McConnell AFB, Kansas, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases
McConnell AFB, Kansas tried 21 courts-martial from 2024–2026. Only 21% of cases with a plea on record were contested, compared with 43% in the rest of the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › McConnell AFB, Kansas › 2024–2026
Short answer: McConnell AFB, Kansas tried 21 courts-martial from 2024–2026. Only 21% of cases with a plea on record were contested, compared with 43% in the rest of the Air Force. The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months Air Force-wide, and drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 60% of cases, compared with 20% across the Air Force.
Few Cases Were Contested
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 14 records that list a plea, 3 were contested and 11 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 21%. In the Air Force as a whole, it was 43%.
Members heard 14% of cases with the forum listed, all 3 as enlisted panels. A military judge alone decided the other 18. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split follows the plea numbers.
Sentences After Conviction
Of the 21 cases, 19 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Of those 19 sentences, 16 included confinement (84%). The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months median in the Air Force as a whole. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 11 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Drug Charges in Most Cases
Charges are listed in 20 of the 21 records. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 12 cases, or 60%. Across the Air Force in the same years, the share was 20%.
False official statements under Article 107 were also more common: 20%, compared with 6%. Some articles appeared less often than service-wide. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 10% of cases, compared with 24%. Article 128b, domestic violence, appeared in 10%, compared with 15%. Each article counts once per case, so one case can appear in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 60% | 20% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 20% | 6% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 10% | 24% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 10% | 15% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 10% | 16% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 1 | 5% | 5% |
| Art. 119a Death or injury of an unborn child | 1 | 5% | 1% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 1 | 5% | 8% |
Punitive Discharges
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge followed 8 of 18 enlisted convictions (44%): 7 bad-conduct and 1 dishonorable. Across the whole Air Force, the share was 62%.
For officers, the equivalent of a punitive discharge is dismissal. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer here was not sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Changes From 2019–2023
In 2019–2023, McConnell had 24 cases, about 5 a year. Since then, it has had about 7 a year, counting full years only. The contested share went from 57% to 21%. The median confinement went from 4 months to 3 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 65% to 44%.
Convictions with confinement went from 100% to 84%. The general court-martial share went from 38% to 33%. With groups this small, a few cases either way can change these figures, so they show direction more than precision.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 24 | 21 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 57% | 21% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 7 | 1 of 3 |
| Convictions with confinement | 100% | 84% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 65% | 44% |
| General courts-martial | 38% | 33% |
Compared With Ramstein AB
Ramstein AB, Germany tried 20 Air Force cases in the same years, a similar number. The results differed on almost every measure. Ramstein's contested share was 59%, compared with 21% at McConnell. Its median confinement was 9 months, compared with 3 months. Its enlisted punitive discharge share was 65%, compared with 44%.
Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict were 3 of 10 at Ramstein and 1 of 3 at McConnell. Counts this small do not support a firm comparison.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% |
Year Counts, Rank, and Court Level
The 21 cases were tried from April 2024 through July 2026: 9 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 7 in 2026, a partial year. They are 4% of all Air Force courts-martial in those years (598 cases).
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 67% of the accused, NCOs 29%, and officers 5%. That mix is more junior than the Air Force as a whole, where 58% were junior enlisted. General courts-martial, which can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, were 33% of cases (7 of 21). Special courts-martial, capped at one year of confinement, were the rest.
Rule Changes
Every case here was tried after December 28, 2023. Since that date, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so these trials include both old-rule and new-rule cases.
What These Records Leave Out
Only cases that reached a courtroom appear here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, and cases with no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.
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 2024–2026 (21 cases), compared with all 598 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, 2016–2018: What 18 Cases Show (another period)
- McConnell AFB, Kansas Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 24 Cases Show (another period)
- Ramstein AB, Germany Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 20 Cases Show (same years, similar size)
- Eglin AFB, Florida Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 17 Cases Show (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, 2024–2026
- Nathan Rick Allred
- Willie J. Babor
- Tiny L. Bowman
- Wesley A. Braun
- Kasey W. Hawkins
- Bradley J. Palmer
- Jennifer E. Powell
- Nathan D. Royer
- Lance R. Smith
- Thomas A. Smith
- Jamie Stewart
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.