What Was Tried at Fort Sill, 2024–2026? 24 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Fort Sill › 2024–2026

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

Most of the Accused Were NCOs

Most of the accused at Fort Sill were noncommissioned officers (NCOs). NCOs made up 67% of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 25%, and officers 8%. Across the Army in those years, junior enlisted members were 53% of the accused.

Many Contested Cases, Few Full Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least 1 charge. At Fort Sill, 11 cases were contested and 13 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 46%, compared with 21% Army-wide. Of the 13 guilty pleas, 12 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records show that an agreement existed, not its terms.

Few contested cases ended in a full acquittal: 2 of 11 that reached a verdict (18%), compared with 40% across the Army. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least 1 charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals appear often.

Who Heard the Contested Cases?

The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Members heard 26% of cases with the forum listed: 5 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. A judge alone decided the other 17. Among contested cases, members heard 6 of 10 (60%).

Orders, AWOL, and False Statements

Every record lists its charges. The most common charge was Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), in 6 cases. That 25% share compares with 10% in the rest of the Army. In 4 cases each (17%), the charges included Article 86 (AWOL) or Article 107 (false official statements). Elsewhere those shares were 3% and 5%.

Article 128b (domestic violence) was also charged in 4 cases. That 17% is lower than 25% in the rest of the Army. Article 128 (assault) was also charged less often: 12% compared with 20%. Article 120b and Article 120 were each charged in 3 cases. A single case can appear under several articles.

Short and Long Sentences

22 cases ended in a conviction on at least 1 charge, and 18 of those sentences included confinement (82%). The median was 5 months, lower than the 6-month median in the rest of the Army. A quarter of those sentences were 3 years or longer.

Sentences longer than a year were more common than Army-wide: 8 of 22 convictions (36%), compared with 30%. No conviction included 6 months to 1 year, compared with 17% Army-wide. 10 (45%) included under 6 months. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than a year. A special court-martial is capped at one year. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Punitive Discharges

Convicted enlisted members received 11 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. Those 13 punitive discharges cover 65% of enlisted convictions, lower than the Army's 73%. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

How Fort Sill Changed From 2021–2023

In 2024–2026 Fort Sill averaged about 9 cases a year, counting full years only. In 2021–2023 it had 37 cases, about 12 a year. Compared with that earlier period, more cases were contested now (46%, up from 30%), and fewer contested cases ended in a full acquittal (2 of 11, compared with 4 of 10). Sentences were also lower on each measure: a median of 5 months instead of 6 months, confinement in 82% of convictions instead of 94%, and punitive discharges in 65% of enlisted convictions instead of 77%.

The general court-martial share went from 86% to 59% (13 of the 22 cases with a court level listed). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial cannot. With groups this small, a few cases either way change these figures, so they show direction only.

Next to Fort Polk and Fort Wainwright

Fort Polk and Fort Wainwright each tried 25 Army cases in the same years. Their contested shares were 12% and 24%, both lower than the 46% at Fort Sill. Median confinement was 6 months at Fort Polk and 4 months at Fort Wainwright. Punitive discharge rates for enlisted members were 64% and 59%.

Timing, Law, and Limits

The cases are from January 2024 to July 2026: 9 in 2024, 9 in 2025, and 6 in the partial year of 2026. That is 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 sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder, Judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so these cases include trials under both the old and new rules. The data cannot show whether the changes affected any figure. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, evidence, and plea terms are all outside these records.

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.