Comparing Dyess AFB, Texas and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii: Air Force Courts-Martial, 2019–2023
Dyess AFB, Texas had 36 Air Force courts-martial in the 2019–2023 records, and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii had 34.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Dyess AFB, Texas › vs. JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Short answer: Dyess AFB, Texas had 36 Air Force courts-martial in the 2019–2023 records, and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii had 34. Article 112a (drug offenses) was charged in 78% of Dyess cases, against 62% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and 42% of convicted enlisted members at Dyess received a punitive discharge, against 64%.
Drug Cases Made Up Most of the Charges
27 of the 36 Dyess records list the charges. Each article counts once per case, so a case with two articles counts under both.
Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 78% of Dyess cases, compared with 62% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was next, at 22% against 23%.
Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 86 (AWOL) each appeared in 15% of Dyess cases, against 8% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 15% against 23%. Article 112 (drunk on duty before 2019, drunkenness on duty since) appeared in 7% of Dyess cases and 0% of JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam cases. Article 83 (fraudulent enlistment before 2019, malingering since) also appeared in 7% and 0%. Article 113 (misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since) appeared in 4% of Dyess cases and 12% of JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam cases. Each of these article numbers covered a different offense before 2019 than it does since.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 21 | 78% | 62% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 22% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 15% | 23% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 15% | 8% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 4 | 15% | 8% |
| 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% | 12% |
Punitive Discharges Were Less Common at Dyess
11 of 26 convicted enlisted members at Dyess received a punitive discharge: 10 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. At JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the share was 64%.
1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in the Dyess records, and none was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Most Sentences Were Under 6 Months
Dyess had 27 convictions, and 24 carried confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, about the same as the 4 months at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
74% of Dyess convictions carried confinement under 6 months, against 54% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Only 1 of 27 Dyess convictions carried more than one year (4%), compared with 15% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 11% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 20 | 74% | 54% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 11% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 1 | 4% | 12% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 4% |
Contested Cases and Acquittals
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. 23 of the 36 Dyess records list the plea: 13 guilty pleas and 10 contested cases. The contested share was 43%, against 39% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
6 of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict at Dyess ended in a full acquittal (60%). At JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the rate was 45%, or 5 of 11. Another 1 Dyess case was a partial acquittal. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal shows only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Both groups of contested cases are small, so a single verdict moves these rates by several points.
Members Heard Most Contested Cases
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. At Dyess, a military judge alone decided 22 cases, enlisted panels decided 8, and officer panels decided 6.
Members heard 39% of Dyess cases, against 29% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Among contested cases, members heard 7 of 10 (70%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split mostly follows how many cases were contested.
Court Level and Rank
10 of the 36 Dyess cases were general courts-martial (28%), against 47% at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
The general courts-martial at Dyess produced a median confinement of 8 months. The 26 special courts-martial produced a median of 3 months.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 89% of the accused at Dyess, NCOs 8%, and officers 3%. At JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, junior enlisted members were 62%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyess AFB, Texas | 36 | 43% | 6 of 10 | 3 months | 42% |
| JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii | 34 | 39% | 5 of 11 | 4 months | 64% |
No Dyess Cases in 2023
The Dyess records run from January 2019 to December 2022. By year: 2019: 11, 2020: 10, 2021: 10, 2022: 5, 2023: 0. The 2023 column is empty in this data.
What the Records Leave Out
The records show only cases that reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases with no action are not included, and the records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
Air Force records rarely list charges in cases that ended in a full acquittal and never report plea agreements. That is one reason some Dyess records have no charge list.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Dyess AFB, Texas (36) and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (34) with trial dates in 2019–2023. Each figure for Dyess AFB, Texas is set beside the same figure for JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
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)
- JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Comparing Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and Holloman AFB, New Mexico: Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2018
- JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey and Ramstein AB, Germany, 2019–2023: How Their Courts-Martial Compare
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- Camp Humphreys and Fort Riley, 2024–2026: How Their Courts-Martial Compare
- Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia, 2024–2026: How Their Courts-Martial Compare
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Dyess AFB, Texas, 2019–2023
- 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.