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# Assault Charges at Fort Bragg, 2021–2023: Pleas, Verdicts, and Sentences
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-article-128-2021-2023/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:50:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:45.000Z
- Description: Fort Bragg held 42 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2021–2023. More of them were contested than elsewhere in the Army: 55% compared with 41%. Only 2 of 23 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (9%), compared with 28% across the Army.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Fort Bragg, Article 128, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Fort Bragg](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-bragg/) › Article 128, 2021–2023

**Short answer:** Fort Bragg held 42 courts-martial charging Article 128 (assault) in 2021–2023\. More of them were contested than elsewhere in the Army: 55% compared with 41%. Only 2 of 23 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (9%), compared with 28% across the Army. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 5 months.

Based on 42 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Most Contested Cases Ended in a Partial Acquittal

Of 23 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal, a rate of 9%. Across Army Article 128 cases, 28% of contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Another 18 contested cases at Fort Bragg ended in a partial acquittal, with the accused acquitted of some charges and convicted of others.

Partial acquittals are common in Army data because Army results list findings charge by charge. After a partial acquittal, the accused still has a conviction and a sentence on the remaining charges.

## A Higher Share of Contested Cases

Of 42 cases, 19 ended in a guilty plea and 23 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 55% was higher than the 41% for Army Article 128 cases as a whole.

Of the 19 guilty pleas, 14 are recorded with a plea agreement, and 5 have no entry. Army records state whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

## Panels Heard Most Contested Cases

A military judge alone decided guilt in 27 of 41 cases with a recorded forum (66%). Panels of members heard 14: 12 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. Of the contested cases with a recorded forum, members heard 14 of 22 (64%).

The accused usually chooses between a judge alone and a panel of members. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the overall forum figures follow the number of contested cases.

## Longer Sentences

Of 40 convictions, 31 included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, longer than the 5 months for the rest of the Army. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 2.8 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement limit, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Confinement of more than one year was part of 12 of 40 convictions (30%), compared with 25% in Army Article 128 cases overall. Terms between 1 and 5 years made up 20% here and 15% elsewhere. Terms of 5 years or more made up 10% in both. 22% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 18%.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 9           | 22%        | 18%                                            |
| Under 6 months                  | 14          | 35%        | 42%                                            |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 5           | 12%        | 15%                                            |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8           | 20%        | 15%                                            |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 10%        | 10%                                            |

## Few Cases Charged Assault Alone

Article 128 was the only charge in only 4 of the 42 cases. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 18, Article 134 (general article) in 12, Article 92 (orders violation) in 10, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 9, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 8.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge often describes part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case, so these figures also cover the other charges. Assault is not itself a covered offense, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault.

## Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of 35 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 17 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. In the rest of the Army, the share was 70%. The group also includes 5 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 3 of them were dismissed.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

## Rank and Court Level

The accused were 23 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 14 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 5 officers or warrant officers. That mix was similar to Army Article 128 cases overall, where 57% were junior enlisted.

There were 36 general and 6 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 86% compares with 81% across the Army. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

## Fewer Cases Each Year

The records show cases from March 2021 to September 2023: 24 in 2021, 12 in 2022, and 6 in 2023\. Assault charges were in 33% of the 129 courts-martial at Fort Bragg in those years. The records cannot show whether the decrease was due to fewer incidents, other ways of handling them, or something else.

## 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 show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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 Bragg in 2021–2023 that charged Article 128 (42 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 Bragg: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-bragg/) (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 Bragg Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 143 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-courts-martial-2020-2023/)
- [What Was Tried at Fort Bragg, 2024–2026? 85 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-courts-martial-2024-2026/)
- [Assault Cases at Fort Bragg: 2021–2023 vs. 2024–2026](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-bragg-article-128-before-after-2024/)
- [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/)
- [17 Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Carson, 2021–2023: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-carson-article-128-2021-2023/)
- [22 Assault Courts-Martial at Vilseck (Europe), 2024–2026: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/vilseck-europe-article-128-2024-2026/)
- [22 Assault Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield, 2021–2023: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/wheeler-army-airfield-article-128-2021-2023/)
- [S1 H6: Shady Sh\*t Going Down at Fort Liberty](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s1h6-shady-sh-t-going-down-at-fort-liberty/) (podcast, members)
- [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com)

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128 Cases at Fort Bragg, 2021–2023

- [Alyssa S. Adams](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-alyssa-s-adams/)
- [Trevor I. Barna](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-trevor-i-barna/)
- [Gregory B. Batdorff](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-gregory-b-batdorff/)
- [John H. Cook](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-john-h-cook/)
- [Amy S. Fitzgibbons](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-amy-s-fitzgibbons/)
- [Timothy P. Hayes Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-timothy-p-hayes-jr/)
- [Tyler J. Heimann](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-tyler-j-heimann/)
- [Fansu Ku](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-fansu-ku/)
- [Charles L. Pritchard Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-charles-l-pritchard-jr/)
- [Robert W. Rideout Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-robert-w-rideout-jr/)
- [Travis Rogers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-travis-rogers/)
- [Troy A. Smith](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-troy-a-smith/)
- [Tyesha L. Smith](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-tyesha-l-smith/)

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.