Fort Stewart Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 46 Cases Show
Fort Stewart tried 46 courts-martial from January 2024 to September 2026, 4% of the 1,252 Army cases in those years. 42 of the 46 accused pleaded guilty. 91% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% Army-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Fort Stewart › 2024–2026
Short answer: Fort Stewart tried 46 courts-martial from January 2024 to September 2026, 4% of the 1,252 Army cases in those years. 42 of the 46 accused pleaded guilty. 91% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% Army-wide. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the Army as a whole.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
Of the 46 accused, 42 pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 9%, compared with 21% in the rest of the Army. A case counts as contested when the accused pleads not guilty to any charge.
Army records note whether a plea agreement existed, not its terms. At Fort Stewart, 41 of the 42 guilty pleas are recorded with an agreement, and 1 has no entry. A military judge alone heard 43 cases and enlisted panels heard 3. Members decided 7% of cases with the forum listed.
Compared With 2020–2023
In 2020–2023, Fort Stewart tried 69 cases, about 17 a year. Since then it has tried about 16 a year, counting full years only. The contested share then was 48%, and 13 of 30 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Since 2024, the contested share is 9%, and 1 of 4 contested cases ended in a full acquittal.
Sentence measures changed in both directions. Median confinement went from 1 year to 6 months. The share of convictions with confinement went from 80% to 91%. Punitive discharges for enlisted convictions went from 78% to 91%. General courts-martial went from 87% to 76% of cases.
These changes happened in the same period as the December 28, 2023 rule giving special trial counsel the decision to prosecute covered offenses. The records cannot show whether one caused the other. With groups this size, the changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2020–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 69 | 46 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 48% | 9% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 13 of 30 | 1 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 80% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 78% | 91% |
| General courts-martial | 87% | 76% |
Punitive Discharges in 91% of Enlisted Convictions
Among 43 convicted enlisted members, 39 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (91%), compared with 73% across the Army. 11 of those were dishonorable. The 1 convicted officer in the records was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Domestic Violence Was the Most Common Charge
Charge lists cover 45 of the 46 cases. Article 128b (domestic violence) was the most common charge, in 14 cases (31%, compared with 25% Army-wide). Article 134 (the general article) was next, in 9, then Article 128 (assault) in 7. Assault was charged less often than the Army figure: 16% compared with 20%.
Other articles were charged more often than the Army rate. Article 81 (conspiracy) was charged in 11%, compared with 2%. Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 13%, compared with 7%. Article 120b (sexual offenses against a child) was charged in 13%, compared with 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 14 | 31% | 25% |
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 20% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 16% | 20% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 6 | 13% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 6 | 13% | 8% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 5 | 11% | 2% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 9% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 7% | 10% |
Charge-by-Charge Sentences
All 14 Article 128b cases and all 9 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement was 7 months for Article 128b, higher than the overall median for Fort Stewart. It was 6 months for Article 134. Because a sentence covers every charge in a case, these medians reflect companion charges as well.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 14 | 14 (100%) | 7 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 6 months |
Confinement in Most Convictions
Of 44 convictions, 40 included confinement. The median was 6 months, the same as the Army median. A quarter of those sentences were 1.5 years or longer. 1 sentence was confinement for life.
Sentences over one year were about as common as in the rest of the Army: 12 of 44 convictions (27%), compared with 30%. Only 9% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 15% Army-wide. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 9% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 19 | 43% | 39% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 20% | 17% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 18% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 4 | 9% | 9% |
Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial
General courts-martial made up 76% of cases (35 of 46). That level can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. The 35 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 8 months, and the 11 special courts-martial had 3 months. Both levels had a 9% contested share.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 61% of the accused, NCOs 37%, and officers 2%. Across the Army, junior enlisted were 53%.
Fort Carson and Fort Drum for Comparison
Fort Carson and Fort Drum each tried 45 cases in the same years. Fort Carson's contested share was higher, at 40%. 8 of its 18 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Its median confinement was 4 months, and its punitive discharge rate was 78%.
Fort Drum's contested share was 11%, closer to Fort Stewart's. Its median confinement was higher, at 11 months, and its punitive discharge rate was higher, at 95%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Stewart | 46 | 9% | 1 of 4 | 6 months | 91% |
| Fort Carson | 45 | 40% | 8 of 18 | 4 months | 78% |
| Fort Drum | 45 | 11% | 3 of 4 | 11 months | 95% |
What Falls Outside the Records
Offense dates are not in the records, so they cannot separate 2024–2026 trials under the old rules from those under the new sentencing parameters. The records also omit the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, and administrative separations, and 2026 is a partial year.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Fort Stewart with a trial date in 2024–2026 (46 cases), compared with all 1,252 Army trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
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 Stewart: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Fort Stewart, 2020–2023? 69 Courts-Martial (another period)
- Fort Carson, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 45 Cases (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Fort Drum, 2024–2026? 45 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Camp Humphreys, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 69 Cases
- Fort Bliss, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 102 Cases
- Fort Bragg Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 143 Cases Show
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Stewart, 2024–2026
- Gregory B. Batdorff
- Todd M. Chard
- Robyn M. Chatwood
- Jerrod B. Fussnecker
- Oren Gleich
- Tyler J. Heimann
- Benjamin W. Hillner
- Thomas P. Hynes
- Julie K. Waters
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.