McConnell AFB, Kansas Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 18 Cases Show
McConnell AFB, Kansas had 18 courts-martial in 2016–2018. Drug offenses under Article 112a were charged in 62% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 48% in the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › McConnell AFB, Kansas › 2016–2018
Short answer: McConnell AFB, Kansas had 18 courts-martial in 2016–2018. Drug offenses under Article 112a were charged in 62% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 48% in the rest of the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months, close to the Air Force median of 4 months, and 47% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
Drug Cases Made Up Most of the Charges
The charge lists cover 16 of the 18 cases. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 10 of them, or 62%. Across the Air Force the share was 48%.
Article 134 (the general article) was next, in 4 cases (25%), the same share as Air Force-wide. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 2 cases (12%). Article 120, Article 120b, Article 115 (malingering), Article 128, and Article 107 were each charged in 1 case. A case with 3 articles is counted in 3 rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Air Force-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 62% | 48% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 25% | 25% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 12% | 16% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 6% | 9% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 6% | 10% |
| Art. 115 Malingering | 1 | 6% | 0% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 1 | 6% | 11% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 6% | 7% |
Short Terms of Confinement
Of 16 convictions, 15 carried confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, close to the 4 months in the rest of the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.2 years or longer.
Each figure is the sentence adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence covers every charge in the case, not only the drug charge.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Among 15 enlisted members convicted, 7 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (47%). The Air Force rate was 55%. Only 1 of the 7 was dishonorable.
1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in these cases, and that officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Full Acquittals in 2 Cases
Of the 18 cases, 2 ended in a full acquittal (11%), lower than the 20% across the Air Force. The rate uses all cases as the base. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so a rate based only on contested cases is not possible here.
Most Cases Had No Panel
A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of the 18 cases (61%). Members heard the other 7: 3 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Rank and Court Level
The accused were 11 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 1 officer. That mix is similar to the whole Air Force.
General courts-martial made up 33% of the cases (6 of 18), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Hill AFB and Moody AFB
Hill AFB, Utah and Moody AFB, Georgia each tried 20 Air Force cases in the same years. Their median confinement was 6 months and 4 months, and their punitive discharge rates were 53% and 67%. McConnell had the shortest median and the lowest punitive discharge rate of the 3 installations.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 18 | — | — | 3 months | 47% |
| Hill AFB, Utah | 20 | — | — | 6 months | 53% |
| Moody AFB, Georgia | 20 | — | — | 4 months | 67% |
Years Covered and Limits
The cases ran from May 2016 to October 2018: 2 in 2016, 10 in 2017, and 6 in 2018. They are 2% of the 991 Air Force courts-martial in those years. Every trial came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019.
The records include only cases that reached a courtroom. They leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms. 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 McConnell AFB, Kansas with a trial date in 2016–2018 (18 cases), compared with all 991 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
- McConnell AFB, Kansas: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- McConnell AFB, Kansas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 24 Cases Show (another period)
- McConnell AFB, Kansas, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases (another period)
- Inside 18 Courts-Martial at JB Andrews, Maryland, 2016–2018 (same years, similar size)
- Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 18 Cases (same years, similar size)
- Did Drug Cases at McConnell AFB, Kansas Change After 2024?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at McConnell AFB, Kansas, 2016–2018
- Jefferson B. Brown
- John C. Degnan
- James R. Dorman
- Donald R. Eller Jr.
- Christina M. Jimenez
- Karen E. Mayberry
- Mark W. Milam
- Richard D. Mink
- Lyndell M. Powell
- Matthew D. Talcott
- Marvin W. Tubbs II
- Tiffany J. Williams
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.