Inside 19 Courts-Martial at Fort Irwin, 2020–2023
Fort Irwin had 19 courts-martial in the records from 2020 to 2023. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. 42% of the cases were contested, compared with 35% Army-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Irwin › 2020–2023
Short answer: Fort Irwin had 19 courts-martial in the records from 2020 to 2023. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. 42% of the cases were contested, compared with 35% Army-wide.
Longer Confinement Than the Army Median
Confinement was part of 88% of the 16 convictions. The median term was 9 months, longer than the 6 months across all Army cases in those years. A quarter of the terms were 2 years or longer.
These figures are adjudged sentences, recorded at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A single term covers every charge in its case, so a long term may reflect several offenses.
Contested Cases and Plea Agreements
8 accused contested at least one charge, and 11 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 42%, higher than the 35% across the Army.
Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal. Of the 11 guilty pleas, 10 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.
Charges Against Superiors and Absence Charges
18 of the 19 records list charges. Article 128 (assault) was the most common, in 7 cases (39%), compared with 31% across the Army. Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) appears in 4 (22%), compared with 7%.
Article 89 (disrespect toward or assault of a superior officer) appears in 3 cases (17%), compared with 2% Army-wide. Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 131b (obstructing justice) also appear in 3 cases each (17%), compared with 5% and 4%. Article 112a (drug use or possession) appears in 4 (22%), compared with 11%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appears in 3 cases (17%), lower than the 25% Army share. Article 134, the general article, appears in 4 (22%), the same as the Army share. Each case counts once under every article it charges.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 39% | 31% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 22% | 22% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 4 | 22% | 7% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 22% | 11% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 17% | 25% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 3 | 17% | 4% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 17% | 5% |
| Art. 89 Disrespect toward superior officer; assault of superior officer | 3 | 17% | 2% |
Punitive Discharges
Among 14 convicted enlisted members, 9 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (64%). 3 of those were dishonorable. The Army rate was 73%.
2 convicted officers appear here, and neither was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
More NCOs Among the Accused
NCOs (E-5 to E-9) made up 47% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 42%, and officers 11%. In the rest of the Army, junior enlisted members were 57%.
11 of the 19 cases were general courts-martial (58%). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The rest were special courts-martial.
Who Decided Guilt?
A military judge alone decided 15 cases. Enlisted panels and officer panels each decided 2. Members heard 21% of the cases, the same as across the Army.
Fort Irwin Beside Fort McNair and Fort Sam Houston
Fort McNair tried 21 cases and Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston tried 22 in these years. Fort McNair had a median confinement of 1 year and Fort Sam Houston had 3 months. Their punitive discharge rates for enlisted convictions were 80% and 92%, both higher than the 64% at Fort Irwin.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Irwin | 19 | 42% | 2 of 7 | 9 months | 64% |
| Fort McNair | 21 | 29% | 1 of 4 | 1 year | 80% |
| Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston | 22 | 41% | 6 of 9 | 3 months | 92% |
Dates and Limits
The trials ran from August 2020 to November 2023: 1 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 6 in 2022, and 8 in 2023. They are 1% of the 1,581 Army courts-martial in those years. The services had to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records here are sparse before 2021.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, or 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 in the data tried at Fort Irwin with a trial date in 2020–2023 (19 cases), compared with all 1,581 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 Irwin: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Fort Irwin Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 19 Cases Show (another period)
- Inside 17 Courts-Martial at Fort Lee, 2020–2023 (same years, similar size)
- Fort McNair Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 21 Cases Show (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
- Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Irwin, 2020–2023
- Larry A. Babin Jr.
- Mark A. Bridges
- Jessica Conn
- Joseph R. Distaso
- Matthew S. Fitzgerald
- Steven C. Henricks
- Michael E. Korte
- Robert E. Murdough
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.