What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2016–2018? 19 Courts-Martial
JBSA-Lackland, Texas had 19 Air Force courts-martial from October 2016 to December 2018, 2% of the 991 Air Force cases in those years. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 9% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › JBSA - Lackland, Texas › 2016–2018
Short answer: JBSA-Lackland, Texas had 19 Air Force courts-martial from October 2016 to December 2018, 2% of the 991 Air Force cases in those years. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 9% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 1.6 years, compared with 4 months Air Force-wide, and 6 of the 19 cases ended in a full acquittal (32%).
Sexual Assault and Assault Charges
Charges are listed for 13 of the 19 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 6 of them (46%), compared with 9% in all Air Force cases in those years. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 5 (38%), compared with 11%.
Article 134 (the general article) also appears in 5 cases. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) and Article 112a (drug offenses) were each charged in 3 cases (23%). The Article 112a share was lower than the 48% across the Air Force. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 6 | 46% | 9% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 38% | 25% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 38% | 11% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 23% | 16% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 23% | 48% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 15% | 10% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 91 Insubordinate conduct toward NCO | 1 | 8% | 0% |
Confinement Measured in Years
Of 13 convictions, 10 included confinement. The median confinement was 1.6 years, compared with 4 months for the Air Force as a whole. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 2 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
Dishonorable Discharges
Of 13 convicted enlisted members, 9 received a punitive discharge: 2 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. Across the Air Force in those years, the share was 55%. A dishonorable discharge can be imposed only by a general court-martial, and general courts-martial made up 12 of the 19 cases (63%, compared with 47% Air Force-wide).
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Full Acquittals
Of the 19 cases, 6 ended in a full acquittal (32%), compared with 20% in the rest of the Air Force. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list guilty pleas, so this rate counts acquittals against all cases, not only contested cases.
Forum and Rank
A military judge alone decided guilt in 12 of 19 cases (63%). Enlisted panels heard the other 7, and no case went to an officer panel.
The accused were 13 junior enlisted members and 6 NCOs, with no officers. The group was more junior than the Air Force as a whole.
Installations With a Similar Number of Cases
Hill AFB, Utah and Moody AFB, Georgia each tried 20 cases in the same years. Their median confinement was 6 months and 4 months. A punitive discharge followed 53% of enlisted convictions at Hill and 67% at Moody.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBSA - Lackland, Texas | 19 | — | — | 1.6 years | 69% |
| Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | — | — | 6 months | 53% |
| Moody AFB, Georgia | 20 | — | — | 4 months | 67% |
Timing and Limits
There were 2 cases in 2016, 4 in 2017, and 13 in 2018. All were tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law later changed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial, and brought in written plea agreements.
The records cover only cases that reached a courtroom. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or cases closed without action, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas with a trial date in 2016–2018 (19 cases), compared with all 991 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
- JBSA - Lackland, Texas: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- JBSA - Lackland, Texas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 25 Cases Show (another period)
- What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2024–2026? 13 Courts-Martial (another period)
- Kadena AB, Japan, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 19 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Scott AFB, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 19 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
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2016–2018
- Jefferson B. Brown
- Donald R. Eller Jr.
- John C. Johnson
- Mark W. Milam
- Bradley A. Morris
- Jennifer J. Raab
- Shelly W. Schools
- Brian D. Teter
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.