Inside 15 Courts-Martial at Eielson AFB, Alaska, 2019–2022
The records hold 15 courts-martial at Eielson AFB, Alaska from 2019 to 2022. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 36% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 21% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the service.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Eielson AFB, Alaska › 2019–2022
Short answer: The records hold 15 courts-martial at Eielson AFB, Alaska from 2019 to 2022. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 36% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 21% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the service.
Charges More Common at Eielson
14 of the 15 records list charges. Article 112a (drug use or possession) was the most common, in 8 cases (57%), compared with 43% across the Air Force. Article 134, the general article, appears in 5 cases (36%), compared with 21%.
Article 86 (AWOL) appears in 3 cases (21%), compared with 5% service-wide. Article 80 (attempts) appears in 2 (14%), compared with 1%. Each article counts once per case, and one case can fall under several articles.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appears in 2 cases (14%), close to the 16% Air Force share. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct), Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), and Article 123 (forgery before 2019, computer misuse since) each appear in 1 case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 8 | 57% | 43% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 36% | 21% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 21% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 14% | 16% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 14% | 1% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 1 | 7% | 3% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 7% | 7% |
| Art. 123 Forgery before 2019, computer misuse since | 1 | 7% | 0% |
Confinement in Nearly Every Conviction
14 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 13 of those sentences included confinement (93%). The median was 3 months, shorter than the 4 months in the Air Force as a whole, and a quarter of the terms were 11 months or longer.
The terms are adjudged sentences, recorded before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A single term covers all the charges in its case.
Few Full Acquittals
1 of the 15 cases ended in a full acquittal (7%). Across the Air Force, the rate was 23%. Because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 seldom list guilty pleas, the rate is measured against all cases, not only contested ones.
Punitive Discharges
57% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. The Air Force rate was 56%, about the same. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation.
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided 11 cases. Enlisted panels and officer panels each decided 2. Members heard 27% of the cases, lower than the 37% across the Air Force.
12 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 3 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and none were officers. That mix is more junior than the Air Force as a whole, where 64% were junior enlisted. 8 of the 15 cases were general courts-martial (53%), about the same as the 52% for the rest of the Air Force.
Eielson Beside Barksdale and Hill
Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and Hill AFB, Utah each tried 20 cases in the same years. Median confinement was 2 months at Barksdale and 8 months at Hill. The punitive discharge rate for enlisted convictions was 53% at Barksdale and 84% at Hill.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eielson AFB, Alaska | 15 | 2 of 6 | 0 of 2 | 3 months | 57% |
| Barksdale AFB, Louisiana | 20 | 47% | 4 of 8 | 2 months | 53% |
| Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | 43% | 0 of 6 | 8 months | 84% |
Years Covered and What Is Missing
The trials ran from January 2019 to September 2022: 6 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 1 in 2021, and 3 in 2022. They are 1% of the 1,136 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Eielson AFB, Alaska with a trial date in 2019–2022 (15 cases), compared with all 1,136 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
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Dyess AFB, Texas Courts-Martial, 2019–2022: What 36 Cases Show (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
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 29 Cases Show
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 35 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Eielson AFB, Alaska, 2019–2022
- Elijah F. Brown
- Colin P. Eichenberger
- Brett A. Landry
- Brian C. Mason
- Dayle P. Percle
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Rebecca E. Schmidt
- Christopher M. Schumann
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.