Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Courts-Martial, 2021–2023: What 22 Cases Show

Trends › By Installation › Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston › 2021–2023

Based on 22 cases · 2021–2023 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of the 12 enlisted members convicted, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (92%). Across the Army, the share was 73%. Of the 11 discharges, 4 were dishonorable.

The records include 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 2 of them were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

A More Senior Group

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 27% of the accused. NCOs made up 55%, and officers made up 18%. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 57% of the accused.

General courts-martial heard 19 of the 22 cases (86%). A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. Special courts-martial heard the rest.

Contested Cases and Full Acquittals

In 13 cases, the accused pleaded guilty. In 9, the accused contested at least one charge. The contested share was 41%, compared with 34% in the Army as a whole.

Of the 9 contested cases, 6 ended in a full acquittal. The other 16 cases ended in a conviction.

Army records note whether a guilty plea came with a plea agreement, but not its terms. Of the 13 guilty pleas, 7 are recorded with an agreement and 6 have no entry.

Confinement

Confinement was part of 9 of the 16 convictions. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Army. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.2 years or longer.

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

Charges

Charge lists cover all 22 cases. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 9 cases (41%), compared with 31% Army-wide. Article 120 (sexual assault) appeared in 23%, about the same as the 25% Army-wide.

Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 18% of cases here and 7% Army-wide. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 14% here and 8% Army-wide. A case with several articles is counted under each one.

Military Judge or Members?

A military judge alone decided 15 cases. An enlisted panel decided 5, and an officer panel decided 2. Members decided 32% of the cases, compared with 20% in the rest of the Army. The accused usually chooses whether a judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.

Fort Huachuca and Kaiserslautern

Fort Huachuca also tried 22 cases in these years, and Kaiserslautern (Europe) tried 25. At Fort Huachuca, 0 of 6 contested cases with a verdict ended in a full acquittal. At Kaiserslautern, 7 of 12 did.

The punitive discharge share for enlisted convictions was 52% at Fort Huachuca and 67% at Kaiserslautern, compared with 92% here.

Timing and Coverage

The cases were tried from April 2021 through December 2023: 10 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 7 in 2023. They were 1% of the 1,498 Army courts-martial in those years.

The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021. The records do not describe the evidence, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action.

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.