Drug Use: Courts-Martial at F.E. Warren AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Wyoming
Courts-martial at F.E. Warren AFB produced 11 convictions for wrongful drug use under Article 112a, and the median adjudged confinement was 3 months. In the federal District of Wyoming, 17 people were sentenced for simple possession under 21 U.S.C. 844, and the median prison term for those sent to p
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In brief: Courts-martial at F.E. Warren AFB produced 11 convictions for wrongful drug use under Article 112a, and the median adjudged confinement was 3 months. In the federal District of Wyoming, 17 people were sentenced for simple possession under 21 U.S.C. 844, and the median prison term for those sent to prison was also 3 months. The base convicted service members more often sent them to confinement: 82% compared with 53% in the district.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Equal Medians, Unequal Confinement Rates
Of the 11 Air Force convictions at F.E. Warren AFB with a sentence recorded, 9 (82%) included confinement. In the District of Wyoming, 9 of the 17 people sentenced (53%) received a prison term. The other 8 (47%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those who were confined or imprisoned, the middle value was 3 months on both sides. The upper end differed. A quarter of the F.E. Warren convictions carried 4.9 months or more, while a quarter of the Wyoming prison terms were 6 months or more. A quarter of Wyoming prison terms were 1.5 months or less.
Court-martial sentences in these records are as adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are the terms the judge imposed, not the time actually served.
| Courts-martial at F.E. Warren AFB | Federal court, District of Wyoming | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 11 | 17 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 82% | 53% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3 months | 3 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 4.9 months | 6 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 3 of 7 with a plea recorded (3 of 7) | 100% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 1 of 16 with the information (6%) |
Which Federal Cases Are Counted
F.E. Warren AFB sits in the federal District of Wyoming, and the installation was matched to that district by county. The 17 federal sentences come from the entire district. None of them is a case from the base, and most did not involve service members.
The court-martial side counts trials where the records list the trial location as "FE Warren AFB, Wyoming", with trial dates from 2016 to 2023. The federal side covers fiscal years 2016 to 2024. A federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, while the court-martial years follow the trial date.
Simple possession is the nearest federal charge to wrongful drug use. These offenses are not written the same way, so the comparison is between related charges, not identical ones.
How Cases Were Resolved
Every person sentenced in Wyoming federal court for this charge pleaded guilty: 17 of 17 (100%). None was convicted after a trial. Among those guilty pleas, 41% had a written plea agreement and 35% were straight pleas with no agreement.
At F.E. Warren, only 7 convictions had a plea recorded, and 3 of those 7 were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 2.5 months, based on 3 cases with confinement. For contested cases ending in conviction, it was 6.5 months, based on 2 cases. Counts this small can change a great deal with a single case.
Discharges and General Courts-Martial
All 11 people convicted at the base were enlisted members. 3 of them (27%) received a punitive discharge, and all 3 were bad-conduct discharges. There were 0 dishonorable discharges.
3 of the 11 convictions (27%) took place at a general court-martial. The rest were at lower levels of court-martial. Federal court has no equivalent to a punitive discharge.
The Wyoming Sentences in More Detail
Of the 17 Wyoming sentences, 15 (88%) were within the guideline range. 1 (6%) was below the range without a government request, and 1 (6%) was above it. None was below the range at the government's request.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person (6%). A fine was ordered for 12 (71%), and restitution for 1 (6%). 3 people (18%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 24 months.
For criminal history, 40% were in the lowest category, category I, and 13% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.
Earlier Trials, Later Trials, and Wider Totals
F.E. Warren trials from 2016 to 2019 had a median confinement of 4.4 months across 6 cases with confinement. Trials from 2020 to 2025 had a median of 2.5 months across 3 cases. These are very small groups and do not show a trend.
Across all courts-martial for this offense in the data, there were 1,071 convictions with a median confinement of 3 months, the same median as at F.E. Warren. Across all federal districts, 6,268 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 6 months, higher than the Wyoming median.
What These Records Leave Out
The records do not show the drug involved, how much, or the facts behind any case. They cannot show how a base case would have been handled in federal court, or the reverse. With 11 and 17 cases, a few sentences shape every figure in this post.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, ending in a conviction for wrongful drug use (Article 112a), compared with federal simple possession, the nearest federal charge (11). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the District of Wyoming (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wyoming") under a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 844 (simple possession), the nearest federal charge (17). 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 Wyoming, 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.