17 Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Carson, 2021–2023: What the Records Show
From 2021–2023, 17 courts-martial at Fort Carson charged Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in Army Article 128 cases overall. 12 of 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (80%), against 70% across the Army.
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Short answer: From 2021–2023, 17 courts-martial at Fort Carson charged Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 5 months in Army Article 128 cases overall. 12 of 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (80%), against 70% across the Army.
Confinement After a Conviction
16 of the 17 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 15 of those sentences included confinement (94%).
The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 5 months median in Army Article 128 cases overall. Among sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 5 years or longer.
These figures are sentences as adjudged at trial. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the assault.
Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. 12 of the 15 convicted enlisted members received one: 6 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable.
That is 80%, higher than the 70% in all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in these cases and was not dismissed.
Assault Was Seldom the Only Charge
Article 128 was the only charge in 5 of the 17 cases. Army-wide, it stood alone in 112 of 455 Article 128 cases.
Article 120 (sexual assault) was the most common companion, in 7 cases. Article 112a (drug), Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 120b (child sexual abuse), and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 3. When an assault count is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, it can describe part of the same incident. The records do not show how much of each sentence came from which charge.
Pleas
9 accused pleaded guilty, and 8 contested at least one charge by pleading not guilty to it. The contested share was 47%, compared with 41% in Army Article 128 cases overall.
Court Level and Forum
13 of the 17 cases were general courts-martial (76%), against 80% across Army Article 128 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
A military judge alone decided guilt in 12 of 17 cases (71%). Members heard 5 cases, all with enlisted panels.
Rank and Timing
The accused were 8 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 1 officer. This group was more senior than all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023.
The cases were tried from April 2021 through October 2023: 8 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 7 in 2023. They made up 23% of the 73 courts-martial at Fort Carson in those years. The services had to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.
What the Records Do Not Show
The records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of plea agreements, or conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Courts-martial tried at Fort Carson in 2021–2023 that charged Article 128 (17 cases), compared with every Army case charging Article 128 in those years.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Fort Carson: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 76 Courts-Martial at Fort Carson, 2020–2023
- Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases
- Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- 22 Assault Courts-Martial at Vilseck (Europe), 2024–2026: What the Records Show
- 22 Assault Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield, 2021–2023: What the Records Show
- 34 Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Hood, 2021–2023: What the Records Show
- 36 Assault Courts-Martial at Fort Bliss, 2021–2023: What the Records Show
- Article 128 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Article 128 Cases at Fort Carson, 2021–2023
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 membership.
Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
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.