What Happens to Navy-Marine Corps Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Facing Drunken Or Reckless Driving Charges?
The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 25 courts-martial from 2021–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 113, drunken or reckless driving. All 25 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, including all 11 contested cases.
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Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 25 courts-martial from 2021–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 113, drunken or reckless driving. All 25 ended in a conviction on at least one charge, including all 11 contested cases. A punitive discharge was part of the sentence for 44% of convicted enlisted members, compared with 41% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases.
Every Case Ended in a Conviction
Of 25 accused, 14 pleaded guilty and 11 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 44% was about the same as the 47% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases.
None of the 11 contested cases ended in a full acquittal. The full-acquittal rate in the wider group was 6%. Another 2 cases ended in a partial acquittal (18%). In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another.
Punitive Discharges
For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Of 25 convicted junior enlisted members, 11 received one: 10 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. That 44% compares with 41% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases.
The other convicted members could still face administrative separation. Administrative separations are not in these records. A conviction without a punitive discharge can still lead to separation through that process.
Confinement Was Usually Short
Of the 25 convictions, 19 included confinement (76%). The median confinement was 3 months, the same as the 3 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases. A quarter of those sentences were 1 year or longer.
The most common sentence was under 6 months of confinement: 52% of convictions, compared with 44% in the wider group. No confinement was adjudged in 24%, compared with 31%. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 8% in both groups. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 4 of 25 convictions (16%), compared with 17%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 24% | 31% |
| Under 6 months | 13 | 52% | 44% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 8% | 8% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 16% | 14% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 3% |
Driving Charges and Other Charges
Article 113 was the only charge in 5 of the 25 cases, compared with 13 of 39 across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 7, Article 121 (larceny) in 6, Article 128 (assault) and Article 107 (false official statement) in 4 each, and Article 86 (AWOL) in 3.
The sentence in each case covers every charge. The confinement and discharge figures therefore include the sentences for these other offenses.
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Of these cases, 20 were special courts-martial and 5 were general courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 20% compares with 23% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. The 4 sentences of more than one year therefore came from general courts-martial.
Most Driving Cases Involved Junior Enlisted Members
Every accused here was junior enlisted. Junior enlisted members made up 71% of all Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 cases.
Cases by Year and Installation
The cases were tried from February 2021 through May 2025. There were 4 cases in 2021, 4 in 2022, 3 in 2023, 5 in 2024, and 9 in 2025. The 2025 count was the highest, even though the records end in May.
Camp Pendleton, California, had 7 cases, and MCAS Miramar, California, had 3. San Diego, California, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Mayport, Florida, had 2 each. These five account for 64% of the 25. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not show that a base has a problem with this offense.
Recent Rule Changes
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. Trials from 2024 on therefore include both old-rule and new-rule cases.
What the Records Do Not Show
Drunken or reckless driving handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or civilian courts does not appear here. The records also do not include the evidence, any blood-alcohol results, or plea terms. With only 25 cases, a single outcome can change the percentages noticeably.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 113 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2021–2025 that charged junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) under Article 113 (25 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps Article 113 case.
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
- Article 113 (Misbehavior of a Sentinel Before 2019, Drunken or Reckless Driving Since): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- What Happens to Army Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Facing Drunken Or Reckless Driving Charges?
- NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Charged Under Article 113 in the Army
- Air Force Drunken Or Reckless Driving Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- Is Army Drunken Or Reckless Driving Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 113, 2021–2025
- Air Force Article 113 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Article 113 explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.