Pleading Guilty to Article 113 in the Navy-Marine Corps: What Sentences Followed?
Punitive discharges were less common in the 19 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2021–2025 where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving): 6 of 19 convicted enlisted members (32%), compared with 62% for all Navy and Marine Corps…
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 113 › Pleading Guilty to Article 113 in the Na
Short answer: Punitive discharges were less common in the 19 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2021–2025 where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving): 6 of 19 convicted enlisted members (32%), compared with 62% for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months.
Fewer Punitive Discharges
6 of 19 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The share for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years was 62%.
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.
Shorter Confinement
Of the 19 convictions, 13 included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 7 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
Mostly Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial made up 16% of these cases (3 of 19), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Other Charges in the Same Cases
12 of the 19 cases charged at least one other article. Article 92 (orders violation), Article 128 (assault), and Article 121 (larceny) each appeared in 3 cases. Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 112a (drug) each appeared in 2.
Rank of the Accused
14 of the accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 5 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 were officers or warrant officers. That mix was more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, where 68% were junior enlisted.
More Cases in Recent Years
The 19 trials took place from February 2021 through November 2025. The records show 3 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 5 in 2024, and 7 in 2025. The records do not show why the yearly counts changed.
Law Changes Over These Years
Rules on prosecution and sentencing changed at the end of 2023. Special trial counsel took charge of prosecution decisions for covered offenses on December 28, 2023, with sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder among them. A military judge now sets the sentence within parameters if all guilty findings are for offenses after December 27, 2023. Offense dates are not in these records, so the 7 trials in 2025 and 5 in 2024 cannot be sorted by rule set.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 had already taken effect on January 1, 2019. It brought written plea agreements, fixed panel sizes, and judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge.
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not describe the evidence, such as test results, or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
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: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving) (19 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years.
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)
- Sentences (hub)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drunken Or Reckless Driving Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 113, 2021–2025
- Article 113 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025
- How Often Are Contested Navy-Marine Corps Article 113 Cases Acquitted?
- Guilty Pleas in Army Drunken Or Reckless Driving Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (another service)
- Guilty Pleas in Air Force Drunken Or Reckless Driving Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (another service)
- 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.