> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-2-exportation-of-arms-munitions-or-military-equipment-fy2025/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:00.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term under §2M5.2 was 24 months, the same as the 24-month median for everyone sentenced in federal court that year. 158 of the 169 people sentenced under this guideline (93%) went to prison. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-2-exportation-of-arms-munitions-or-military-equipment/) › §2M5.2: FY2025 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term under §2M5.2 was 24 months, the same as the 24-month median for everyone sentenced in federal court that year. 158 of the 169 people sentenced under this guideline (93%) went to prison. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 169 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## A Median Prison Term Equal to the Federal Median In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 169 people whose primary guideline was §2M5.2\. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 24 months (2 years). For all 66,662 people sentenced in federal court that year under every guideline, the median prison term was also 24 months. The medians are the same, although the groups contain very different offenses. A quarter of the §2M5.2 group received 37 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served. ## How Many Went to Prison 158 of the 169 people (93%) received a prison term. 11 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 90% of the 1,391 people sentenced under the guideline went to prison, and the median prison term was 27 months. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. ## Sentences Within and Below the Guideline Range 55 people (33%) were sentenced within the range. 50 people (30%) were below the range at the government's request, and 61 people (36%) were below the range without a government request. 3 people (2%) were above it. In all federal cases that year, 51% of sentences were within the range. Within-range sentences were less common under §2M5.2\. Across all years of the guideline the within-range share was 32%. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials 167 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 65 months after a trial. The trial median rests on 2 people and should not be read as typical. 77% of those who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement, and 23% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Other Parts of the Sentences No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 169 people. 133 people (79%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 10 people (6%), and restitution for 1 (less than 1%). 89% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. ## The Guideline and the Previous Year The Guidelines Manual titles §2M5.2 "Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License." The Commission classifies the cases as National Defense. In fiscal year 2024, there were 178 people under this guideline, a median prison term of 24 months, and 30% within the range. The 2025 numbers are about the same on the median and higher on within-range sentences. The table lists all years. Counts of this size are small, and a comparison with 1 earlier year does not make a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 100 | 32 months | 99% | | 2017 | 108 | 27 months | 96% | | 2018 | 131 | 30 months | 95% | | 2019 | 141 | 24 months | 99% | | 2020 | 119 | 28 months | 98% | | 2021 | 159 | 30 months | more than 99% | | 2022 | 118 | 25 months | 96% | | 2023 | 168 | 28 months | 99% | | 2024 | 178 | 24 months | more than 99% | | 2025 | 169 | 24 months | 99% | ## Limits of the Records Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data, which covers only people convicted and sentenced. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2M5.2 (169), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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 **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. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **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. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-2-exportation-of-arms-munitions-or-military-equipment/) (overview) - [§2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-2-exportation-of-arms-munitions-or-military-equipment-fy2024/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.