Inside 138 Courts-Martial at Fort Hood, 2024–2026

Trends › By Installation › Fort Hood › 2024–2026

Based on 138 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Contested Cases Than Before

The largest change at Fort Hood is in the contested share. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In 2020–2023, 46% of the installation's cases were contested. In 2024–2026, 21% were, the same as the 21% across the Army as a whole.

Of 138 cases, 109 ended in a guilty plea and 29 were contested. Of the 109 guilty pleas, 107 are recorded with a plea agreement and 2 have no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

Then and Now at Fort Hood

In 2020–2023 the same installation had 147 cases, about 37 a year. Since then it has had about 52 a year (full years only). Median confinement went from 8 months to 1 year. General courts-martial went from 73% to 82% of cases. Convictions with confinement were about the same, 78% and 77%. The enlisted punitive discharge share was also about the same, 82% and 83%.

Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 22 of 65 to 10 of 24. These changes happened in the same period as the special trial counsel reforms of December 2023. The records cannot show whether one caused the other. Small groups change with a few cases, so these are directions, not precise measures.

Longer Sentences, by Court Level

Confinement was part of 77% of the 121 convictions. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months Army-wide. A quarter of those sentences were 3.5 years or longer. 1 was a life sentence. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

44 of 121 convictions (36%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 30% in the rest of the Army. 17% of convictions included 5 years or more, compared with 9%. 23% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 15% Army-wide.

Fort Hood held 113 general and 24 special courts-martial. The general share was 82%, compared with 69% Army-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The 113 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years, and 22% were contested. The 24 special courts-martial had a median of 51 days, and 12% were contested.

What Was Charged?

Charge lists cover 131 of the 138 cases. Article 134 was charged in 37 (28%), compared with 21% Army-wide. Article 80 (attempts) was charged in 17 (13%), compared with 8%. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 31 cases (24%), about the same as the Army's 25%. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 23 (18%).

Conviction and Sentence by Article

33 of 37 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article (89%). 16 of 17 Article 80 cases did (94%). Median confinement on those convictions was 1.5 years for Article 134, 5 months for Article 128b, 6 months for Article 128, and 12 years for Article 80. 84% of Article 128b cases ended in a guilty plea (26 of 31). 76% of Article 80 cases did (13 of 17).

Who Decided the Contested Cases?

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone heard 121 cases, enlisted panels heard 14, and officer panels heard 3. Members heard 12% of cases, compared with 13% Army-wide. Among contested cases, members heard 17 of 29 (59%).

Of 24 contested cases that reached a verdict, 10 ended in a full acquittal (42%), about the same as 40% across the Army. Another 8 ended in a partial acquittal. Members acquitted of all charges in 6 of 12 contested cases (50%). Judges alone did so in 4 of 12 (33%). Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals appear often.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Among 106 convicted enlisted members, 88 received one (83%), compared with 73% across the Army. 31 of those were dishonorable discharges. The records list 15 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 9 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 53% of the accused, the same as the Army's 53%. NCOs were 35% and officers 12%.

Peers, the Calendar, and the Post's Name

Fort Campbell (87 cases) and Fort Bragg (85 cases) tried a similar number of Army cases in the same years. Fort Campbell had the same median confinement, 1 year. Fort Bragg's was 8 months. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 88% and 74%.

There were 56 cases in 2024, 48 in 2025, and 34 in 2026, a partial year. The Army renamed the post Fort Cavazos in 2023 and restored the name Fort Hood in 2025. The records list these trials under Fort Hood throughout.

New Rules and Missing Details

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. These trials include cases under both the old and new rules.

The records also leave out the evidence, the plea terms, and anything resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.

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.