Fort Knox Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 52 Cases Show

Trends › By Installation › Fort Knox › 2024–2026

Based on 52 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Charges Tied to Recruits and Trainees

Of the 52 records, 48 list the charges. A case charging more than one article counts under each. Article 93a covers prohibited activities with a recruit or trainee. It was charged in 23% of those cases, compared with 2% across the Army. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 31%, compared with 10%. Article 131b (obstructing justice) was charged in 12%, compared with 5%.

Some of the Army's most common charges were less common here. Article 134 (the general article) was charged in 12% of cases, compared with 21% Army-wide. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 19%, compared with 25%. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 8%, compared with 20%.

Most of the Accused Were NCOs

By rank, the accused were 6 junior enlisted members, 39 NCOs, and 7 officers. The records list rank but not duty position, so they cannot say what roles these service members held.

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, heard 18 of the 51 cases with a court level listed (35%). The court level is not listed for 1 case. Special courts-martial heard the rest. They cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members, or a dismissal for officers. At Fort Knox, 26% of enlisted convictions included one (8 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable), compared with 73% Army-wide. 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 cover.

Short Confinement Terms

80% of the 45 convictions included confinement. The median was 2 months, compared with 6 months across Army cases in those years. A quarter of those sentences were 1 year or longer. 56% of convictions here included under 6 months, compared with 39% in the rest of the Army. 9% included more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 21%. In all, 6 of 45 convictions (13%) included more than one year, compared with 30% across the Army.

Sentences differed by court level. The 18 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 1 year, and 39% were contested. The 33 special courts-martial had a median of 50 days, and 3% were contested. All figures are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in a case.

Results for the Top Charges

All 11 cases charging Article 93a ended in a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 2 months. All 11 were guilty pleas. 13 of 15 Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 55 days. 14 of those 15 cases (93%) ended in a guilty plea. 7 of 9 Article 128b cases ended in a conviction, with a median of 1.1 years.

One case can carry several of these charges, so the rows overlap. The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the case.

Guilty Pleas and Judge-Alone Trials

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 44 accused pleaded guilty and 8 cases were contested. The contested share was 15%, compared with 21% in the Army as a whole. 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 its terms.

Members, meaning a panel instead of a judge, heard 6% of cases with the forum listed: 3 enlisted panels and 0 officer panels. There were 49 judge-alone trials. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split follows the low contested share.

Compared With 2021–2023

The 2021–2023 period had 39 cases, about 13 a year. Since then there have been about 16 a year, counting full years only. There were 17 cases in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 19 in 2026, a partial year. The 52 cases equal 4% of the Army's 1,252 courts-martial in 2024–2026.

Several measures were lower in the later period. The contested share went from 26% to 15%. Median confinement went from 5 months to 2 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 54% to 26%. The general court-martial share went from 79% to 35%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 6 of 10 to 3 of 7. These are small groups, so the direction is more reliable than the precise size.

Beside Similar Army Installations

Wheeler Army Airfield and Fort Stewart tried a similar number of cases in the same years. At Wheeler, 31% of cases were contested, the median confinement was 9 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 80%. At Fort Stewart, 9% were contested, the median was 6 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 91%. Fort Knox's 2-month median and 26% discharge rate are the lowest among these installations.

Rule Changes and Missing Details

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence, For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. These trials include cases under both the old and new rules. The records cannot show whether the rules changed any result.

The records also leave out the evidence, the plea terms, and anything handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.