Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Barksdale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Louisiana
At Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 20 of the 22 court-martial convictions for wrongful drug use with a sentence recorded (91%) included confinement, and the median was 2 months. In federal court for the whole Western District of Louisiana, 4 of the 39 people sentenced for simple possession (10%) received
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In brief: At Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 20 of the 22 court-martial convictions for wrongful drug use with a sentence recorded (91%) included confinement, and the median was 2 months. In federal court for the whole Western District of Louisiana, 4 of the 39 people sentenced for simple possession (10%) received a prison term, and 35 (90%) received probation only. The federal cases come from the entire district, not from the base.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Which Cases Are on Each Side?
The federal numbers in this post are not Barksdale cases. They count everyone sentenced in the Western District of Louisiana under 21 U.S.C. 844, simple possession. Barksdale AFB is located in that district, but most of those federal defendants were not service members.
Federal law has no offense that matches Article 112a drug use exactly. Simple possession is the nearest federal charge, so it serves as the comparison. The court-martial side counts convictions for wrongful drug use where the records list the trial location as "Barksdale AFB, Louisiana", with trial dates from 2016 to 2025.
The time frames are not identical. Court-martial years follow the trial date. Federal years are fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30, and the federal facts for this district cover fiscal years 2016 to 2024.
Confinement and Discharges at Barksdale
All 22 convictions were Air Force cases. The median adjudged confinement was 2 months. A quarter of those convicted received 3.9 months or more.
Of the 19 enlisted members convicted, 6 received a punitive discharge (32%). All 6 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was a dishonorable discharge. All 3 officers convicted were dismissed.
Only 3 of the 22 convictions (14%) were at a general court-martial, the highest level of military trial court. The rest were tried at lower levels.
How the District Sentenced Simple Possession
In the Western District of Louisiana, probation only was the usual sentence. It went to 35 of the 39 people (90%), with no prison or other confinement. The other 4 received a prison term.
Those prison terms were short. Among the 4 sent to prison, the median term was 0.7 months. A quarter received 1 month or more, and a quarter received 0.4 months or less.
Fines were far more common than prison. A fine was ordered for 34 people (87%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2 (5%), with a median term of 12 months. No restitution was ordered.
| Courts-martial at Barksdale AFB | Federal court, Western District of Louisiana | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 22 | 39 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 91% | 10% |
| Median confinement or prison | 2 months | 0.7 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 3.9 months | 1 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 7 of 13 with a plea recorded (54%) | 100% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 1 of 3 with the information (1 of 3) |
Pleas on Both Sides
Every federal defendant in this group pleaded guilty: 39 of 39 (100%). None was convicted after a trial. Among those guilty pleas, 3% had a written plea agreement, and 69% were straight pleas with no agreement.
At Barksdale, a plea was recorded for 13 convictions, and 7 of them (54%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 2 months, across 7 cases with confinement. In contested cases ending in conviction, the median was 3 months, across 4 cases.
By trial period, the Barksdale median was 3.1 months for trials in 2016 to 2019 (10 cases with confinement). For trials in 2020 to 2025 it was 2 months (10 cases). These are small groups, and the records do not show why the figure changed.
Federal Fields With Very Few Cases
Several federal measures for this district rest on very few people. The position of the sentence against the guideline range was recorded for only 3, and all 3 were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of 3.
Criminal history appears for just 1 person, so the district's criminal history figures say almost nothing. Court-martial records have no criminal history field at all.
Service-Wide and Nationwide Figures
Across all courts-martial for this offense in the data, there were 1,071 convictions, with a median confinement of 3 months. The Barksdale median of 2 months was lower than that figure.
Across all federal districts, 6,268 people were sentenced for simple possession, with a median prison term of 6 months. The Western District of Louisiana median of 0.7 months was lower, but it rests on only 4 people.
Limits of These Records
Court-martial sentences are counted as adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Neither data set shows the drug involved, the facts of a case, or the reasons for a sentence. The numbers also cannot show how a Barksdale case would have been handled in the district court.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, ending in a conviction for wrongful drug use (Article 112a), compared with federal simple possession, the nearest federal charge (22). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") under a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 844 (simple possession), the nearest federal charge (39). The installation is matched to the federal district for the county where it sits.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
Drug use has no federal counterpart. Federal law does not make drug use a crime. A positive drug test is not a federal offense; a civilian can be charged only with possessing the drug. Bringing drugs onto a military installation is also a military-only offense. For these, the nearest federal charge is simple possession, and the post says that the match is not exact.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare (overview)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Beale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of California (other installations)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington (other installations)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (other installations)
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Army Drug Conviction? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 112a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Drug Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Drug (court-martial data)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis (law firm reference page)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
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.