Article 128 With Article 81 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 81

Based on 12 cases · 2021–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Cases Grouped in 2021 and 2025

The 12 cases were tried from February 2021 through August 2025. By year, there were 5 in 2021, 0 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 0 in 2024, and 6 in 2025.

The records give trial dates only. They do not show when the conduct took place or whether any of the cases were tried together.

Discharges

73% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge: 7 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. In Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall, the share was 54%.

A punitive discharge for an enlisted member is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Confinement

11 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 9 of those 11 sentences included confinement (82%).

The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the median in all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2025. These are adjudged sentences, as set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Pleas

8 accused pleaded guilty. 4 contested at least one charge by pleading not guilty to it. The contested share was 33%, lower than the 38% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases overall.

Rank and Court Level

10 of the accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), and 2 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). None were officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2025, where 62% were junior enlisted.

5 of the 12 cases (42%) were general courts-martial. The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Other Charges

Besides Article 81, the charges most often listed with Article 128 were Article 92 (orders violation) in 4 cases, Article 131b (obstruction) in 3, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 2, and Article 129 (burglary and unlawful entry) in 2. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, 161 of 440 charged Article 128 with no other article.

Rule Changes in These Years

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense. A special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related offenses, such as an assault tied to a domestic violence allegation.

A second change applies when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023. In those cases the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Because the records lack offense dates, the 2025 trials may include cases under either set of rules.

What the Records Leave Out

The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They also do not include cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Article 128 Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.