> ## 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. # 36 Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Bliss, 2021–2023: What the Records Show - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-article-128-2021-2023/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:50:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:46.000Z - Description: Fort Bliss tried 36 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2021–2023. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in assault cases across the Army. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Fort Bliss, Article 128, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Fort Bliss](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-bliss/) › Article 128, 2021–2023 **Short answer:** Fort Bliss tried 36 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2021–2023\. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in assault cases across the Army. Only 1 of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (10%), compared with 28% across the Army. Based on 36 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Confinement Longer Than the Army Median Of the 36 cases, 35 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 31 of those sentences included confinement (89%). The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 5-month median for Article 128 cases in the Army as a whole. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, the terms announced at trial. A plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal could lower them later. Each one covers every charge in the case, not only the assault. ## More Long Sentences Confinement of more than one year was part of 10 of 35 convictions (29%), compared with 25% in all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023\. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 14% of convictions at Fort Bliss, compared with 10% elsewhere. Terms from 6 months to 1 year made up 23%, compared with 15%. Lighter sentences were less common. Only 11% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 18% across the Army. Sentences under 6 months made up 37%, compared with 42%. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army-wide Article 128 cases | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------- | | No confinement | 4 | 11% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 13 | 37% | 42% | | 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 23% | 15% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 14% | 15% | | 5 years or more | 5 | 14% | 10% | ## Few Contested Cases Ended in Full Acquittal Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal (10%). In Army Article 128 cases in the same years, 28% did. Another 8 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, meaning the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Partial acquittals are common in Army data because Army results list findings charge by charge. After a partial acquittal, the remaining conviction can still support a sentence, including a punitive discharge. ## Most Accused Pleaded Guilty Of the cases with a recorded plea, 26 were guilty pleas and 10 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 28%. In Army Article 128 cases overall, 41% were contested. Almost every guilty plea had a plea agreement: 25 of the 26 are recorded with one, and 1 has no entry. Army records note whether an agreement existed but not its terms, so the records cannot show any limit on confinement that an agreement set. ## Military Judges Decided Almost Every Case A military judge alone decided 33 cases. Panels of members heard 3, all enlisted panels, so members heard 8% of cases with a recorded forum. Of the 10 contested cases, members heard 3 (30%). The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum figures are consistent with the high guilty-plea rate. ## Discharges and Dismissals Of 33 convicted enlisted members, 26 received a punitive discharge: 18 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges. Across the Army as a whole, the rate for assault convictions was 70%. Both convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 in all, were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Assault Charged With Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Article 128 was the only charge in 9 of the 36 cases. The most common other charges were Article 134 (general article) in 7 cases, Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6 each, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 5 each. When an assault charge is brought with a sexual assault or domestic violence charge, it often describes part of the same incident, and the sentence covers the whole case. Article 128 is not itself a covered offense for special trial counsel. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault. ## Rank, Court Level, and Timing The accused were 22 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 11 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. That group was more junior than the rest of the Army, where 57% were junior enlisted. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial heard 30 of the 36 cases (83%), compared with 81% elsewhere. The cases were tried from January 2021 through October 2023: 16 in 2021, 13 in 2022, and 7 in 2023\. Assault charges were in 38% of the 96 courts-martial at Fort Bliss in those years. ## What the Records Do Not Show The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021\. The records cover only cases that went to a court-martial. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Courts-martial tried at Fort Bliss in 2021–2023 that charged Article 128 (36 cases), compared with every Army case charging Article 128 in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Fort Bliss: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-bliss/) (hub) - [Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Fort Bliss, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 102 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-courts-martial-2020-2023/) - [What Was Tried at Fort Bliss, 2024–2026? 84 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-courts-martial-2024-2026/) - [Did Assault Cases at Fort Bliss Change After 2024?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-article-128-before-after-2024/) - [Assault Charges at Fort Bliss, 2024–2026: Pleas, Verdicts, and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bliss-article-128-2024-2026/) - [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/) - [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128 Cases at Fort Bliss, 2021–2023 - [Larry A. Babin Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-larry-a-babin-jr/) - [John H. Cook](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-john-h-cook/) - [Joseph R. Distaso](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-joseph-r-distaso/) - [Jacqueline L. Emanuel](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-jacqueline-l-emanuel/) - [Robert A. Fellrath](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-robert-a-fellrath/) - [Matthew S. Fitzgerald](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-matthew-s-fitzgerald/) - [Scott Z. Hughes](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-scott-z-hughes/) - [Joseph T. Marcee](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-joseph-t-marcee/) - [Robert E. Murdough](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-robert-e-murdough/) - [Javier E. Rivera Rosario](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-javier-e-rivera-rosario/) - [Robert L. Shuck](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-robert-l-shuck/) - [Clay M. West](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-clay-m-west/) Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the [Court-Martial Characters](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) membership. **Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-article-128/) **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.