What Was Tried at Fort Bragg, 2024–2026? 85 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Fort Bragg › 2024–2026

Based on 85 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common

Of the 85 records, 83 list their charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 128b (domestic violence) was the most common charge, in 34% of cases compared with 25% in the rest of the Army. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 20%, compared with 11%.

Several less common charges also appeared more often than across the Army: Article 115 (communicating threats) in 10% of cases compared with 3%, Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) in 7% compared with 2%, and Article 80 (attempts) in 11% compared with 8%. Article 128 (assault) was slightly less common, in 18% compared with 20%.

Results Differed by Charge

Article 128b (domestic violence) cases usually ended in a conviction on that article, 24 of 28 (86%). Of those 28 cases, 20 ended in a guilty plea (71%). The median confinement when convicted of Article 128b was 6 months.

Article 120 cases had the opposite pattern. Only 3 of 17 cases charging Article 120 ended in a guilty plea (18%), and 6 of 17 (35%) ended in a conviction on that article. After a conviction on Article 120, the median confinement was 2.3 years.

Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 14 of 19 (74%), with a median of 1.7 years. Article 128 (assault) cases did so in 9 of 15 (60%), with a median of 11 months. One case can carry several articles, so these rows overlap.

Contested Cases and Full Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 85 cases, 21 were contested and 64 ended in guilty pleas, a contested share of 25% compared with 21% in the rest of the Army. Of the 64 guilty pleas, 61 are recorded with a plea agreement and 3 have no entry.

Of the 21 contested cases that reached a verdict, 10 ended in a full acquittal (48%), higher than the 40% across the Army. Another 10 ended in a partial acquittal. Army records list findings charge by charge, which makes partial acquittals easy to see.

Panels heard most contested cases. Members heard 15% of all cases with the forum listed (9 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels), but 12 of 17 contested cases (71%). A military judge alone heard the other 69.

Confinement and Its Range

Of 73 cases with a conviction on at least one charge, 61 included confinement (84%). The median confinement was 8 months, and a quarter of sentences were 2.3 years or longer. Sentences longer than one year were about as common as across the Army: 23 of 73 convictions (32%), compared with 30%.

These are adjudged sentences, covering every charge in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

How the Court Levels Differed

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Fort Bragg held 59 general and 25 special courts-martial, a general share of 70% compared with 69% Army-wide.

The median confinement was 1.3 years at general courts-martial, and 34% of those cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 2 months, and 0% were contested.

Discharges and a More Senior Group of Accused

Among 65 enlisted members convicted, 48 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (74%), about the same as the 73% Army-wide. Of those, 11 were dishonorable. Of 8 convicted officers or warrant officers, 6 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

The accused included 36 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 38 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 11 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the rest of the Army, where 53% were junior enlisted.

Changes From 2020–2023

The post was named Fort Liberty from 2023 until February 2025, when the name Fort Bragg returned. The records list these trials under Fort Bragg throughout. The yearly counts were 34 in 2024, 29 in 2025, and 22 in 2026, a partial year. These were 7% of the 1,252 Army courts-martial in the period.

In 2020–2023 the post had 143 cases, about 36 a year, compared with about 32 a year since (full years only). The contested share fell from 40% to 25%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 11 of 50 to 10 of 21. The median confinement increased from 6 months to 8 months. The enlisted punitive discharge share fell from 78% to 74%, and the general court-martial share fell from 83% to 70%. Each group is small, so a few cases can change these percentages.

Fort Bliss and Fort Campbell

Fort Bliss (84 cases) and Fort Campbell (87 cases) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Fort Bragg had the highest contested share of the group, 25%, compared with 12% and 14%. Its median confinement of 8 months was between Fort Bliss at 6 months and Fort Campbell at 1 year. Fort Campbell had the highest punitive discharge share, at 88%.

New Rules, Unknown Offense Dates

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so this period includes cases under both the old and the new rules. The records cannot show whether the changes affected any figure here. They also omit the evidence, plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.