Fort Wainwright, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 25 Cases

Trends › By Installation › Fort Wainwright › 2024–2026

Based on 25 cases · 2024–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Bad-Conduct Discharges Only

A punitive discharge for an enlisted member is either a bad-conduct discharge or the more severe dishonorable discharge. At Fort Wainwright, 13 of 22 convicted enlisted members received one. All 13 were bad-conduct discharges, and 0 were dishonorable. In the rest of the Army, 73% received a punitive discharge.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

Fewer General Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 47% of the Fort Wainwright cases with a court level listed, compared with 69% in all Army cases. The court level is not listed for 6 cases.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 64% of the accused and NCOs 36%. There were no officers. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 53%.

Domestic Violence and Vehicle Offenses

All 25 records list charges, and each article counts once per case. The most common charge was domestic violence under Article 128b: 9 cases, or 36%. In all Army cases in those years, the share was 25%. Drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle (Article 113) appeared in 16% here and 3% Army-wide. Drug offenses (Article 112a) appeared in 12% here and 5% Army-wide.

Orders violations (Article 92) were charged in 16%, compared with 10%. Assault (Article 128) was charged in 16%, compared with 20%. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 24% of cases, compared with 21% Army-wide.

Lower Median Confinement

Of the 22 convictions, 91% included confinement. Half of those sentences were 4 months or less. In the rest of the Army the median was 6 months. At the high end, a quarter were 1.3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

55% of convictions included under 6 months, compared with 39% in the rest of the Army. 5 of 22 convictions (23%) included more than one year, compared with 30%. No sentence was 5 years or more. Across the Army, 9% of convictions were.

Pleas, Agreements, and Verdicts

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. At Fort Wainwright, 19 accused pleaded guilty and 6 cases were contested. The contested share was 24%, compared with 21% Army-wide. All 19 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.

3 of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty on every charge. The choice between a military judge alone and a panel of members usually belongs to the accused. Here, 21 cases went to a judge alone and 4 went to enlisted panels, so members heard 16% of cases.

Then and Now: 2020–2023

Fort Wainwright had 45 cases in 2020–2023, about 11 a year. In the full years since, it has had about 10 a year. The contested share was about the same, 26% and 24%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 5 of 10 to 3 of 6.

In 2024–2026 the median confinement was 4 months. In 2020–2023 it was 6 months. Confinement was part of 91% of convictions in the later period and 89% in the earlier one. For convicted enlisted members, the punitive discharge share was 59% later and 50% earlier. General courts-martial were 47% of cases later and 61% earlier. Small groups change with a few cases, so these figures show direction, not precise size.

Fort Polk and Fort Sill

Fort Polk (25 cases) and Fort Sill (24) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Fort Wainwright's contested share was 24%, compared with 12% at Fort Polk and 46% at Fort Sill.

Of the 3 installations, Fort Wainwright had the lowest median confinement, at 4 months. The others had 6 months and 5 months. Fort Wainwright also had the lowest punitive discharge share, at 59%. The others had 64% and 65%.

Timing and What Is Not Recorded

There were 11 cases in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 4 in 2026, a partial year. That is 2% of 1,252 Army courts-martial. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence. Offenses after December 27, 2023 fall under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give.

The records cover only what reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, and plea terms are outside them.

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.