Article 107 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025

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Based on 292 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Sentences Similar to the Service, With Fewer Long Sentences

This post covers Navy and Marine Corps cases that ended in a conviction where Article 107 was one of the charges. Confinement was part of 77% of the 292 convictions. The median confinement was 6 months, the same median as across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1.1 years or longer.

The differences were at the low and high ends. Convictions with no confinement were 23% here, compared with 18% service-wide. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 58 of 292 (20%), compared with 25%. Only 4% were 5 years or more, compared with 7%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

Almost Every Case Included Other Charges

In 263 of the 292 cases, at least one other article was charged. The most common additional charge was Article 92 (orders violation), in 77 cases. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 64, Article 128 (assault) in 60, Article 112a (drug offenses) in 57, and Article 134 (the general article) in 49.

Each sentence covers every charge in a case, so these other charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures in this post. The records do not show how much of any sentence relates to the Article 107 finding.

More Cases Were Contested Than Usual

Of the 292 records, 188 list a plea. Of those, 124 were guilty pleas and 64 were contested, meaning the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 34%, compared with 24% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

This post counts only convictions, so none of the 64 contested cases ended in a full acquittal. In 16 of them (25%), the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and convicted of another.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Special courts-martial handled 184 of these cases, and general courts-martial handled 108. The general court-martial share, 37%, is lower than the 41% across Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

General courts-martial had a median confinement of 1.5 years, and 41% of those cases were contested. Special courts-martial had a median of 4 months, and 30% were contested.

Punitive Discharges and Dismissals

Of 268 convicted enlisted members, 159 received a punitive discharge (59%): 128 bad-conduct discharges and 31 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, the share was 62%.

The records also show 13 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 7 were sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Who Was Convicted

The group included 166 junior enlisted members, 102 NCOs, and 13 officers. That mix is more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years.

Where and When

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had the most of these convictions (43). Next were Camp Pendleton, California (32), Norfolk, Virginia (28), Quantico, Virginia (22), and Bremerton, Washington (20). Together they account for 50% of the 292. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

The yearly count was highest in the first years: 51 in 2017 and 53 in 2018. It was lower in later years, from 17 in 2023 to 22 in 2025. The records cannot show why the count changed.

Law Changes in the Period

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. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give.

Limits of the Records

The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. They do not include cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so plea counts use only records that list them.

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.