Inside 26 Courts-Martial at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 2016–2018

Trends › By Installation › JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska › 2016–2018

Based on 26 cases · 2016–2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Cases Charged Drug Offenses

Article 112a, which covers wrongful use and possession of controlled substances, was charged in 17 of the 20 cases whose records list charges, or 85%. Across the Air Force in the same years, the share was 48%. Article 134 (general article) was also charged more often: 40% of cases compared with 25%.

Other charges were less common: Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 4 cases each, and Article 128 (assault), Article 121 (larceny), and Article 86 (AWOL) in 2 each. One case can fall under several articles, so these counts overlap. Air Force records rarely list charges when a case ends in full acquittal, so these shares mostly reflect cases that ended in a conviction.

Every Listed Drug Charge Ended in a Conviction

Because Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions, the charge-by-charge table shows conviction counts and sentences rather than conviction rates. All 17 cases charging Article 112a show a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 6 months. Article 134 shows 7 convictions out of 8 cases charging it, also with a median of 6 months.

How Much Confinement Did Convictions Bring?

Confinement was part of 80% of the 20 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months across the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences, the terms announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

The main difference was in mid-length sentences. Sentences of 6 months to under 1 year made up 30% of convictions here, compared with 13% across the Air Force. Sentences under 6 months made up 35%, compared with 46%. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 3 of 20 convictions (15%), compared with 21%. No conviction included 5 years or more.

More Punitive Discharges Than Across the Air Force

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. Among 20 convicted enlisted members, 13 received one (65%). That is higher than the 55% across the Air Force. All 13 were bad-conduct discharges; 0 were dishonorable.

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

Full Acquittals Measured Against All Cases

Of the 26 cases, 6 ended in a full acquittal (23%), compared with 20% in the rest of the Air Force. That rate uses every case as its base, not just contested ones. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list the plea when the accused pleaded guilty, so the contested share cannot be measured reliably for these years.

Members Decided Half the Cases

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. At this base, 50% of cases with the forum listed went to members: 2 enlisted panels and 11 officer panels. The other 13 were tried by a judge alone.

Court Level and Rank

Of the 26 cases, 16 were general courts-martial (62%), compared with 47% for the Air Force as a whole. 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 16 general courts-martial had a median confinement of 6 months, and the 10 special courts-martial had a median of 4 months.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 69% of the accused. NCOs made up 31%, and officers 0%. Across the rest of the Air Force, junior enlisted were 63%.

Similar Installations and Case Counts

Peterson SFB, Colorado (26 cases) and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana (27 cases) tried a similar number of Air Force cases in the same years. Their median confinement was 3 months and 4 months. Their enlisted punitive discharge shares were 44% and 53%, both lower than the 65% here.

The 26 Alaska cases were tried from March 2016 through October 2018: 8 in 2016, 11 in 2017, and 7 in 2018. That is 3% of the 991 Air Force courts-martial in those years.

Old Rules, and What the Records Omit

These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules.

The records cover only what reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action do not appear. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or offense dates. Air Force records never report plea agreements.

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.