Article 128 Cases at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, 2019–2023: 27 Courts-Martial

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Based on 27 cases · 2019–2023 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Assault Was Charged in 35% of the Base's Cases

Assault was charged in a large share of the courts-martial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. The 27 cases charging Article 128 made up 35% of the 78 courts-martial held there in 2019–2023.

They were tried from September 2019 to September 2023: 2 in 2019, 8 in 2020, 9 in 2021, 3 in 2022, and 5 in 2023. Every case ended in a conviction on at least one charge. With yearly counts this small, a single case can change any percentage by a large amount. The comparisons below show general patterns, not precise rates.

Most Accused Pleaded Guilty

Only 17 of the 27 records list the plea. Among those, 14 were guilty pleas and 3 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 18%, compared with 40% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and these counts use only the records that list one. With so many pleas missing, the contested share is based on a small number of cases and could change with a few more.

Almost Every Conviction Included Confinement

Of the 27 sentences, 26 included confinement (96%). The median confinement was 7 months, longer than the 6 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 1.1 years or longer.

8 of 27 convictions (30%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 24% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Only 1 conviction (4%) included no confinement, compared with 14% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases.

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

Sexual Offenses Were Often Charged in the Same Case

Only 7 of the 27 cases charged assault by itself. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 194 of 574 Article 128 cases did. The most common other charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 8 cases, Article 134 (the general article) in 7, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 5, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 4.

When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case, so the confinement figures above are not punishment for assault alone.

More Punitive Discharges Than Across the Service

Among 26 enlisted members convicted, 18 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%). That is higher than the 61% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases. Of the 18, 6 were dishonorable discharges.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Sentences at General and Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial made up 37% of these cases (10 of 27), with a median confinement of 1.4 years. The 17 special courts-martial had a median confinement of 3 months.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge.

Junior Enlisted Members Made Up Most of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 77% of the accused. NCOs made up 23%, and officers 0%. Across the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole, junior enlisted were 63%, so the accused at this base were more junior than the service overall. No officer was tried on an assault charge here in these years, according to the records.

The Special Trial Counsel Rules and What the Records Omit

Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense, such as a domestic violence allegation, can also take related offenses, such as an assault tied to it.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Assaults handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not in these records.

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. Marine Corps Courts-Martial

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.