A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Carson: 2023
Fort Carson held 20 courts-martial in 2023, and 10 of them were contested (50%), compared with 31% across the Army. Of the convicted enlisted members, 94% received a punitive discharge, compared with 74% in the rest of the Army.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Carson › 2023
Short answer: Fort Carson held 20 courts-martial in 2023, and 10 of them were contested (50%), compared with 31% across the Army. Of the convicted enlisted members, 94% received a punitive discharge, compared with 74% in the rest of the Army. Sexual assault charges under Article 120 appeared in 37% of cases, compared with 21% Army-wide.
Punitive Discharges in 15 of 16 Enlisted Convictions
Of 16 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (94%). Across the Army in 2023, the share was 74%. Of those 15 discharges, 5 were dishonorable.
The records also show 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members, and a dismissal for officers. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
10 Guilty Pleas and 10 Contested Cases
The accused pleaded guilty in 10 cases and contested 10. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 50% was higher than the 31% for all Army cases in 2023.
All 10 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement (10 of 10). Army records say whether there was an agreement but not what it said.
How Contested Cases Ended
Full acquittals came in 3 of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict (30%). That is lower than the 39% across the Army. Another 5 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal.
A partial acquittal means a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals appear often in Army records.
Members Heard 7 of 10 Contested Cases
A military judge alone decided 13 cases. Members heard the rest: 6 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Members heard 35% of all cases, compared with 19% Army-wide.
Among contested cases, members heard 7 of 10 (70%). The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Sexual Assault, Assault, and Domestic Violence
Of the 20 records, 19 list the charges. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 7 cases (37%). The Army-wide shares were 21% and 26%. Domestic violence under Article 128b appeared in 6 cases (32%), compared with 21%.
Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 21% of cases, compared with 8%. False official statements under Article 107 appeared in 11%, compared with 4%. Article 134, the general article, was less common here, at 11% compared with 24%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Army docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 37% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 37% | 26% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 6 | 32% | 21% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 21% | 8% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 11% | 8% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 11% | 4% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 11% | 24% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 11% | 11% |
Confinement in Almost Every Conviction
Of the 20 cases, 17 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Confinement was part of 16 of those sentences (94%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months median Army-wide. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1 year or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
What Changed Since 2022
Fort Carson had 23 cases in 2022 and 20 in 2023. The contested share went from 26% to 50%. The median confinement went from 1 year to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 90% to 94%.
Full acquittals in contested cases went from 2 of 6 to 3 of 10. The general court-martial share went from 82% to 89%. With small groups, a few cases can move these figures, so the changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 23 | 20 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 26% | 50% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 6 | 3 of 10 |
| Convictions with confinement | 86% | 94% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 90% | 94% |
| General courts-martial | 82% | 89% |
Fort Benning and Fort Polk
Fort Benning (21 cases) and Fort Polk (23 cases) tried a similar number of cases in 2023. Fort Benning had a contested share of 19%, a median confinement of 5 months, and a punitive discharge share of 70%. Fort Polk had a contested share of 35%, a median confinement of 1.4 years, and a punitive discharge share of 100%.
Full acquittals came in 0 of 4 contested cases at Fort Benning and 6 of 8 at Fort Polk. At Fort Carson, the figure was 3 of 10.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Carson | 20 | 50% | 3 of 10 | 6 months | 94% |
| Fort Benning | 21 | 19% | 0 of 4 | 5 months | 70% |
| Fort Polk | 23 | 35% | 6 of 8 | 1.4 years | 100% |
Rank, Court Level, and Limits
NCOs made up 55% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 40%, and officers 5%. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 56%. General courts-martial made up 17 of the 19 cases with a court level listed (89%). The court level is not listed for 1 case. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not show cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Fort Carson with a trial date in 2023 (20 cases).
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)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Carson: 2022 (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Carson: 2024 (previous / next)
- Inside 76 Courts-Martial at Fort Carson, 2020–2023 (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Carson, 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.
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.