Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Davis-Monthan AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Arizona
The federal side of this comparison is large: 3,028 people were sentenced for simple possession in the District of Arizona, and 2,951 of them (97%) received a prison term, with a median of 6 months. Courts-martial at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona produced 39 convictions for wrongful drug use; 31 (79%)
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In brief: The federal side of this comparison is large: 3,028 people were sentenced for simple possession in the District of Arizona, and 2,951 of them (97%) received a prison term, with a median of 6 months. Courts-martial at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona produced 39 convictions for wrongful drug use; 31 (79%) included confinement, and the median was 3 months. The federal cases come from the whole district, not the base, and most did not involve service members.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,028 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.
What Each Count Includes
Davis-Monthan AFB is located in the District of Arizona. The federal numbers count every person sentenced in that district under 21 U.S.C. 844, simple possession, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. They are not the base's cases.
Simple possession is used as the nearest federal charge to wrongful drug use under Article 112a. The court-martial numbers count convictions where the records list the trial location as "Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona", with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. All 39 were Air Force cases.
The years are counted differently. A federal fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. Court-martial years follow the trial date.
Prison Terms in the District of Arizona
Almost everyone in the federal group received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 75 people (2%).
The prison terms were tightly grouped. The median was 6 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 5.9 months or less.
The District of Arizona accounts for 3,028 of the 6,268 people sentenced for simple possession across all federal districts in the data. The all-district median prison term was also 6 months.
| Courts-martial at Davis-Monthan AFB | Federal court, District of Arizona | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 39 | 3,028 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 79% | 97% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3 months | 6 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 4 months | 6 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 4 of 26 with a plea recorded (15%) | more than 99% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 1 of 3,023 with the information (less than 1%) |
Guideline Range and Plea Agreements in Arizona
The position of the sentence against the guideline range was recorded for 2,704 people. Within the range were 88% (2,367). Above the range were 12% (328). Below the range at the government's request were less than 1% (8), and below it without a government request were less than 1% (1).
Guilty pleas were close to universal: 3,027 of 3,028 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. More than 99% of those guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
Other sentence terms were rare. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 43 people (1%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 40 (1%) and restitution for 7 (less than 1%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person. In this group, 99% were in criminal history category I, the lowest.
Sentences at Davis-Monthan
Of the 39 convictions with a sentence recorded, 31 (79%) included confinement. The median adjudged confinement was 3 months, and a quarter received 4 months or more.
All 39 people convicted were enlisted members. Of them, 12 received a punitive discharge (31%): 2 dishonorable discharges and 10 bad-conduct discharges. 4 of the 39 convictions (10%) were at a general court-martial.
For trials in 2016 to 2019, the median confinement was 3 months, across 24 cases with confinement. For trials in 2020 to 2025, it was 3.9 months, across 7 cases.
Contested Cases Were Common at the Base
A plea was recorded for 26 Davis-Monthan convictions. Only 4 of those (15%) were guilty pleas. The rest were contested cases that ended in conviction.
The median confinement after a guilty plea was 2.6 months (4 cases with confinement). In contested cases ending in conviction, it was 3.9 months (15 cases). This is the reverse of the federal group, where nearly everyone pleaded guilty.
Broader Court-Martial Figures
All courts-martial for this offense in the data produced 1,071 convictions, with a median confinement of 3 months. That is the same as the Davis-Monthan median. Court-martial records do not track criminal history, so the 2 sides cannot be compared on prior records.
What the Records Do Not Show
Court-martial sentences are as adjudged, before clemency or appeal. Federal terms are as imposed, not as served. The records do not describe the drug, the amount, or the circumstances of any case, and they do not explain why the district's sentences were grouped so closely. They cannot show how a Davis-Monthan case would have been sentenced in federal court.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, ending in a conviction for wrongful drug use (Article 112a), compared with federal simple possession, the nearest federal charge (39). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the District of Arizona (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arizona") under a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 844 (simple possession), the nearest federal charge (3,028). 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 District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (the federal district)
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Barksdale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Louisiana (other installations)
- 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.