> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Kadena AB, Japan, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 19 Cases - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/kadena-ab-japan-courts-martial-2016-2018/ - Published: 2026-10-30T08:02:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:02:58.000Z - Description: Kadena AB, Japan had 19 Air Force courts-martial from April 2016 to October 2018, 2% of the 991 Air Force cases in those years. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 53% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 10% across the Air Force. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Kadena AB, Japan, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) › [Kadena AB, Japan](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-kadena-ab-japan/) › 2016–2018 **Short answer:** Kadena AB, Japan had 19 Air Force courts-martial from April 2016 to October 2018, 2% of the 991 Air Force cases in those years. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 53% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 10% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 2 years, compared with 4 months Air Force-wide. Based on 19 cases · 2016–2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Child Sexual Offense Charges Charges are listed for 17 of the 19 cases. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 9 of them (53%). Across the Air Force in those years, the share was 10%. Article 134 (the general article) was charged in 10 cases (59%), compared with 25%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) were each charged in 3 cases (18%). Article 112a (drug offenses) appears in only 1 case (6%), compared with 48% across the Air Force. A case with several articles is counted under each one. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in those years | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 10 | 59% | 25% | | [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 9 | 53% | 10% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 18% | 9% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 18% | 16% | | [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements | 1 | 6% | 7% | | [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny | 1 | 6% | 7% | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 1 | 6% | 48% | ## Long Confinement Terms Confinement was part of 88% of the 17 convictions. The median confinement was 2 years. In the Air Force as a whole, the median was 4 months. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 7 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. ## Mostly General Courts-Martial There were 15 general and 4 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share, 79%, was higher than the 47% across the Air Force. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year. ## Punitive Discharges A punitive discharge followed 88% of enlisted convictions: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 11 dishonorable discharges. Across the Air Force, 55% of enlisted convictions included one. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Acquittals and Forum Of the 19 cases, 2 ended in a full acquittal (11%), compared with 20% in all Air Force cases in those years. Because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list guilty pleas, this rate is measured against all cases. A military judge alone decided 14 cases. Officer panels decided 5, and no case went to an enlisted panel. Members heard 26% of the cases, compared with 45% across the Air Force. ## Who Was Tried Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 79% of the accused and NCOs 21%. No officers were tried. Across the Air Force, 63% of the accused were junior enlisted. ## Installations With a Similar Number of Cases Hill AFB, Utah and Moody AFB, Georgia each tried 20 cases in the same years. The median confinement was 6 months at Hill and 4 months at Moody. The punitive discharge rate was 53% at Hill and 67% at Moody. | Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | | ------------------ | ----- | --------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | | Kadena AB, Japan | 19 | — | — | 2 years | 88% | | Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | — | — | 6 months | 53% | | Moody AFB, Georgia | 20 | — | — | 4 months | 67% | ## Years and Limits There were 6 cases in 2016, 5 in 2017, and 8 in 2018, all before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. The records cover only cases that reached a courtroom, not nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Every court-martial in the data tried at Kadena AB, Japan 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Kadena AB, Japan: Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/courts-martial-at-kadena-ab-japan/) (hub) - [Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial/) (hub) - [By Installation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-installation/) (hub) - [Kadena AB, Japan Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 23 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/kadena-ab-japan-courts-martial-2019-2023/) (another period) - [What Was Tried at JBSA - Lackland, Texas, 2016–2018? 19 Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/jbsa-lackland-texas-courts-martial-2016-2018/) (same years, similar size) - [Scott AFB, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 19 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/scott-afb-illinois-courts-martial-2016-2018/) (same years, similar size) - [Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/andersen-afb-guam-courts-martial-2016-2018/) - [Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-courts-martial-2016-2018/) - [Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/aviano-ab-italy-courts-martial-2019-2023/) - [Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/barksdale-afb-louisiana-courts-martial-2016-2018/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) Next: [Kadena AB, Japan Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 23 Cases Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/kadena-ab-japan-courts-martial-2019-2023/) → ## Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Kadena AB, Japan, 2016–2018 - [Patricia A. Gruen](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-patricia-a-gruen/) - [Joseph S. Imburgia](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-joseph-s-imburgia/) - [Michael A. Lewis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-michael-a-lewis/) - [Christopher M. Schumann](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-christopher-m-schumann/) - [Vance H. Spath](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-vance-h-spath/) - [Charles E. Wiedie Jr.](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judge-charles-e-wiedie-jr/) 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/judges/) 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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.