What Changed at Dyess AFB, Texas After 2019? 21 Cases vs. 36
Dyess AFB, Texas tried 36 courts-martial from 2019–2022. Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged in 78% of cases with charges listed, compared with 43% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months in both 2016–2018 and 2019–2022.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Dyess AFB, Texas › Before and after 2019
Short answer: Dyess AFB, Texas tried 36 courts-martial from 2019–2022. Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged in 78% of cases with charges listed, compared with 43% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months in both 2016–2018 and 2019–2022. 42% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% across the Air Force.
Most Cases Charged Drug Offenses
Charge lists exist for 27 of the 36 cases, and 21 of those charged Article 112a, the wrongful use or possession of controlled substances. That 78% share compares with 43% in all Air Force cases in the same years. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was also charged more often than across the Air Force: 22% compared with 16%.
Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 86 (AWOL) were each charged in 4 cases, 15%, compared with 6% and 5% across the Air Force. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 15%, lower than the 20% service-wide. Each article is counted once per case, so a case with several charges is counted in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 21 | 78% | 43% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 22% | 16% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 15% | 20% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 15% | 6% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 4 | 15% | 5% |
| Art. 112 Drunk on duty before 2019, drunkenness on duty since | 2 | 7% | 0% |
| Art. 83 Fraudulent enlistment before 2019, malingering since | 2 | 7% | 0% |
| Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since | 1 | 4% | 4% |
Little Change From 2016–2018
The earlier period had 21 cases over 3 years, about 7 a year. The 2019–2022 period had about 9 a year. Most sentencing figures were about the same. The median confinement was 3 months in both periods. Convictions with confinement went from 88% to 89%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 41% to 42%. General courts-martial rose slightly, from 24% of cases to 28%.
No contested share is available for the earlier years, because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. With so few cases, a few cases can change a percentage, so these comparisons show direction only.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 21 | 36 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 43% |
| Convictions with confinement | 88% | 89% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 41% | 42% |
| General courts-martial | 24% | 28% |
Short Confinement Terms
Of 27 convictions, 24 included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 3 months, slightly shorter than the 4 months across the Air Force. A quarter of terms were 4 months or longer. Terms under 6 months were part of 20 convictions, or 74%, compared with 50% across the Air Force.
Only 1 of 27 convictions (4%) included more than one year, compared with 23% across the service. 0 were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in its case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 11% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 20 | 74% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 11% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 1 | 4% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 7% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. For an officer, the equivalent is a dismissal. Of 26 convicted enlisted members at Dyess, 11 received one (42%). That was less often than the 56% across the Air Force. 1 of those was dishonorable.
The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and 0 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation.
Pleas and Verdicts
Pleas are recorded for 23 of the 36 cases: 13 guilty pleas and 10 contested cases. A case is contested when the accused enters a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share of 43% was lower than the 49% for the Air Force as a whole.
Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal. That 60% rate compares with 50% elsewhere in the Air Force. 1 more ended in a partial acquittal. Air Force results record one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Military Judge or Panel?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. At Dyess, a judge alone heard 22 cases, an enlisted panel heard 8, and an officer panel heard 6. Members heard 39% of cases, about the same as the 37% across the Air Force.
In contested cases, members heard 7 of 10 (70%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum figures are consistent with the number of contested cases.
Mostly Special Courts-Martial, Mostly Junior Airmen
A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Dyess held 26 special and 10 general courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 28%, compared with 52% across the Air Force. In general courts-martial, 5 of 5 convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months. In special courts-martial, 86% did, with a median of 3 months.
The accused were 32 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more junior than all Air Force cases.
Compared With Ramstein and Nellis
Ramstein AB, Germany (35 cases) and Nellis AFB, Nevada (41 cases) tried a similar number of cases in these years. Dyess had the shortest median confinement of the 3 bases, 3 months, compared with 4 months and 6 months. Its punitive discharge rate of 42% was higher than Ramstein's 38% and lower than Nellis's 73%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyess AFB, Texas | 36 | 43% | 6 of 10 | 3 months | 42% |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 35 | 61% | 8 of 17 | 4 months | 38% |
| Nellis AFB, Nevada | 41 | 42% | 5 of 11 | 6 months | 73% |
Cases by Year and Limits of the Data
Between January 2019 and December 2022, the records show 11 cases in 2019, 10 in 2020, 10 in 2021, and 5 in 2022. Only trial dates are recorded, not offense dates. Air Force records seldom list charges when a case ends in a full acquittal and never report plea agreements. The records do not cover nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or the evidence.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Dyess AFB, Texas in 2016–2018 (21) and 2019–2022 (36).
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
- Dyess AFB, Texas: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Dyess AFB, Texas Courts-Martial, 2019–2022: What 36 Cases Show
- Dyess AFB, Texas Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 21 Cases Show
- Did Drug Cases at Dyess AFB, Texas Change After 2019?
- Article 112a Cases at Dyess AFB, Texas, 2019–2022: 21 Courts-Martial
- Andersen AFB, Guam Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Dyess AFB, Texas, 2019–2022
- Christopher A. Brown
- Jefferson B. Brown
- Eric J. Cadotte
- Elizabeth M. Hernandez
- Christopher D. James
- Shad R. Kidd
- Brett A. Landry
- Sterling C. Pendleton
- Julie L. Pitvorec
- Jennifer J. Raab
- Matthew D. Talcott
- Charles G. Warren
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.