Fairchild AFB, Washington Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 18 Cases Show
Fairchild AFB, Washington had 18 courts-martial in the records from 2019 to 2023. Article 112a (drug use or possession) was charged in 67% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fairchild AFB, Washington › 2019–2023
Short answer: Fairchild AFB, Washington had 18 courts-martial in the records from 2019 to 2023. Article 112a (drug use or possession) was charged in 67% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force. 81% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% for the service.
Drug and Orders Charges
The charge lists cover 15 of the 18 cases. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appears in 10 (67%), compared with 41% across the Air Force. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appears in 5 (33%), compared with 16%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appears in 3 cases (20%), and Article 131b (obstructing justice) in 2 (13%). The Air Force shares were 11% and 3%. Article 134, Article 128, Article 107, and Article 86 each appear in 1 case. A case with several articles is counted under each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 67% | 41% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 33% | 16% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 20% | 11% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 2 | 13% | 3% |
| Art. 134 General article | 1 | 7% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 1 | 7% | 19% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 7% | 6% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 1 | 7% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges Were More Common
81% of convicted enlisted members at Fairchild received a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across all Air Force cases in those years, the rate was 56%.
These discharges are part of the court's sentence. Members whose sentence has no punitive discharge may still be separated administratively, and that step does not appear in these records.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
15 of the 18 records list a plea. 11 accused pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge, a contested share of 27%. Across the Air Force, the contested share was 50%.
1 of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Counting all 18 cases, 2 ended in a full acquittal (11%), compared with 24% for the Air Force. The Air Force rate uses all cases because records from 2016 to 2019 seldom list guilty pleas.
Confinement Matched the Air Force Median
Of 16 convictions, 15 included confinement. The median was 4 months, the same as across the Air Force, and a quarter of the terms were 1.3 years or longer. The terms are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all the charges in its case.
Panels, Rank, and Court Level
Members decided 29% of the cases with a forum listed: 3 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 12.
By rank, the accused were 15 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and no officers. That group is more junior than the rest of the Air Force. 6 of the 18 cases were general courts-martial (33%). The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Fairchild, Mildenhall, and the Academy
RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom and USAF Academy, Colorado each tried 20 cases in these years. Mildenhall had a median confinement of 8 months, and the Academy had 4 months. Their contested shares were 50% and 75%, both higher than the 27% at Fairchild. Their punitive discharge rates were 73% and 7%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairchild AFB, Washington | 18 | 27% | 1 of 4 | 4 months | 81% |
| RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom | 20 | 50% | 1 of 7 | 8 months | 73% |
| USAF Academy, Colorado | 20 | 75% | 3 of 9 | 4 months | 7% |
Years and Record Limits
The trials ran from March 2019 to October 2023: 3 in 2019, 7 in 2020, 3 in 2021, 4 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. They are 1% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation, and Air Force records do not 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 Fairchild AFB, Washington with a trial date in 2019–2023 (18 cases), compared with all 1,361 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
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- By Installation (hub)
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- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fairchild AFB, Washington, 2019–2023
- William J. Annexstad
- Adam D. Bentz
- Colin P. Eichenberger
- Christina M. Jimenez
- Brett A. Landry
- Richard D. Mink
- Sterling C. Pendleton
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Christopher M. Schumann
- Matthew P. Stoffel
- 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.