Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases

Trends › By Installation › Fort Carson › 2024–2026

Based on 45 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sexual Assault Charges and How They Ended

Article 120 was charged in 10 of the 45 cases at Fort Carson, a 22% share that is higher than the 11% across all Army cases in those years. Only 5 of those 10 cases ended in a conviction on Article 120 itself (50%). When there was a conviction on that article, the median confinement was 3 years.

Cases charging Article 120 were also contested more often than assault cases. Only 2 of the 10 ended in a guilty plea (20%). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.

Other Top Charges

Article 128 (assault) was also charged in 10 cases (22%, compared with 20% Army-wide). It led to a conviction on that article in 6 of 10, with a median confinement of 1.3 years. Of those 10 cases, 4 ended in a guilty plea (40%). All 9 cases charging Article 134 (general article) ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 9 months.

Other charges were also more common than Army-wide: Article 121 (larceny) in 7 cases (16%, compared with 7%) and Article 112a (drugs) in 6 (13%, compared with 5%). Article 128b (domestic violence) was less common, charged in 5 cases (11%) compared with 25% Army-wide. A case with several articles counts under each, and each median covers the whole sentence.

Many Cases Were Contested

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least 1 charge. At Fort Carson, 18 cases were contested and 27 were guilty pleas, a 40% contested share compared with 21% Army-wide. Of the 27 guilty pleas, 26 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records note whether there was an agreement, not its terms.

Of 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal (44%), higher than the 40% across the Army. Another 7 ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least 1 charge or specification but guilty of another.

Who Decided These Cases?

The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Members heard 21% of cases with a forum listed: 8 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. The other 34 were judge alone. Among contested cases, members heard 9 of 16 (56%).

Mostly Short Sentences

Of 37 convictions, 34 carried confinement. The median was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months across the Army. A quarter of sentences were 2 years or longer.

Sentences under 6 months made up 54% of convictions (20), compared with 39% Army-wide. Sentences longer than a year were less common than in all Army cases: 9 of 37 (24%), compared with 30%. Only 1 conviction (3%) carried 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Court Level and Rank

General courts-martial heard 27 of the 44 cases with a court level listed (61%), compared with 69% Army-wide. The court level is not listed for 1 case. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. These cases had a median confinement of 10 months and a 59% contested share. Special courts-martial heard 17 cases, with a 2-month median and a 12% contested share. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 71% of the accused, compared with 53% across the Army. NCOs were 24%, and officers 4%.

Discharges

Of 36 convicted enlisted members, 28 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (78%): 21 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. The Army-wide share was 73%. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Changes Since 2020–2023

The earlier period had 76 cases, about 19 a year, compared with about 20 a year since, counting full years only. The contested share increased from 29% to 40%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 6 of 22 to 8 of 18. The median confinement fell from 7 months to 4 months. The share of convicted enlisted members with a punitive discharge fell from 89% to 78%. The general court-martial share fell from 84% to 61%. Each group is small, so a few cases either way would change these figures.

Fort Drum and Kaiserslautern

Fort Drum and Kaiserslautern in Europe each tried 45 Army cases in the same years. Their contested shares were 11% and 20%, both lower than the 40% at Fort Carson. The median confinement was 11 months at Fort Drum and 5 months at Kaiserslautern. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 95% and 79%.

Dates, Law, and Limits

The trials took place from January 2024 through August 2026: 30 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 4 in the partial year of 2026. They were 4% of 1,252 Army courts-martial. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these cases include both sets of rules. Evidence, plea terms, and conduct handled outside a court-martial are not in the records.

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.