Inside 25 Courts-Martial at Hill AFB, Utah, 2019–2023
83% of convicted enlisted members at Hill AFB, Utah received a punitive discharge in 2019–2023, compared with 56% across the Air Force. The median confinement in its 25 courts-martial was 8 months, compared with 4 months in all Air Force cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Hill AFB, Utah › 2019–2023
Short answer: 83% of convicted enlisted members at Hill AFB, Utah received a punitive discharge in 2019–2023, compared with 56% across the Air Force. The median confinement in its 25 courts-martial was 8 months, compared with 4 months in all Air Force cases. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 39% of cases with charges listed, compared with 19% Air Force-wide.
Punitive Discharges Followed Most Convictions
Among 23 enlisted members convicted at Hill, 19 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (83%), compared with 56% across all Air Force cases. Of those 19, 11 were dishonorable, the more severe of the 2 punitive discharges for enlisted members.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. The records list 0 officers or warrant officers among the accused.
Assault and Sexual Assault More Common Than Drug Charges
Of the 23 cases with charges listed, 9 included Article 128 (assault). That is 39%, compared with 19% Air Force-wide. 6 included Article 120 (rape and sexual assault): 26%, compared with 11%. Article 134 (general article) was charged in 22%, about the same as the Air Force's 21%.
Drug charges were less common. Article 112a was charged in 3 cases (13%), compared with 41% across the Air Force. Article 128b (domestic violence) was charged in 2 cases. A case can appear under several articles. Air Force records seldom list charges in full acquittals, so these counts come mostly from cases with a conviction.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 39% | 19% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 26% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 22% | 21% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 13% | 41% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 9% | 5% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 1 | 4% | 4% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 4% | 3% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 4% | 7% |
More Long Sentences
87% of the 23 convictions included confinement. The median was 8 months, compared with an Air Force-wide median of 4 months. A quarter of those sentences were 3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
8 of 23 convictions (35%) included more than one year, compared with 23% across the Air Force. 13% of convictions included 5 years or more, compared with 6%. 30% included under 6 months, compared with 50%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 3 | 13% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 7 | 30% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 22% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 22% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 13% | 6% |
Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial
Hill held 17 general and 8 special courts-martial. The general share was 68%, compared with 53% in all Air Force cases. 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.
The accused were 11 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 14 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). That mix is more senior than all Air Force cases, where 64% were junior enlisted.
Pleas and Verdicts
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 19 records that list a plea, 9 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 10 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 47%, compared with 50% across the Air Force.
Only 2 of the 25 cases ended in a full acquittal (8%), compared with 24% in all Air Force cases. This rate uses every case as the base, because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 seldom list the plea when the accused pleaded guilty.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone decided 14 of 24 cases with the forum listed (58%), and members heard 10: 6 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split mostly follows the contested share.
How Hill Changed After 2016–2018
In 2016–2018 the same base had 20 cases, about 7 a year. Since then it has had about 6 a year (full years only). Median confinement went from 6 months to 8 months. Convictions with confinement went from 81% to 87%, and general courts-martial from 40% to 68%.
The enlisted punitive discharge share went from 53% to 83%. The records do not show the reason for any of these changes. Small groups change with a few cases, so these are directions, not precise measures.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 20 | 25 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 47% |
| Convictions with confinement | 81% | 87% |
| Median confinement | 6 months | 8 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 53% | 83% |
| General courts-martial | 40% | 68% |
Similar Air Force Bases
JBSA - Lackland, Texas (25 cases) and McConnell AFB, Kansas (24 cases) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Both had a median confinement of 4 months, compared with 8 months at Hill. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 60% and 65%. Their contested shares were 56% and 57%.
Hill's 25 cases are from February 2019 through September 2023: 6 in 2019, 0 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 8 in 2022, and 5 in 2023. That is 2% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill AFB, Utah | 25 | 47% | 1 of 9 | 8 months | 83% |
| JBSA - Lackland, Texas | 25 | 56% | 8 of 10 | 4 months | 60% |
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 24 | 57% | 3 of 7 | 4 months | 65% |
Limits of These Records
The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and they do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear. Air Force records do not report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Hill AFB, Utah with a trial date in 2019–2023 (25 cases), compared with all 1,361 Air Force 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
- Hill AFB, Utah: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 20 Courts-Martial at Hill AFB, Utah, 2016–2018 (another period)
- JBSA - Lackland, Texas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 25 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- McConnell AFB, Kansas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 24 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Hill AFB, Utah, 2019–2023
- Elijah F. Brown
- Colin P. Eichenberger
- Christina M. Jimenez
- James E. Key III
- Brett A. Landry
- Andrew R. Norton
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Rebecca E. Schmidt
- Christopher M. Schumann
- Shaun S. Speranza
- Matthew P. Stoffel
- Charles G. Warren
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.