Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Peterson SFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Colorado
Of 16 Article 112a drug-use convictions at courts-martial tried at Peterson SFB, 5 (31%) were at a general court-martial, and only 1 of 10 with a plea recorded (10%) was a guilty plea. The median adjudged confinement was 3 months. In the District of Colorado, 31 people were sentenced for simple poss
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In brief: Of 16 Article 112a drug-use convictions at courts-martial tried at Peterson SFB, 5 (31%) were at a general court-martial, and only 1 of 10 with a plea recorded (10%) was a guilty plea. The median adjudged confinement was 3 months. In the District of Colorado, 31 people were sentenced for simple possession in fiscal years 2016 to 2024; 30 of them (97%) pleaded guilty, and the median prison term for those sent to prison was 4.2 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 31 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.
Officers and General Courts-Martial at Peterson SFB
The records list the trial location as "Peterson SFB, Colorado." The 16 convictions for wrongful drug use were all Air Force cases, with trial dates from 2016 to 2021.
Officers made up 3 of the 16 people convicted, and 1 of those officers was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge.
5 of the 16 convictions (31%) were at a general court-martial, the highest level of military trial court. Of the 13 enlisted members convicted, 2 (15%) received a punitive discharge, both bad-conduct discharges.
Most Peterson SFB Cases Were Contested
A plea was recorded for 10 of the convictions. Only 1 (10%) was a guilty plea. The others were contested cases, in which the accused pleaded not guilty to some or all charges and was convicted.
The median confinement in contested cases ending in conviction was 3 months, based on 7 cases with confinement. The single guilty plea with confinement also resulted in 3 months.
Guilty pleas were more common in federal court in Colorado. Of the 31 people sentenced, 30 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
Confinement and Prison Compared
Confinement was part of 14 of the 16 Peterson SFB sentences with a sentence recorded (88%). The median adjudged confinement was 3 months, and a quarter received 5.2 months or more. That median is the same as the median for all 1,071 court-martial convictions for this offense in the data.
In the District of Colorado, 10 of the 31 (32%) received a prison term, and 20 (65%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 4.2 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 1.1 months or less. The median for all federal districts was 6 months.
In Colorado, the median prison term after a guilty plea was 2 months. The 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison received 51 months.
| Courts-martial at Peterson SFB | Federal court, District of Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 16 | 31 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 88% | 32% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3 months | 4.2 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 5.2 months | 21 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 1 of 10 with a plea recorded (10%) | 97% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 2 of 30 with the information (7%) |
Different Cases, Different Counting
Peterson SFB is in the District of Colorado. The federal cases in this post are from across the whole district, not from the installation, and most did not involve service members. The records do not suggest that Peterson SFB cases would have gone to federal court.
The offenses are not the same. Article 112a covers wrongful use of a controlled substance, while 21 U.S.C. 844 covers simple possession, the nearest federal charge in the data. Court-martial confinement is the sentence adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are those imposed, not the time served.
The years also differ. The court-martial cases run from 2016 to 2021 by trial date. The federal cases run from fiscal years 2016 to 2024, each starting October 1 and ending September 30.
Federal Guidelines and Sentence Conditions
Of the 26 Colorado cases with guideline information, 85% (22) were sentenced within the recommended range. 8% (2) were below the range at the government's request, 4% (1) below it without a government request, and 4% (1) above it. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 people (7%).
A fine was ordered for 19 people (61%) and restitution for 1 (3%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 7 (23%), with a median term of 12 months. On criminal history, 54% were in category I, the lowest, and 12% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of a Small Base Count
For trials in 2016 to 2019, the median confinement at Peterson SFB was 2.3 months, based on 12 cases with confinement. For trials in 2020 to 2025, it was 7.4 months, based on just 2 cases. That later figure is too small to show a change over time.
The data has no details on the drug, the amount, or the facts of any case. It cannot show how a Peterson SFB case would have been sentenced in the District of Colorado.
How We Counted
Courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 whose recorded trial location is Peterson SFB, Colorado, ending in a conviction for wrongful drug use (Article 112a), compared with federal simple possession, the nearest federal charge (16). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") under a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 844 (simple possession), the nearest federal charge (31). 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 Colorado, 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.