A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Stewart: 2024
The records hold 13 courts-martial at Fort Stewart in 2024, and 12 of the accused pleaded guilty. Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a punitive discharge (92%), compared with 72% across the Army.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Stewart › 2024
Short answer: The records hold 13 courts-martial at Fort Stewart in 2024, and 12 of the accused pleaded guilty. Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a punitive discharge (92%), compared with 72% across the Army. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 38% of cases, compared with 23% across the Army.
Almost Every Accused Pleaded Guilty
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. At Fort Stewart in 2024, 12 accused pleaded guilty and 1 contested. The contested share was 8%, compared with 27% across the Army.
All 12 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records note whether an agreement existed but not what it said. The 1 contested case ended in a full acquittal, with the accused found not guilty of every charge.
Punitive Discharges for Nearly All Convicted Enlisted Members
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 11 received one: 9 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. Across the Army, the share was 72%.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Domestic Violence Was the Most Common Charge
All 13 records list the charges, and a case can be counted under more than one article. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 5 cases (38%), compared with 23% across the Army. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 23%, compared with 9%. Article 85 (desertion) appeared in 15%, compared with 2%.
Article 128 (assault) and Article 134 (the general article) each appeared in 23% of cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 15%, the same share as across the Army.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Army |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 38% | 23% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 23% | 23% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 23% | 9% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 23% | 21% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 2 | 15% | 2% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 15% | 15% |
| Art. 112 Drunkenness and other incapacitation | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 1 | 8% | 8% |
Confinement
Confinement was part of 92% of the 12 convictions. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months across the Army. Among sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.5 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Changes From 2023
Fort Stewart had 24 cases in 2023 and 13 in 2024. The contested share went from 38% to 8%. The median confinement went from 4 months to 7 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 71% to 92%. With this few cases, a small number of cases can move each figure.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 24 | 13 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 38% | 8% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 9 | 1 of 1 |
| Convictions with confinement | 78% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 92% |
| General courts-martial | 83% | 85% |
Rank, Court Level, and Forum
Of the accused, 7 were junior enlisted and 6 were NCOs, with no officers. General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 11 of 13 cases (85%). Special courts-martial made up the rest.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 1 case, with an enlisted panel. A military judge alone decided the other 12.
Similar Installations
Kaiserslautern (Europe) tried 25 cases and Fort Campbell tried 27. Both had higher contested shares, at 24% and 15%. Their punitive discharge shares for enlisted members were 87% and 91%, and their median confinement was 9 months and 8 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Stewart | 13 | 8% | 1 of 1 | 7 months | 92% |
| Kaiserslautern (Europe) | 25 | 24% | 1 of 6 | 9 months | 87% |
| Fort Campbell | 27 | 15% | 2 of 4 | 8 months | 91% |
Law Changes in Effect
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.
Both rules depend on the offense date. These records give trial dates only, so 2024 trials include cases under the old rules and cases under the new rules.
What This Leaves Out
Trial records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Fort Stewart with a trial date in 2024 (13 cases).
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)
- By Year (hub)
- What Fort Stewart Tried in 2023 (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Stewart: 2025 (previous / next)
- Fort Stewart Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 46 Cases Show (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Stewart, 2024
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.