What Was Tried at Fort Drum, 2024–2026? 45 Courts-Martial
Fort Drum tried 45 courts-martial from January 2024 to July 2026, and 40 of them ended in guilty pleas. The contested share was 11%, compared with 21% Army-wide. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Army.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fort Drum › 2024–2026
Short answer: Fort Drum tried 45 courts-martial from January 2024 to July 2026, and 40 of them ended in guilty pleas. The contested share was 11%, compared with 21% Army-wide. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. Of convicted enlisted members, 95% received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% across the Army.
Fewer Contested Cases Than Before
The largest change at Fort Drum is in how cases ended. In 2020–2023, 43% of cases with a plea recorded were contested. In 2024–2026, the share was 11%: 5 contested cases and 40 guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
Plea agreements are recorded for 39 of the 40 guilty pleas, and 1 has no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it contained, so any terms that limited these sentences are not visible.
Longer Terms and More Discharges Than Before
The median confinement went from 6 months in 2020–2023 to 11 months in 2024–2026. The share of convictions with confinement went from 77% to 88%. The enlisted punitive discharge share went from 63% to 95%. General courts-martial went from 76% to 89% of cases with a court level listed.
The earlier period averaged about 18 cases a year, compared with about 15 a year since, counting full years only. These changes came after December 28, 2023, when special trial counsel took over prosecution decisions for covered offenses such as domestic violence. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and cannot show whether that change played any part. These groups are also small, so a few cases either way can change the figures.
| 2020–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 72 | 45 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 43% | 11% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 12 of 28 | 3 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 77% | 88% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 11 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 63% | 95% |
| General courts-martial | 76% | 89% |
Article 128b Was Charged Most Often
The charge lists cover 43 of the 45 cases, and a case can appear under several articles. Article 128b (domestic violence) was the most common, in 15 cases (35%, compared with 25% across the Army). Article 134 (general article) was next, in 13 (30%, compared with 21%).
Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 6 cases (14%, compared with 8%). Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) was charged in 5 (12%, compared with 6%). Article 128 (assault) was less common here, at 9% compared with 20%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 15 | 35% | 25% |
| Art. 134 General article | 13 | 30% | 21% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 6 | 14% | 8% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 5 | 12% | 6% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 9% | 20% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 7% | 8% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 2 | 5% | 3% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 2 | 5% | 5% |
All Cases on the Top Charges Ended in Guilty Pleas
All 15 cases charging Article 128b ended in a guilty plea and a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 8 months. All 13 cases charging Article 134 did the same, with a median of 1.5 years. The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.
The contested cases had different results. Of the 4 that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. In 2020–2023, 12 of 28 did.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 15 | 15 (100%) | 8 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 13 | 13 (100%) | 1.5 years |
How Long Were the Sentences?
Of the 40 convictions, 88% included confinement. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. A quarter of terms were 1.7 years or longer.
Fewer sentences were under 6 months: 30%, compared with 39% Army-wide. More were 6 months to under 1 year: 20%, compared with 12%. More were 1 year to under 5 years: 32%, compared with 25%. Sentences of 5 years or more were less common: 5%, compared with 9%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 12% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 30% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 10 | 25% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 11 | 28% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 5% | 9% |
Punitive Discharges for 95% of Convicted Enlisted Members
Of 40 convicted enlisted members, 38 received a punitive discharge: 28 bad-conduct discharges and 10 dishonorable discharges. Across the Army, the share was 73%.
A dishonorable discharge is available only at a general court-martial, and general courts-martial made up 89% of the 44 cases with a court level listed (39 of 44). The court level is not listed for 1 case. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Compared With Fort Carson and Kaiserslautern
Fort Carson and Kaiserslautern (Europe) each tried 45 Army cases in the same years. Fort Drum had the lowest contested share of these installations, 11%, compared with 40% at Fort Carson and 20% at Kaiserslautern.
It also had the longest median confinement: 11 months, compared with 4 months and 5 months. Its enlisted punitive discharge share was the highest: 95%, compared with 78% and 79%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Drum | 45 | 11% | 3 of 4 | 11 months | 95% |
| Fort Carson | 45 | 40% | 8 of 18 | 4 months | 78% |
| Kaiserslautern (Europe) | 45 | 20% | 4 of 9 | 5 months | 79% |
Forum and Rank
A military judge alone decided 41 cases. Members heard 9% of the cases with the forum listed, through 3 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. The accused usually chooses the forum, and judge-alone cases are mostly guilty pleas.
By rank, the accused were 32 junior enlisted members, 12 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more junior group than the rest of the Army.
Counts and Caveats
The yearly counts were 10 in 2024, 20 in 2025, and 15 in 2026, a partial year. Together they were 4% of the 1,252 Army courts-martial in those years. The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Fort Drum with a trial date in 2024–2026 (45 cases), compared with all 1,252 Army trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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 Drum: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Fort Drum, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 72 Cases (another period)
- Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Inside 45 Courts-Martial at Kaiserslautern (Europe), 2024–2026 (same years, similar size)
- Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 69 Cases
- Fort Bliss, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 102 Cases
- Fort Bragg Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 143 Cases Show
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Drum, 2024–2026
- Trevor I. Barna
- Gregory B. Batdorff
- James A. Ewing
- Adam S. Kazin
- Joseph A. Morman
- Alan J. Nef
- Sean S. Park
- William C. Ramsey
- Carrie L. Ward
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.