What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2024–2026? 13 Courts-Martial
JBSA-Lackland, Texas had 13 Air Force courts-martial from April 2024 to September 2026, 2% of the 598 Air Force cases in those years. Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal.
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Trends › By Installation › JBSA - Lackland, Texas › 2024–2026
Short answer: JBSA-Lackland, Texas had 13 Air Force courts-martial from April 2024 to September 2026, 2% of the 598 Air Force cases in those years. Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. The median confinement was 2 months, and 7 of 9 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
Pleas and Full Acquittals
The plea is recorded for 10 of the 13 cases. Of those, 6 accused pleaded guilty and 4 contested at least one charge. The contested share, 40%, was about the same as the 43% across the Air Force.
Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. In 2019–2023, 8 of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal at this installation.
What Was Charged
Charges are listed for all 13 cases. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) and Article 112a (drug offenses) were each charged in 4 cases (31%). Across the Air Force, those shares were 16% and 20%.
Article 128 (assault) and Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) were each charged in 3 cases (23%), compared with 13% each across the Air Force. Article 134 (the general article) appears in 1 case (8%), compared with 24%. A case with several articles counts under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 31% | 16% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 31% | 20% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 23% | 13% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 23% | 13% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 8% | 9% |
| Art. 130 Stalking | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 134 General article | 1 | 8% | 24% |
Sentences and Discharges
Confinement was part of 8 of 9 convictions. The median confinement was 2 months, compared with 4 months in 2019–2023. A punitive discharge (a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge) followed 7 of 9 enlisted convictions. In 2019–2023 the rate was 60%.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Change From 2019–2023
The installation had 25 cases in 2019–2023, about 5 a year, the same rate as since 2024. The contested share went from 56% to 40%. General courts-martial went from 60% of cases to 54%. Figures for groups this small can move with a few cases.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 25 | 13 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 56% | 40% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 8 of 10 | 3 of 4 |
| Convictions with confinement | 87% | 8 of 9 |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 2 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 60% | 7 of 9 |
| General courts-martial | 60% | 54% |
Who Decided Guilt?
A military judge alone heard 11 cases, and enlisted panels heard 2. Members heard 15% of the cases, compared with 28% Air Force-wide. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Rank and Court Level
The accused were 7 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 6 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), with no officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force as a whole, where 58% were junior enlisted.
There were 7 general and 6 special courts-martial. The general share, 54%, was about the same as the 56% in the rest of the Air Force.
Similar Installations
Ramstein AB, Germany and McConnell AFB, Kansas tried a similar number of cases. Ramstein had a median confinement of 9 months, and McConnell had 3 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBSA - Lackland, Texas | 13 | 40% | 3 of 4 | 2 months | 7 of 9 |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% |
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% |
Years and Limits
There were 7 cases in 2024, 3 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which cases fell under the rules in effect since December 28, 2023. The records do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms.
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 2024–2026 (13 cases), compared with all 598 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)
- What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2016–2018? 19 Courts-Martial (another period)
- JBSA - Lackland, Texas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 25 Cases Show (another period)
- Inside 14 Courts-Martial at Aviano AB, Italy, 2024–2026 (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 2024–2026? 12 Courts-Martial (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, 2024–2026
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.