Force.
A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Changes Since 2019–2023
Davis-Monthan tried 29 cases in 2019–2023, about 6 a year. Since then it has tried about 3 a year (full years only). The median confinement went from 6 months to 50 days, and the enlisted punitive discharge share went from 59% to 40%.
The contested share was 56% in 2019–2023. In 2024–2026, 1 of 7 cases with a plea recorded was contested. General courts-martial went from 52% to 30% of cases. With 10 cases, a single result can move these figures, so they show direction, not precision.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 29 | 10 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 56% | 1 of 7 |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 5 of 9 | 0 of 1 |
| Convictions with confinement | 86% | 90% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 50 days |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 59% | 40% |
| General courts-martial | 52% | 30% |
Punitive Discharges
Among 10 enlisted members convicted, 4 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (40%), less often than the 62% Air Force-wide. 2 of the 4 were dishonorable. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Charges Across 10 Cases
Every record lists the charges. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 3 cases (30%). Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle) appeared in 2 (20%), compared with 5% Air Force-wide. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) also appeared in 2.
Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer), Article 121 (larceny), and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 1 case. A case with several articles counts under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 30% | 20% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 30% | 24% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 20% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 10% | 15% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 1 | 10% | 3% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 1 | 10% | 8% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 1 | 10% | 13% |
Judge-Alone Trials in 9 of 10 Cases
A military judge alone decided 9 cases, and an enlisted panel heard 1. Members heard 10% of the cases, compared with 28% across the Air Force.
Special Courts-Martial Were More Common
General courts-martial heard 3 of the 10 cases (30%), compared with 56% in the rest of the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
The accused were 6 junior enlisted members and 4 NCOs. The group is similar to the rest of the Air Force.
Ramstein and McConnell for Comparison
Ramstein AB, Germany (20 cases) and McConnell AFB, Kansas (21 cases) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Median confinement was 9 months at Ramstein and 3 months at McConnell, both longer than at Davis-Monthan. The enlisted punitive discharge share was 65% at Ramstein and 44% at McConnell.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona | 10 | 1 of 7 | 0 of 1 | 50 days | 40% |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% |
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% |
Timing and the 2023 Rules
There was 1 trial in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 4 so far in 2026. The 10 cases were 2% of the 598 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
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 within new sentencing parameters. Both rules turn on the offense date, which the records do not give.
What the Records Leave Out
The evidence, the plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial are not in the records. 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 Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona with a trial date in 2024–2026 (10 cases), compared with all 598 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
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 35 Cases (another period)
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 29 Cases Show (another period)
- What Was Tried at FE Warren AFB, Wyoming, 2024–2026? 10 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Hurlburt Field, Florida, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 10 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2024–2026
- Nathan Rick Allred
- Tiny L. Bowman
- Wesley A. Braun
- Ryan Daniel Brunson
- Nathan D. Royer
- Lauren MD Torczynski
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.