Keesler AFB, Mississippi Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 16 Cases Show
Keesler AFB, Mississippi had 16 Air Force courts-martial from February 2019 to November 2023, 1% of the 1,361 Air Force cases in those years. The median confinement was 4 months, down from 1 year in 2016–2018 and the same as the Air Force median.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Keesler AFB, Mississippi › 2019–2023
Short answer: Keesler AFB, Mississippi had 16 Air Force courts-martial from February 2019 to November 2023, 1% of the 1,361 Air Force cases in those years. The median confinement was 4 months, down from 1 year in 2016–2018 and the same as the Air Force median. Officers or warrant officers were the accused in 4 of the 16 cases.
Officers Among the Accused
The accused included 9 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 3 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 4 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force as a whole, where 64% of the accused were junior enlisted.
Of the 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
Sentences Compared With 2016–2018
In 2016–2018 the median confinement was 1 year. In 2019–2023 it was 4 months, the same as the Air Force median. The punitive discharge rate for convicted enlisted members went from 73% to 50%, and general courts-martial went from 56% of cases to 62%.
The installation averaged about 6 cases a year in 2016–2018 and about 3 a year after. Small groups can change with a few cases, so these shifts show direction rather than precision.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 18 | 16 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 29% |
| Convictions with confinement | 91% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 1 year | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 73% | 50% |
| General courts-martial | 56% | 62% |
Confinement and Discharges
Of the 16 cases, 13 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 12 of those sentences included confinement (92%). A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.1 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 5 received a bad-conduct discharge (50%), compared with 56% in the rest of the Air Force. None received a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Pleas and Verdicts
The plea is recorded for 14 cases: 10 guilty pleas and 4 contested cases. The contested share, 29%, was lower than the 50% in all Air Force cases in those years. Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal.
Measured against all 16 cases, 3 ended in a full acquittal (19%), compared with 24% in the rest of the Air Force.
Larceny and Other Charges
Charges are listed for 13 cases. Article 112a (drug offenses), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 121 (larceny) were each charged in 4 cases (31%). Larceny was charged in 4% of Air Force cases, and orders violations in 16%.
Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) was charged in 3 cases (23%), compared with 7% across the Air Force. Article 86 (AWOL) was charged in 2. A case with several articles counts under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 31% | 41% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 31% | 16% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 31% | 4% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 23% | 7% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 15% | 5% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 8% | 11% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 8% | 5% |
| Art. 134 General article | 1 | 8% | 21% |
Court Level and Forum
There were 10 general and 6 special courts-martial, a general share of 62% compared with 53% Air Force-wide. A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of 15 cases with the forum listed (73%). Members heard 4: 3 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel.
Similar Installations
RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom and USAF Academy, Colorado each tried 20 cases. Mildenhall had a median confinement of 8 months, and the Academy had 4 months, the same as Keesler.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keesler AFB, Mississippi | 16 | 29% | 3 of 4 | 4 months | 50% |
| RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom | 20 | 50% | 1 of 7 | 8 months | 73% |
| USAF Academy, Colorado | 20 | 75% | 3 of 9 | 4 months | 7% |
Years and Limits
There were 2 cases in 2019, 4 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 3 in 2022, and 6 in 2023. The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial, and Air Force records never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Keesler AFB, Mississippi with a trial date in 2019–2023 (16 cases), compared with all 1,361 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
- Keesler AFB, Mississippi: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 18 Cases (another period)
- What Was Tried at Eglin AFB, Florida, 2019–2023? 16 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Inside 16 Courts-Martial at Luke AFB, Arizona, 2019–2023 (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
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- S1 E11: Keesler Air Force Base Chaos (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 2019–2023
- Wesley A. Braun
- Bryon T. Gleisner
- Matthew N. McCall
- Mark W. Milam
- Andrew R. Norton
- Bradley J. Palmer
- Michael A. Schrama
- Brian Michael Thompson
- Pilar G. Wennrich
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.