What Changed at MCAS Miramar, California After 2019? 26 Cases vs. 42
MCAS Miramar, California tried 42 courts-martial in 2019–2023, about 8 a year, compared with about 13 a year in 2017–2018. The median confinement went from 10 months to 6 months, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 84% to 66%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › MCAS Miramar, California › Before and after 2019
Short answer: MCAS Miramar, California tried 42 courts-martial in 2019–2023, about 8 a year, compared with about 13 a year in 2017–2018. The median confinement went from 10 months to 6 months, and punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 84% to 66%. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 28% of cases, compared with 18% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Fewer Cases and Shorter Sentences
From 2017–2018 to 2019–2023, almost every sentencing measure at Miramar went down. The median confinement went from 10 months to 6 months. Convictions with any confinement went from 89% to 74%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 84% to 66%.
The share of cases tried at a general court-martial also went down, from 69% to 38%. The earlier period had 26 cases over 2 years, about 13 a year. The later period had about 8 a year, counting full years only. No contested share is available for the earlier years. In groups this small, a few cases can change these figures, so the changes show direction only.
| 2017–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 26 | 42 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 30% |
| Convictions with confinement | 89% | 74% |
| Median confinement | 10 months | 6 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 84% | 66% |
| General courts-martial | 69% | 38% |
Orders Violations and False Statements
Charge lists cover 40 of the 42 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 28% of cases, compared with 18% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 15%, compared with 8%.
Drug charges were less common. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 12% of cases, compared with 25% service-wide. Article 128 (assault) was the most common charge, in 30% of cases, about the same as the 31% service-wide. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 8%, compared with 14%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 30% | 31% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 28% | 18% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 18% | 18% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 6 | 15% | 8% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 12% | 25% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 4 | 10% | 9% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 8% | 14% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 5% | 3% |
Results for the Most Common Charges
Article 128 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 11 of 12 cases (92%). The median confinement for those convictions was 6 months. Article 92 cases ended in a conviction on that article in 10 of 11 (91%), with a median of 4 months. One case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so the rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 12 | 11 (92%) | 6 months |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 11 | 10 (91%) | 4 months |
How Much Confinement?
Confinement was part of 74% of the 38 convictions. Another 10 convictions (26%) included no confinement, compared with 17% service-wide. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1.2 years or longer.
The band from 6 months to 1 year included 29% of convictions, compared with 24% service-wide. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 7 of 38 convictions (18%), compared with 24%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 10 | 26% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 26% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 11 | 29% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 16% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 1 | 3% | 5% |
Punitive Discharges
Of 38 enlisted members convicted, 25 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (66%). That is a little higher than the 63% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Of the 25, 7 were dishonorable discharges.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those separations are not in these records.
Pleas on Record
Only 20 of the 42 records list a plea: 14 guilty pleas and 6 contested cases. A contested case is a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share was 30%, about the same as the 31% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so these counts use only the records that include one.
Court Level and Rank
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial cannot impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.
Miramar had 16 general courts-martial (38%, compared with 44% elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps), with a median confinement of 1.3 years. It had 26 special courts-martial, with a median of 3 months.
The accused were 20 junior enlisted members, 18 NCOs, and 0 officers. That group is more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps overall.
Pensacola and Washington, D.C.
Pensacola, Florida (42 cases) and Washington, D.C. (41 cases) tried a similar number of cases in these years. Miramar had the lowest contested share of the 3: 30%, compared with 59% and 38%. It had the highest punitive discharge share: 66%, compared with 56% and 59%.
None of Miramar's 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. At Pensacola, 14 of 24 did, and at Washington, D.C., 7 of 15 did. Miramar's 6-month median confinement was between the 3 months and 8 months at the other 2 installations.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCAS Miramar, California | 42 | 30% | 0 of 6 | 6 months | 66% |
| Pensacola, Florida | 42 | 59% | 14 of 24 | 3 months | 56% |
| Washington, D.C. | 41 | 38% | 7 of 15 | 8 months | 59% |
Year by Year and the Limits of the Records
The cases were tried from January 2019 through December 2023: 14 in 2019, 8 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 9 in 2022, and 7 in 2023. The records show trial dates but not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at MCAS Miramar, California in 2017–2018 (26) and 2019–2023 (42).
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
- MCAS Miramar, California: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- MCAS Miramar, California, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 42 Cases
- What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2024–2026? 39 Courts-Martial
- What Was Tried at MCAS Miramar, California, 2017–2018? 26 Courts-Martial
- What Changed at MCAS Miramar, California After 2024? 42 Cases vs. 39
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- S2 E2: Hazing on Miramar (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at MCAS Miramar, California, 2019–2023
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.