Fort Bragg in 2021: 45 Courts-Martial, Year in Review

Trends › By Installation › Fort Bragg › 2021

Based on 45 cases · 2021 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Contested Cases, Few Full Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused enters a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. At Fort Bragg, 20 cases were contested and 25 ended in guilty pleas, a contested share of 44% compared with 36% in all Army cases that year.

Only 2 of the 20 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (10%), compared with 35% across the Army. Another 10 ended in a partial acquittal, in which the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear often in the records.

Panels Heard a Larger Share

The accused usually chooses whether guilt is decided by a military judge alone or by a panel of members. A judge alone heard 33 cases, enlisted panels 10, and officer panels 2. Members heard 27% of cases, compared with 22% across the Army.

Among the 20 contested cases, members heard 12 (60%). Because most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, the forum split largely follows how many cases were contested.

Assault Was the Most Common Charge

All 45 records list charges, and a case with several articles appears in several rows. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 24 cases, or 53%, compared with 38% in the rest of the Army. Willfully disobeying a superior officer under Article 90 was charged in 18% of cases, compared with 8%.

Several other articles were also charged more often than across the Army: Article 115 (communicating threats) in 16% of cases compared with 6%, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 13% compared with 6%, and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 33% compared with 29%. Article 112a (drug) charges were less common, in 9% compared with 12%.

Sexual Assault Cases Had the Lowest Conviction Rate

Article 120 charges ended in a conviction on that article in 8 of 15 cases (53%), the lowest rate among the top charges. After a conviction, the median confinement was 1.2 years. Only 13% of cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea (2 of 15).

Assault cases ended in a guilty plea more often: 50% (12 of 24), the highest share among the top charges. Of those 24 cases, 20 produced a conviction on Article 128, with a median confinement of 5 months. Article 92 had the highest conviction rate, 9 of 10, with a median of 3 months. Article 134 had 10 of 12, with a median of 9 months. A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can occur in the same case, so these rows overlap. The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.

Sentences About the Same as the Army

Of 43 convictions, 33 included confinement (77%). The median was 6 months, the same as the Army. A quarter of sentences were 1 year or longer. No confinement was adjudged in 23% of convictions, compared with 19% in the rest of the Army.

Sentences over one year were imposed in 8 of 43 convictions (19%), compared with 26% across the Army. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Court Levels and Rank

General courts-martial accounted for 35 of the 45 cases (78%), compared with 73% across the Army. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. Their median confinement was 7 months, and 51% were contested. The 10 special courts-martial had a median of 3 months and a contested share of 20%. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Junior enlisted soldiers (E-1 to E-4) made up 64% of the accused, NCOs 27%, and officers 9%. Across the Army, junior enlisted were 58%.

Discharges and Dismissals

Of 39 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 20 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. The Army-wide share was 70%. Among 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Fort Hood and Fort Campbell

Fort Hood also tried 45 cases, with a higher contested share of 58% and 7 full acquittals in 26 decided contested cases. Its median confinement was 1.1 years, and 86% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.

Fort Campbell tried 41 cases, and 22% were contested. It recorded 4 full acquittals in 9 contested cases that reached a verdict. Its median confinement was 3 months, and 78% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge. Fort Bragg was between them on most measures but had the fewest full acquittals.

What the Records Do Not Show

Under Article 140a, the services had to begin publishing trial records by December 2020, and Army records here are sparse before 2021. The first Fort Bragg case in this data dates to February 2021. The records give trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not describe evidence or plea terms, and they exclude nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations. Of the 25 guilty pleas, 20 are recorded with a plea agreement and 5 have no entry.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.