What Changed at Eglin AFB, Florida After 2024? 16 Cases vs. 17
Article 112a (drug) charges appeared in 65% of the 17 courts-martial at Eglin AFB, Florida in 2024–2026, compared with 20% across the Air Force. More cases were contested than Air Force-wide, 55% compared with 43%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Eglin AFB, Florida › Before and after 2024
Short answer: Article 112a (drug) charges appeared in 65% of the 17 courts-martial at Eglin AFB, Florida in 2024–2026, compared with 20% across the Air Force. More cases were contested than Air Force-wide, 55% compared with 43%. The median confinement was 2 months, down from 8 months at Eglin in 2019–2023.
Drug Charges in 11 of 17 Cases
All 17 Eglin records from 2024 to 2026 list the charges. Article 112a, covering wrongful use and possession of controlled substances, appeared in 11 of them (65%). The share for the Air Force as a whole was 20%.
Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 2 cases (12%). Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 86 (AWOL), Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), Article 131b (obstructing justice), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer), and Article 104a (fraudulent enlistment) each appeared in 1 case (6%). The domestic violence and sexual assault shares were lower than the Air Force shares of 15% and 13%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 11 | 65% | 20% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 12% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 6% | 15% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 1 | 6% | 3% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 6% | 13% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 6% | 3% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 1 | 6% | 3% |
| Art. 104a Fraudulent enlistment | 1 | 6% | 1% |
More Contested Cases Than Air Force-Wide
Pleas are recorded for 11 of the 17 cases. Of those, 5 were guilty pleas and 6 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 55% was higher than the 43% for all Air Force cases. In 2019–2023, only 1 of 9 recorded pleas at Eglin was contested.
Contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal 3 of 6 times. A full acquittal means a finding of not guilty on every charge.
A Median of 2 Months in Confinement
There were 10 convictions, and 9 of the sentences included confinement (90%). In 2019–2023 the share was 93%. The median term was 2 months, lower than the 8 months at Eglin in the earlier period and lower than the 6 months across the Air Force. A quarter of the terms were 6 months or longer.
Sentence figures are adjudged at trial. They do not reflect a plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each sentence covers the full set of charges in its case.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 16 | 17 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 1 of 9 | 55% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 0 of 1 | 3 of 6 |
| Convictions with confinement | 93% | 90% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 2 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 2 of 8 |
| General courts-martial | 50% | 24% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 8 convicted enlisted members, 2 received a punitive discharge. In 2019–2023, 71% of convicted enlisted members at Eglin received one. A punitive discharge means a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Even without one, a member can still face administrative separation.
A Senior Group and Mostly Special Courts-Martial
By rank, the accused were 8 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 2 officers. That group was more senior than the Air Force as a whole.
General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, heard 4 of the 17 cases (24%). In 2019–2023 the general court-martial share at Eglin was 50%. Special courts-martial heard the rest of the 2024–2026 cases.
Panels in 6 Cases
A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of 17 cases (65%). Members decided the other 6: 5 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. The choice between a judge alone and a panel usually belongs to the accused.
More Cases per Year
The records show 7 cases in 2024, 4 in 2025, and 6 in 2026 through August, a partial year. Eglin had 16 cases over 2019–2023. Measured over full years, the pace went from about 3 cases a year to about 6. A shift of a few cases can change these small-group percentages a great deal, so the changes show direction only.
Ramstein AB, Germany (20 cases) and McConnell AFB, Kansas (21 cases) had similar counts in these years. Ramstein had a 59% contested share and a 9 months median confinement. McConnell had a 21% contested share and a 3 months median. Punitive discharges went to 65% of convicted enlisted members at Ramstein and 44% at McConnell.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eglin AFB, Florida | 17 | 55% | 3 of 6 | 2 months | 2 of 8 |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% |
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% |
Law Changes That Overlap These Trials
Special trial counsel have decided since December 28, 2023 whether to prosecute covered offenses, which include sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Commanders made that decision before. Sentencing also changed: if all guilty findings in a case are for offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sentences within new sentencing parameters.
Each rule depends on when the offense happened. The records show only when the trial happened. Some of these trials fall under the older rules and some under the newer ones, and the records cannot sort them.
Outside These Records
Only cases that reached a court-martial are counted. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases with no action are absent, as are the evidence and the plea terms. 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 tried at Eglin AFB, Florida in 2019–2023 (16) and 2024–2026 (17).
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
- Eglin AFB, Florida: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Eglin AFB, Florida Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 17 Cases Show
- What Was Tried at Eglin AFB, Florida, 2019–2023? 16 Courts-Martial
- Eglin AFB, Florida Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 12 Cases Show
- What Changed at Eglin AFB, Florida After 2019? 12 Cases vs. 16
- 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 Eglin AFB, Florida, 2024–2026
- Tiny L. Bowman
- Wesley A. Braun
- Ryan Daniel Brunson
- Elizabeth M. Hernandez
- Tyler B. Musselman
- Michael A. Schrama
- Matthew P. Stoffel
- Charles E. Wiedie Jr.
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.