Fort Knox Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
NCOs made up 75% of the accused in Fort Knox's 52 courts-martial in 2024–2026. Article 93a (prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee) was charged in 23% of cases, compared with 2% Army-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fort Knox › Before and after 2024
Short answer: NCOs made up 75% of the accused in Fort Knox's 52 courts-martial in 2024–2026. Article 93a (prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee) was charged in 23% of cases, compared with 2% Army-wide. Only 26% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% across the Army and 54% at Fort Knox in 2021–2023.
Most of the Accused Were NCOs
NCOs made up 75% of the accused at Fort Knox in 2024–2026. Officers were 13%, and junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were only 12%. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 53% of the accused.
Article 93a covers prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee by someone in a training or recruiting role. It was charged in 23% of cases, compared with 2% Army-wide. Article 92 (orders violations) was charged in 31%, compared with 10%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 15 | 31% | 10% |
| Art. 93a Prohibited activities with recruit or trainee | 11 | 23% | 2% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 19% | 25% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 12% | 21% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 6 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 8% | 5% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 8% | 20% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 3 | 6% | 8% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Among 38 enlisted members convicted, 10 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and 2 of those were dishonorable. The rate was 26%, compared with 54% in 2021–2023 and 73% across the Army.
Of 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
| 2021–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 39 | 52 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 26% | 15% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 10 | 3 of 7 |
| Convictions with confinement | 79% | 80% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 2 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 54% | 26% |
| General courts-martial | 79% | 35% |
Shorter Confinement, Mostly at Special Courts-Martial
Of 45 convictions, 36 included confinement. The median was 2 months, compared with 5 months in 2021–2023 and 6 months in the rest of the Army. 56% of convictions included under 6 months, compared with 39% Army-wide. 20% included no confinement, compared with 15%.
The court level also changed. General courts-martial made up 79% of Fort Knox cases in 2021–2023 and 35% in 2024–2026 (18 of the 51 cases with a court level listed). The court level is not listed for 1 case. The records show these changes happened in the same period, not whether one caused another.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 9 | 20% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 25 | 56% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 11% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 9% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 4% | 9% |
How the Levels Compare
6 of 45 convictions (13%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 30% across the Army. At the 18 general courts-martial, every conviction included confinement, with a median of 1 year. At the 33 special courts-martial, 69% did, with a median of 50 days. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
A quarter of all terms were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
Charges and Their Outcomes
All 11 cases charging Article 93a ended in a guilty plea and a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 2 months. 13 of 15 Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 55 days. 14 of the 15 were guilty pleas.
Article 128b (domestic violence) cases had longer sentences. 7 of 9 ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 1.1 years. Article 128b was charged in 19% of cases here, compared with 25% Army-wide. Article 134 was charged in 12%, compared with 21%. Article 131b (obstruction of justice) was charged in 12%, compared with 5%.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 15 | 13 (87%) | 55 days |
| Art. 93a Prohibited activities with recruit or trainee | 11 | 11 (100%) | 2 months |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 1.1 years |
Guilty Pleas Under Agreements
Of 52 cases, 44 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 15%, compared with 26% in 2021–2023 and 21% Army-wide. Of the 44 guilty pleas, 39 are recorded with a plea agreement and 5 have no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.
A military judge alone decided 49 of the 52 cases (94%). Members heard 3, all enlisted panels. 3 of 7 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, compared with 6 of 10 in 2021–2023.
Volume and Peer Installations
There were 17 cases in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 19 in 2026, a partial year. That is about 16 a year, compared with about 13 a year in 2021–2023. Small groups change with a few cases either way.
Wheeler Army Airfield (54 cases) and Fort Stewart (46 cases) tried a similar number of cases. Their punitive discharge rates were 80% and 91%. Their median confinement was 9 months and 6 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Knox | 52 | 15% | 3 of 7 | 2 months | 26% |
| Wheeler Army Airfield | 54 | 31% | 9 of 17 | 9 months | 80% |
| Fort Stewart | 46 | 9% | 1 of 4 | 6 months | 91% |
Rules and Records
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. The records also omit the evidence, plea terms, and any case 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 tried at Fort Knox in 2021–2023 (39) and 2024–2026 (52).
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 Knox: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Fort Knox Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show
- Inside 39 Courts-Martial at Fort Knox, 2021–2023
- 15 Orders Violation Courts-Martial at Fort Knox, 2024–2026: What the Records Show
- Article 93a Charges at Fort Knox, 2024–2026: Pleas, Verdicts, and Sentences
- Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Fort Benning, 2021–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Fort Bliss, 2020–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Knox, 2024–2026
- Larry A. Babin Jr.
- Gregory B. Batdorff
- Gregory R. Bockin
- Kenneth W. Borgnino
- John H. Cook
- Frederic P. Gallun
- Mitchell D. Herniak
- Benjamin W. Hillner
- John R. Longley III
- John R. Maloney
- Daniel L. Mazzone
- Scott A. Oravec
- Alexander N. Pickands
- Charles L. Pritchard Jr.
- Kenton E. Spiegler
- Joseph K. Venghaus
- 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.