How Much Confinement for an Article 115 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?

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Based on 52 cases · 2021–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Threat Charges Were Rarely Tried Alone

Most of these cases included other charges. Article 115 was the only charge in just 4 of the 52 cases. Article 128 (assault) was also charged in 30, Article 92 (orders violation) in 17, Article 134 (general article) in 14, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 9, and Article 131b (obstruction) in 7.

This affects how to read the sentences. A court-martial sentence covers every finding in the case. The confinement and discharge figures below therefore cover threats together with assault, orders violations, and other charges, not threats alone.

Length of Confinement

Confinement was adjudged in 88% of the 52 convictions. Half of those terms were 6 months or less, the same median as across the service. A quarter were 1 year or longer.

In most of the sentence ranges in the table, the shares are close to the service figures. Only 6 convictions (12%) included no confinement, compared with 22% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were somewhat more common here: 27% compared with 21%. Confinement of more than one year was adjudged in 11 of 52 convictions (21%), compared with 22%.

All of these are adjudged sentences, announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Sentences by Court Level

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, 15 were general courts-martial (29%, compared with 40% across the service) and 37 were special courts-martial.

At the general level, 100% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. At the special level, 84% did, with a median of 4 months.

The Contested Share Was About the Same as the Service

All 52 cases have a plea on record. Of those, 37 accused pleaded guilty and 15 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 29% was about the same as the 28% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions.

This group includes convictions only, so none of the contested cases ended in a full acquittal. In 8 of the 15, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. That is a partial acquittal.

Punitive Discharges

Among enlisted members, 60% received a punitive discharge: 26 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. The rate was about the same as the 59% for the service.

The data includes 1 convicted officer or warrant officer, who was sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Most of the Accused Were Junior Enlisted

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 82% of the accused, NCOs 16%, and officers 2%. The accused here were more junior than in the service overall, where junior enlisted members were 66% of those convicted.

Most Cases Were Tried in 2021

The records hold 52 cases from January 2021 to October 2025. Of those, 24 were tried in 2021. After that, there were between 6 and 9 cases each year. The records do not explain the decrease.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had the most cases (10). Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, had 6; Quantico, Virginia, 5; Camp Pendleton, California, 5; and Okinawa, Japan, 4. These five had 58% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count at one base is not by itself a sign of a local problem with threats.

Changes in the Rules

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. The records do not include offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases.

What the Trial Records Do Not Show

These figures come from trial records, which give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the words or conduct behind a threat charge, the evidence, or any plea terms. They do not include cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 115 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.