Understanding Trends

MacDill AFB, Florida Before and After 2020: How Its Courts-Martial Changed

MacDill AFB, Florida had 14 courts-martial from February 2020 to October 2023, the same number as in 2016–2018. The median confinement went from 8 months to 2 months, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 82% to 46%.

Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read

Trends › By Installation › MacDill AFB, Florida › Before and after 2020

Short answer: MacDill AFB, Florida had 14 courts-martial from February 2020 to October 2023, the same number as in 2016–2018. The median confinement went from 8 months to 2 months, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 82% to 46%. Only 29% of cases were contested, compared with 50% across the Air Force.

Based on 14 cases · 2020–2023 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Shorter Sentences Than in 2016–2018

Of 13 convictions, 12 included confinement (92%), about the same as the 91% in 2016–2018. The median confinement was 2 months, compared with 8 months in the earlier period and 4 months Air Force-wide. A quarter of the terms were 1.5 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

	2016–2018	2020–2023
Cases	14	14
Contested (of pleas recorded)	—	29%
Convictions with confinement	91%	92%
Median confinement	8 months	2 months
Punitive discharge (enlisted)	82%	46%
General courts-martial	57%	36%

Punitive Discharges

Of 13 convicted enlisted members, 6 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (46%), and 2 of those were dishonorable. The Air Force share was 56%, and the MacDill share in 2016–2018 was 82%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Guilty Pleas and Judge-Alone Trials

Of the 14 cases, 10 were guilty pleas and 4 were contested. The contested share, 29%, was lower than the 50% Air Force-wide. Of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict, 1 ended in a full acquittal.

A military judge alone decided 12 of the 14 cases (86%). Members heard 2: 1 enlisted panel and 1 officer panel.

Charges

Charges are listed in 13 of the 14 records. Article 112a (drugs) appeared in 5 cases (38%), about the same as the 37% Air Force-wide. Article 113, which covered misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019 and drunken or reckless driving since, appeared in 2 cases (15%), compared with 5%.

Article 128 (assault) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in only 1 case (8%), compared with 21% and 20% Air Force-wide. 1 case charged Article 111, which covered drunken or reckless driving before 2019 and leaving the scene of an accident since.

UCMJ Article	Cases	Share here	Share, Air Force-wide
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances	5	38%	37%
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation	2	15%	17%
Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since	2	15%	5%
Art. 128b Domestic violence	1	8%	7%
Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving before 2019, leaving the scene of an accident since	1	8%	1%
Art. 128 Assault	1	8%	21%
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child	1	8%	6%
Art. 134 General article	1	8%	20%

Rank and Court Level

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and NCOs each made up 50% of the accused, with no officers. Across the Air Force, junior enlisted members were 63%.

General courts-martial heard 5 of the 14 cases (36%), compared with 55% Air Force-wide and 57% at MacDill in 2016–2018. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Case Counts and Similar Bases

The records show 2 cases in 2020, 1 in 2021, 7 in 2022, and 4 in 2023, about 4 a year. The earlier period averaged about 5 a year.

JBSA - Lackland, Texas and Travis AFB, California each tried 20 cases in the same years. Both had more contested cases, 56% and 42%. Travis had the same median confinement as MacDill, 2 months.

Installation	Cases	Contested	Full acquittals (decided contested)	Median confinement	Punitive discharge (enlisted)
MacDill AFB, Florida	14	29%	1 of 4	2 months	46%
JBSA - Lackland, Texas	20	56%	8 of 10	4 months	67%
Travis AFB, California	20	42%	5 of 8	2 months	54%

Limits of the Records

The records do not show the evidence, plea terms, offense dates, or cases handled outside a court-martial. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

How We Counted

Every court-martial tried at MacDill AFB, Florida in 2016–2018 (14) and 2020–2023 (14).

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

Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at MacDill AFB, Florida, 2020–2023

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.