> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# What Fort Drum Tried in 2021
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-drum-courts-martial-2021/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:54:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:12:42.000Z
- Description: Fort Drum tried 34 courts-martial in 2021. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months Army-wide. Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment) was charged in 15% of cases, compared with 3% across the Army.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Fort Drum, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Fort Drum](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-drum/) › 2021

**Short answer:** Fort Drum tried 34 courts-martial in 2021\. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months Army-wide. Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment) was charged in 15% of cases, compared with 3% across the Army. Only 54% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 70%.

Based on 34 cases · 2021 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Maltreatment and AWOL Charged More Often

All 34 records list charges, and one case can count under several articles. Article 93 (maltreatment) was charged in 5 cases (15%), compared with 3% in the Army as a whole. Article 86 (AWOL) was also charged in 15%, compared with 5%.

Article 128 (assault) was less common. It was charged in 15% of cases at Fort Drum, compared with 38% Army-wide. Article 120 (sexual assault) was the most common charge, in 29% of cases, the same as the Army rate. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 12%, compared with 8%.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                  | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | -------------------------- |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                       | 10    | 29%        | 29%                        |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                      | 8     | 24%        | 21%                        |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation    | 5     | 15%        | 16%                        |
| [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL                                   | 5     | 15%        | 5%                         |
| Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment                                                                                                              | 5     | 15%        | 3%                         |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                              | 5     | 15%        | 38%                        |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4     | 12%        | 8%                         |
| [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence                        | 3     | 9%         | 6%                         |

## Fewer Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge for an enlisted member is either a bad-conduct or a dishonorable discharge. Of 28 convicted enlisted members, 15 received one (54%), less often than the 70% across the Army. Of those, 4 were dishonorable.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

## Short Median, Some Long Sentences

Of 29 convictions, 20 carried confinement. The median confinement was 3 months. Of the convictions, 31% had no confinement, compared with 19% in the Army as a whole.

A quarter of sentences were 2.5 years or longer. Sentences of 5 years or more were imposed in 3 convictions (10%), compared with 8% Army-wide. In total, 6 of 29 convictions (21%) carried more than one year, lower than the 26% in the rest of the Army. These are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers all charges in a case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | -------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 9           | 31%        | 19%                        |
| Under 6 months                  | 12          | 41%        | 37%                        |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 2           | 7%         | 17%                        |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3           | 10%        | 18%                        |
| 5 years or more                 | 3           | 10%        | 8%                         |

## Sexual Assault and the General Article

Of 10 cases charging Article 120, 5 ended in a conviction on that article (50%), the lowest rate among the top charges. Those convictions carried a median confinement of 2.6 years.

Article 134 charges led to a conviction on that article in 7 of 8 cases, with a median of 3.9 years. A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can occur in the same case, so these rows overlap. Each median reflects the whole sentence.

| Article                          | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 10                | 5 (50%)                 | 2.6 years                               |
| Art. 134 General article         | 8                 | 7 (7 of 8)              | 3.9 years                               |

## Contested Cases and Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 13 cases were contested and 21 ended in guilty pleas, a contested share of 38% compared with 36% across the Army. Of the guilty pleas, 17 are recorded with a plea agreement and 4 have no entry. Army records note only whether an agreement existed.

Of the 13 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (38%), slightly higher than the 35% across the Army. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal (38%), in which the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

## Who Decided Guilt

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone decided 29 of 34 cases (85%), and members heard 5, all enlisted panels. Every panel case was contested: members heard 5 of the 13 contested cases (38%).

## More Special Courts-Martial Than Army-Wide

The cases included 20 general and 14 special courts-martial, a general share of 59% compared with 73% in the rest of the Army. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

General courts-martial here had a median confinement of 5 months and a contested share of 35%. Special courts-martial had a median of 23 days, and 43% of them were contested.

By rank, the accused were 23 junior enlisted soldiers, 10 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more junior group than across the Army.

## Fort Bliss and Fort Carson

Fort Bliss and Fort Carson each tried 30 cases in 2021\. Fort Drum had the highest contested share of these installations, 38%, compared with 33% and 20%. It also had the most full acquittals: 5 of 13, compared with 3 of 10 and 1 of 6.

Fort Drum had the shortest median confinement, 3 months, compared with 7 months at Fort Bliss and 9 months at Fort Carson. It had the lowest enlisted punitive discharge share, 54%, compared with 73% and 86%.

| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
| ------------ | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Fort Drum    | 34    | 38%       | 5 of 13                             | 3 months           | 54%                           |
| Fort Bliss   | 30    | 33%       | 3 of 10                             | 7 months           | 73%                           |
| Fort Carson  | 30    | 20%       | 1 of 6                              | 9 months           | 86%                           |

## Beyond the Trial Record

Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, the first year after the Article 140a deadline of December 2020 for publishing trial records. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They say nothing about the evidence, plea terms, or cases resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Every court-martial tried at Fort Drum with a trial date in 2021 (34 cases).

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Fort Drum: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-fort-drum/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Fort Drum in 2022: 17 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-drum-courts-martial-2022/) (previous / next)
- [Fort Drum, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 72 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-drum-courts-martial-2020-2023/) (the whole period)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-humphreys-courts-martial-2024/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/camp-humphreys-courts-martial-2025/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-courts-martial-2022/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-courts-martial-2023/)
- [A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-benning-courts-martial-2025/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

Next: [Fort Drum in 2022: 17 Courts-Martial, Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/fort-drum-courts-martial-2022/) →

## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Drum, 2021

- [James Barkei](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-james-barkei/)
- [Troy A. Smith](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-troy-a-smith/)

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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) 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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.