Article 128 Cases at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 2021–2023: 34 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Joint Base Lewis-McChord › Article 128, 2021–2023

Based on 34 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Few Sentences Longer Than One Year

Only 3 of 29 convictions (10%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 25% in all Army Article 128 cases. Sentences from 1 to 5 years were 3% of convictions here and 15% elsewhere. Sentences of 5 years or more were 7%, compared with 10%.

Most sentences were under a year. Sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 31% of convictions, compared with 15% across the Army. Sentences under 6 months made up 48%, compared with 42%.

Median Confinement Was About the Same as Across the Army

Confinement was part of 90% of the 29 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 5 months in all Army Article 128 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 8 months or longer. Only 10% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 18% elsewhere.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

Of 29 convicted enlisted members, 17 received a punitive discharge: 14 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. In all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023, the share was 70%.

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is either a bad-conduct discharge or the more severe dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

More Cases Contested

Of the 34 accused, 16 pleaded guilty and 18 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 53%, higher than the 41% in the rest of the Army.

Plea agreements are recorded for 14 of the 16 guilty pleas; 2 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.

Verdicts in Contested Cases

Of the 18 decided contested cases, 28% ended in a full acquittal. The rate in all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023 was also 28%. Another 12 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of at least one charge and guilty of another.

Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army data. A partial acquittal still produces a conviction and a sentence.

Members Heard Almost Every Contested Case

A military judge alone decided guilt in 16 of 33 cases with the forum listed (48%). Members heard 17, with 15 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. Among contested cases, members heard 15 of 17 (88%).

The accused usually chooses between a judge alone and a panel. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the split mostly follows how many cases were contested.

Charges Filed With Assault

Assault was the only charge in 8 of the 34 cases, compared with 112 of 455 Article 128 cases across the Army. The most common other charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 14, Article 134 (general article) in 10, Article 92 (orders violation) in 7, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 6, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 5.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. Assault is not itself a covered offense, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault.

Rank, Court Level, and Timing

By rank, the accused were 22 junior enlisted members, 12 NCOs, and no officers. This group was more junior than all Army Article 128 cases in 2021–2023. General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 79% of these cases (27 of 34). The remaining cases went to special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The records show 34 cases between January 2021 and August 2023: 22 in 2021, 9 in 2022, and 3 in 2023. Assault was charged in 25% of the 135 courts-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in those years. The count was lower in each year of the period. The records do not show whether fewer assaults occurred, more were handled outside a courtroom, or something else changed.

What These Records Cannot Show

The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and leave out assaults handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.