Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 14 Cases
Maxwell AFB, Alabama tried 14 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 19% in the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Maxwell AFB, Alabama › 2019–2023
Short answer: Maxwell AFB, Alabama tried 14 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 46% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 19% in the rest of the Air Force. Every conviction included confinement, but the median term was 3 months, and 45% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% Air Force-wide.
Assault Was the Most Common Charge
Charges are listed for 13 of the 14 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 6 of them (46%), compared with 19% in the rest of the Air Force. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 4 (31%), compared with 16%.
Drug offenses under Article 112a were less common here: 2 cases, or 15%, compared with 41% across the Air Force. Article 120c (other sexual misconduct), Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), and Article 115 (malingering before 2019, communicating threats since) were each charged in 2 cases. Article 118 (murder) and Article 125 (sodomy before 2019, kidnapping since) were each charged in 1 case. A case is counted under every article it lists.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the rest of the Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 46% | 19% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 31% | 16% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 2 | 15% | 3% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 15% | 41% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 15% | 11% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 2 | 15% | 4% |
| Art. 118 Murder | 1 | 8% | 0% |
| Art. 125 Sodomy before 2019, kidnapping since | 1 | 8% | 0% |
Confinement in Every Conviction
There were 13 convictions, and confinement was part of 100% of them. The median confinement was 3 months, slightly lower than the 4 months Air Force-wide. A quarter of the terms were 10 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They were set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all the charges in a case.
Most Cases Were Decided Without a Panel
A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of the 14 cases. Members heard the rest: 2 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. That is 21% heard by members, compared with 38% across the Air Force. The accused usually chooses between a judge alone and a panel.
An Older Group of Accused
The accused were 7 junior enlisted members, 5 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group was more senior than the Air Force as a whole.
General courts-martial made up 57% of the cases (8 of 14), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Punitive Discharges and Dismissals
A punitive discharge followed 45% of enlisted convictions: 3 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. Across the Air Force the rate was 56%. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
How Many Cases Ended in Acquittal?
1 of the 14 cases ended in a full acquittal (7%), compared with 24% in all Air Force cases in those years. This rate uses all cases as the base, since Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list guilty pleas.
Pleas are recorded for 8 cases, and 3 of them were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The 1 full acquittal came from those 3 contested cases.
Compared With Peer Installations
RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom and USAF Academy, Colorado each tried 20 cases in the same years. Mildenhall had a median confinement of 8 months and a punitive discharge rate of 73%. The Academy had a median of 4 months and a rate of 7%. Maxwell had the shortest median of the 3, at 3 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxwell AFB, Alabama | 14 | 3 of 8 | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 45% |
| RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom | 20 | 50% | 1 of 7 | 8 months | 73% |
| USAF Academy, Colorado | 20 | 75% | 3 of 9 | 4 months | 7% |
Years Covered and Gaps in the Records
The cases ran from June 2019 to September 2023: 4 in 2019, 6 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2023. They are 1% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
These records show only cases that reached a courtroom. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, and plea terms are not in them, and Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Maxwell AFB, Alabama with a trial date in 2019–2023 (14 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
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 2019–2023? 15 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 15 Cases (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
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 29 Cases Show
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 2019–2023
- Wesley A. Braun
- Jefferson B. Brown
- W. Shane Cohen
- Jason M. Kellhofer
- Matthew N. McCall
- Charlton J. Meginley
- Joshua D. Rosen
- Michael A. Schrama
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.