How McConnell AFB, Kansas Handled Drug Cases (Article 112a), 2024–2026

Trends › By Installation › McConnell AFB, Kansas › Article 112a, 2024–2026

Based on 12 cases · 2024–2026 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Guilty Pleas in 8 Cases

Of the 12 records, 10 list a plea. They show 8 guilty pleas and 2 contested cases, in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share, 20%, was lower than the 29% in Air Force Article 112a cases.

Air Force records never report plea agreements, so the records do not show whether a guilty plea came with an agreement.

Bad-Conduct Discharges in 3 Cases

Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 3 received a punitive discharge, all bad-conduct discharges. In Air Force Article 112a cases overall, the share was 48%. The records also include 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, and none was dismissed.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Confinement

Of 11 convictions, 10 carried confinement. The median confinement was 2 months, the same as the 2-month median in Air Force Article 112a cases overall. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 10 months or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Who Decided Guilt

Members heard 17% of the cases with the forum listed: 2 enlisted panels and 0 officer panels. The other 10 were tried by a military judge alone.

Drug Charges Alone in Most Cases

Article 112a was the only charge in 9 of the 12 cases, compared with 68 of 113 in all Air Force Article 112a cases in 2024–2026. Article 107 (false official statement), Article 90 (disobeying an officer), and Article 92 (orders violation) each appeared in 1 case.

Rank, Court Level, and Timing

Of the accused, 10 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 1 was an NCO (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. The group was more junior than Air Force Article 112a cases, where 65% were junior enlisted. General courts-martial made up 17% of these cases (2 of 12).

McConnell tried 8 of these cases in 2024, 2 in 2025, and 2 in 2026, a partial year. They were 57% of the 21 courts-martial at the base in 2024–2026.

Law Changes and Limits

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. These records do not give offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules.

Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025

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.