A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Stewart: 2022

Trends › By Installation › Fort Stewart › 2022

Based on 22 cases · 2022 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common

Charge shares use the 21 cases whose records list charges, and a case can be counted under more than one article. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 9 cases. That 43% share is higher than the 26% for all Army cases in 2022.

Assault under Article 128 appeared in 24% of cases, compared with 27% across the Army. Domestic violence under Article 128b and drug offenses under Article 112a each appeared in 14%, compared with 13% across the Army. Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer) also appeared in 14%, compared with 6%. Article 134 (the general article) was less common here, at 10% compared with 21%. Article 80 (attempts) and Article 91 (insubordinate conduct toward an NCO) each appeared in 10% of cases, compared with 6% and 3% across the Army.

More Than Half of the Cases Were Contested

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. At Fort Stewart, 13 accused contested and 9 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 59%, compared with 36% across the Army.

Full and Partial Acquittals

All 13 contested cases reached a verdict. 6 ended in a full acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of every charge (46%). That is higher than the 38% full-acquittal rate across the Army.

Another 6 ended in a partial acquittal (46%). A partial acquittal means 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 records.

Confinement After a Conviction

Of 16 convictions, 75% included confinement. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. Among sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.6 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the most serious one.

Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members; for officers it is a dismissal. Of 15 convicted enlisted members, 12 received a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 3 dishonorable discharges. Across the Army, the share was 76%.

The records include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Who Decided Guilt?

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 17 of the 22 cases (77%). Members heard 5 cases: 4 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel.

Every members case was contested. Members heard 5 of the 13 contested cases (38%).

Rank and Court Level

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 64% of the accused, compared with 57% across the Army. NCOs made up 27%, and officers made up 9%.

General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 18 of the 22 cases (82%). Across the Army, the general share was 75%. The other 4 were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Fort Stewart Next to Fort Carson and Camp Humphreys

Fort Carson (23 cases) and Camp Humphreys (26 cases) tried a similar number of Army cases in 2022. Fort Carson had a lower contested share, at 26%, and a higher punitive discharge share for enlisted members, at 90%. Camp Humphreys had a contested share of 54% and a median confinement of 4 months.

The median confinement at Fort Carson was 1 year. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 6 of 13 at Fort Stewart, 2 of 6 at Fort Carson, and 5 of 14 at Camp Humphreys. In groups this small, a few cases can move each figure.

What the Records Do Not Show

Trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences, with trial dates rather than offense dates. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or misconduct handled through 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.