What Was Tried at Fort Sill, 2021–2023? 37 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Fort Sill › 2021–2023

Based on 37 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Domestic Violence and Child Offenses

Charge lists cover 36 of the 37 cases. A case with several articles appears once under each. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 7 cases (19%), compared with 13% across the Army. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 5 cases (14%), compared with 8%.

Some less common charges were also charged more often here. Article 93a (prohibited activities with recruit or trainee) was charged in 4 cases (11%), compared with 1% Army-wide. Article 129 (burglary; unlawful entry) was charged in 3 (8%), compared with 2%. Article 120 (sexual assault) and Article 128 (assault) were charged less often than across the Army: 19% and 25%, compared with 25% and 31%.

More Sentences Over One Year

Of 32 convictions, 94% included confinement. The median was 6 months, the same as the median Army-wide. A quarter of those sentences were 3.5 years or longer.

12 of 32 convictions (38%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 27% in all Army cases in those years. Only 2 convictions (6%) included no confinement, compared with 17% in the rest of the Army. 4 (12%) included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.

How Often Were Cases Contested?

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either fully or in a mixed plea. Fort Sill had 11 contested cases and 26 guilty pleas. The contested share was 30%, compared with 34% in all Army cases.

All 26 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

Verdicts After Trial

Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty on every charge. That is 40%, about the same as 37% in all Army cases.

Another 4 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals appear often in Army data.

Assault and the General Article

All 9 cases charging Article 134 (general article) ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 3 years. 7 of 9 assault (Article 128) cases ended in a conviction on that charge, with a median of 1 year.

One case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap. Each sentence covers the entire case.

Punitive Discharges: 12 Bad-Conduct, 12 Dishonorable

For enlisted soldiers, a punitive discharge is either a bad-conduct or a dishonorable discharge. 77% of enlisted convictions at Fort Sill included one, compared with 73% in the rest of the Army. There were 12 bad-conduct and 12 dishonorable discharges.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed, the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation.

Panels, Court Levels, and Rank

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 19% of cases with the forum listed. All 7 were enlisted panels. A judge alone heard the other 29. Among contested cases, members heard 7 of 10 (70%).

General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, numbered 30. There were 5 special courts-martial, and 2 cases have no level listed. The general share was 86%, compared with 75% across the Army. The accused were 20 junior enlisted soldiers, 16 NCOs, and 1 officer.

Fort Knox and Fort Polk Alongside

Fort Knox tried 39 cases in these years and Fort Polk 39. At Fort Knox, 6 of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. At Fort Polk, 9 of 14 did. Both were higher than 4 of 10 at Fort Sill.

Median confinement was 5 months at Fort Knox and 1.3 years at Fort Polk. Punitive discharge shares were 54% and 96%. Fort Sill's figures were between the 2 on both measures.

Years and Missing Information

The data shows 11 cases in 2021, 9 in 2022, and 17 in 2023, together 2% of the 1,498 Army courts-martial in those years. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and this data has few Army records before 2021. The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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.