Article 128 With Article 90 in the Navy and Marine Corps: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Navy-Marine Corps, with Article 90

Based on 14 cases · 2021–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Junior Enlisted Members Only

All of the accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4). No NCOs or officers appear in these 14 cases. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, junior enlisted members were 62% of the accused.

Most Cases at the General Court-Martial Level

11 of the 14 cases (79%) were tried by general court-martial. Special courts-martial made up the rest.

The court level sets the sentence limits. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Length of Confinement

There were 13 convictions, and confinement was part of 85% of them. Half of the confinement terms were 1 year or less. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2025, the median was 6 months.

A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers all the charges in the case.

Punitive Discharges

83% of enlisted convictions ended with a punitive discharge. There were 9 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. Across Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases, the share was 54%. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Orders Violations and Other Charges

No case charged Article 128 alone. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 128 cases in 2021–2025, 161 of 440 did.

Besides Article 90, the most common charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 8 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 4, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 4, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 2.

Pleas

9 of the accused pleaded guilty, and 5 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 36%, about the same as the 38% for Navy and Marine Corps-wide Article 128 cases.

Years of Trial

The cases were tried from April 2021 to March 2025. The count was 8 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.

Law Changes and Missing Information

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 a covered offense on its own, but a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take a related assault. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

The records show trial dates rather than offense dates, so the 2024 and 2025 trials could fall under either set of rules. The records also omit the evidence, the plea terms, and cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.

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.