Fort Irwin Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 19 Cases Show
From 2024 to 2026, the records hold 19 courts-martial at Fort Irwin. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 58% of them, compared with 25% across the Army. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Army.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Irwin › 2024–2026
Short answer: From 2024 to 2026, the records hold 19 courts-martial at Fort Irwin. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 58% of them, compared with 25% across the Army. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Army.
Domestic Violence Charges
All 19 records list charges. Article 128b (domestic violence) appears in 11 cases (58%), compared with 25% across the Army in those years. Article 128 (assault) appears in 4 (21%), about the same as the 20% Army share.
Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) appears in 3 cases (16%), compared with 6%. Article 109 (waste, spoilage, or destruction of property other than military property) appears in 2 (11%), compared with 1%. Article 134, Article 121, Article 92, and Article 120 also appear. A case with several articles counts under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 11 | 58% | 25% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 21% | 20% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 3 | 16% | 6% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 16% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 11% | 10% |
| Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction | 2 | 11% | 1% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 11% | 11% |
Sentences After Conviction
17 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 15 of those sentences included confinement (88%). The median was 8 months, longer than the 6 months Army-wide. A quarter of the terms were 1.5 years or longer.
Among 16 convicted enlisted members, 13 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (81%), compared with 73% across the Army. 4 were dishonorable. 1 convicted officer appears here and was not dismissed.
All of these are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
14 accused pleaded guilty and 5 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 26%, compared with 21% across the Army. Of the 5 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal.
13 of the 14 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 1 has no entry. The records say whether an agreement existed, not its terms.
Compared With 2020 to 2023
Fort Irwin also had 19 cases in 2020 to 2023, about 5 a year. Since 2024 the pace is about 6 a year, counting full years only. The contested share went from 42% to 26%, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 64% to 81%.
The median confinement went from 9 months to 8 months. General courts-martial went from 58% of cases to 47%. In groups this small, a few cases can change each figure.
| 2020–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 19 | 19 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 42% | 26% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 2 of 7 | 2 of 5 |
| Convictions with confinement | 88% | 88% |
| Median confinement | 9 months | 8 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64% | 81% |
| General courts-martial | 58% | 47% |
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided guilt in 16 of the 18 cases with a forum listed (89%). An enlisted panel decided 1 and an officer panel decided 1.
By rank, the accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 1 officer, a group more junior than the Army as a whole. 9 of the 19 cases were general courts-martial (47%), compared with 69% in the rest of the Army. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Similar Installations
Fort Leavenworth tried 20 cases and Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston tried 21 in the same years. Fort Leavenworth had a median confinement of 1.2 years and the same 81% punitive discharge rate as Fort Irwin. Fort Sam Houston had a median of 4 months and a rate of 41%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Irwin | 19 | 26% | 2 of 5 | 8 months | 81% |
| Fort Leavenworth | 20 | 35% | 1 of 7 | 1.2 years | 81% |
| Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston | 21 | 5% | 0 of 1 | 4 months | 41% |
Dates, Rule Changes, and Record Limits
The trials ran from January 2024 to September 2026: 5 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 7 so far in 2026. They are 2% of the 1,252 Army courts-martial in those years.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence and sexual assault. Judges set the sentence when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Because the records give trial dates, not offense dates, they cannot show which rules applied to a case. They also do not show the evidence, plea terms, or nonjudicial punishment.
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 2024–2026 (19 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 Irwin: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 19 Courts-Martial at Fort Irwin, 2020–2023 (another period)
- Fort Leavenworth Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 20 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, 2024–2026? 21 Courts-Martial (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, 2024–2026
- Larry A. Babin Jr.
- Jessica Conn
- Joseph R. Distaso
- Matthew S. Fitzgerald
- Anne C. Hsieh
- Daniel L. Mazzone
- Robert E. Murdough
- Scott A. Oravec
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.