What JBSA - Lackland, Texas Tried in 2018
The Air Force records list 13 courts-martial at JBSA - Lackland, Texas in 2018. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 50% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 12% Air Force-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › JBSA - Lackland, Texas › 2018
Short answer: The Air Force records list 13 courts-martial at JBSA - Lackland, Texas in 2018. Article 120 (sexual assault) was charged in 50% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 12% Air Force-wide. The median confinement was 1.6 years, compared with 4 months in the rest of the Air Force, and 80% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
Long Confinement Terms
Of the 13 cases, 10 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 9 of those sentences included confinement (90%). The median confinement was 1.6 years. In the rest of the Air Force, the median was 4 months. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 2 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They cover every charge in the case and come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Sexual Assault Charges
Charges are listed for 10 of the 13 cases, and a case with several articles counts under each one. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 5 of those cases (50%), compared with 12% across the Air Force. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 2 (20%), compared with 12%.
Assault under Article 128 appeared in 3 cases (30%), compared with 10%. Article 134 (general article) also appeared in 3 cases (30%), close to the 27% Air Force-wide. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 2 cases (20%), lower than the 47% across the Air Force.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 50% | 12% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 30% | 27% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 30% | 10% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 20% | 15% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 20% | 12% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 20% | 47% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 1 | 10% | 2% |
| Art. 91 Insubordinate conduct toward NCO | 1 | 10% | 1% |
Punitive Discharges
Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 8 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (80%). Across the rest of the Air Force, the share was 58%. Of those 8, 6 were dishonorable discharges. A dishonorable discharge can only come from a general court-martial.
Full Acquittals
Of the 13 cases, 3 ended in a full acquittal (23%), about the same as the 22% across the Air Force. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list the plea when the accused pleaded guilty. This rate therefore uses all cases as the base, not only contested cases.
Who Decided Guilt
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 10 of the 13 cases (77%). Members decided 3, all of them enlisted panels.
Rank and Court Level
Of the accused, 12 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 1 was an NCO. No officers were tried. Across the Air Force, junior enlisted members were 63% of the accused.
General courts-martial heard 9 of the 13 cases (69%), compared with 50% in the rest of the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Rules in Force
These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months, and brought in written plea agreements. None of those rules applied to these cases.
Limits of the Records
The records do not cover nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or cases with no action. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas with a trial date in 2018 (13 cases).
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)
- By Year (hub)
- What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2016–2018? 19 Courts-Martial (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Holloman AFB, New Mexico: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2018
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.