What Changed at Holloman AFB, New Mexico After 2019? 34 Cases vs. 28
Holloman AFB, New Mexico held 34 courts-martial in 2016–2018 and 28 in 2019–2023. That is about 6 a year in the later period, compared with about 11 a year before. In the later period, 36% of cases with a plea listed were contested, compared with 50% across the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Holloman AFB, New Mexico › Before and after 2019
Short answer: Holloman AFB, New Mexico held 34 courts-martial in 2016–2018 and 28 in 2019–2023. That is about 6 a year in the later period, compared with about 11 a year before. In the later period, 36% of cases with a plea listed were contested, compared with 50% across the rest of the Air Force. 43% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56%.
Fewer Cases per Year After 2019
This post compares courts-martial at Holloman AFB, New Mexico in 2019–2023 with the earlier 2016–2018 period. The detailed figures describe the 28 later cases, tried from January 2019 to September 2023. The comparison table shows them next to the 34 earlier ones.
The largest change is the number of cases. The earlier period had about 11 cases a year, compared with about 6 a year since, counting full years only. By year, the later period had 6 cases in 2019, 7 in 2020, 8 in 2021, 4 in 2022, and 3 in 2023.
Then and Now, Measure by Measure
Most other measures changed little. The median confinement went from 2 months to 3 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 44% to 43%. Convictions with confinement went from 78% to 82%.
Court level changed more. General courts-martial made up 15% of cases in the earlier period and 39% in the later one. The earlier period has no contested share, because Air Force records from those years seldom list a guilty plea. Groups this small change with a few cases, so these changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 34 | 28 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 36% |
| Convictions with confinement | 78% | 82% |
| Median confinement | 2 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 44% | 43% |
| General courts-martial | 15% | 39% |
Fewer Contested Cases Than the Air Force
Of the 22 later cases with a plea listed, 14 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 36%, lower than 50% in the rest of the Air Force.
6 of the 28 cases ended in a full acquittal (21%), compared with 24% in all Air Force cases in those years. Air Force plea records are incomplete for the early part of this period, so that rate uses all cases, not contested cases only.
Short Sentences, With Some Over a Year
Of 22 convictions, 18 included confinement. The median was 3 months, about the same as 4 months for the Air Force as a whole. A quarter of those sentences were 1.2 years or longer.
4 of 22 convictions (18%) included more than one year, compared with 23% Air Force-wide. None included 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 18% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 45% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 18% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 18% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 6% |
Sentences by Court Level
At the 11 general courts-martial, 8 of 8 convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. At the 17 special courts-martial, 71% did, with a median of 42 days. General courts-martial made up 39% of cases here, 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.
Punitive Discharges Lower Than the Air Force Rate
43% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 6 dishonorable discharges and 3 bad-conduct discharges. Across the rest of the Air Force, the share was 56%. The records include 1 convicted officer, who was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Drug Offenses Were the Most Common Charge
The charge lists cover 22 of the 28 cases. Article 112a (drug offenses) was the most common charge, in 41% of cases, the same share as across the Air Force. Article 134 (the general article) was charged more often here than service-wide: 27% compared with 21%. So was Article 92 (orders violation): 23% compared with 16%. A case with several articles counts once under each, so the rows overlap.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 9 | 41% | 41% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 27% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 23% | 16% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 18% | 19% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 5% | 11% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 5% | 3% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 1 | 5% | 1% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 1 | 5% | 1% |
Panels, Rank, and Peer Bases
Members heard 36% of the cases with the forum listed: 5 enlisted panels and 5 officer panels. A military judge alone heard 18. The accused usually chooses the forum. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the split mostly follows the contested share. Junior enlisted airmen (E-1 to E-4) were 61% of the accused, NCOs 36%, and officers 4%. Air Force-wide, 64% were junior enlisted.
Beale AFB, California and Cannon AFB, New Mexico tried a similar number of cases. At Cannon, 84% of cases were contested, and the median confinement was 1.2 years.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holloman AFB, New Mexico | 28 | 36% | 5 of 8 | 3 months | 43% |
| Beale AFB, California | 28 | 5 of 9 | 3 of 5 | 3 months | 55% |
| Cannon AFB, New Mexico | 29 | 84% | 9 of 16 | 1.2 years | 69% |
Limits
Air Force records seldom list charges in full acquittals and do not report plea agreements. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation, and the evidence behind any case, are not in these records.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Holloman AFB, New Mexico in 2016–2018 (34) and 2019–2023 (28).
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
- Holloman AFB, New Mexico: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 2016–2018? 34 Courts-Martial
- Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 28 Cases
- Article 112a Cases at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 2017–2018: 26 Courts-Martial
- Andersen AFB, Guam Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 2019–2023
- Elijah F. Brown
- John C. Degnan
- Colin P. Eichenberger
- Tobin C. Griffeth
- Elizabeth M. Hernandez
- Christina M. Jimenez
- Brett A. Landry
- Brian C. Mason
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Rebecca E. Schmidt
- Christopher M. Schumann
- Matthew P. Stoffel
- Bryan D. Watson
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.