Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 107 in the Navy-Marine Corps

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 168 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Convictions Included a Punitive Discharge

Of 166 convicted enlisted members, 116 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (70%). Of those, 23 were dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases, the share was 59%.

The bad-conduct discharge and the dishonorable discharge are the punitive discharges for enlisted members. A sentence without either can still be followed by an administrative separation, which these court records do not track.

More Sentences Longer Than One Year

Confinement was part of 88% of the 166 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1.2 years or longer.

Sentences longer than one year were 41 of 166 convictions (25%), compared with 20% in the wider group. Only 12% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 23%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Most Cases Included Other Charges

Article 107 was the only charge in 18 of the 168 cases, compared with 31 of 306 across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 47 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 42, Article 128 (assault) in 40, Article 121 (larceny) in 32, and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 27.

A sentence covers the whole case, so these other charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures. The records cannot separate the part of a sentence that relates to the false statement.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Of these cases, 63 were general courts-martial (38%), the same 38% as across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases. The other 105 were special courts-martial.

Sentences differed by level. At general courts-martial, 93% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.7 years. At special courts-martial, 85% did, with a median of 4 months.

Pleas and Verdicts

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often leave out the plea, and 103 of 168 records list one. Of those, 73 were guilty pleas and 30 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. The contested share was 29%, compared with 36% in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases.

Of the 30 contested cases that reached a verdict, 2 ended in a full acquittal. The full acquittal rate was 7%, compared with 9% in the wider group. Another 5 ended in a partial acquittal, in which the accused was acquitted of at least one charge or specification and convicted of another.

Who Was in This Group

All of the accused were junior enlisted members. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 107 cases, junior enlisted members were 59% of the accused.

Cases by Year and Installation

The cases were tried between January 2017 and October 2025. There were 33 in 2017, 28 in 2018, 11 in 2019, 30 in 2020, 26 in 2021, 10 in 2022, 14 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 10 in 2025.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had the most cases, 34. Next were Camp Pendleton, California (25), Norfolk, Virginia (15), Bremerton, Washington (13), and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay (10). These 5 installations account for 58% of the 168 cases. Large installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

2 Sets of Rule Changes

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault. Judges sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. All of these rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give, so some years include both old-rule and new-rule cases.

Outside the Records

Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records also do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.