Officers Charged Under Article 133 in the Navy-Marine Corps

Trends › By Offense › Article 133 › Officers

Based on 45 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Article 133 Was Usually Charged With Other Offenses

Article 133 covers conduct unbecoming an officer. It was the only charge in 6 of the 45 cases. The most common other charges were Article 134 (general article) in 13 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 128 (assault) in 9 each, Article 107 (false official statement) in 6, and Article 80 (attempt) in 5.

This affects every sentence figure below. A court-martial sentence covers all the charges that ended in a conviction. An officer's confinement therefore reflects the whole case, not the conduct unbecoming charge alone.

Half of Convictions Included No Confinement

There were 44 convictions, and 50% of them included confinement. Among those sentences, the median confinement was 10 months, about the same as the 9-month median for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 133 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence.

The sentence ranges were close to the comparison group. No confinement was imposed in 22 convictions (50%), compared with 52% overall. Sentences under 6 months made up 16%, and sentences from 6 months to 1 year made up 18%. Both shares were the same as in the broader group.

Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 7 of 44 convictions (16%), about the same as the 14% across the service. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 11%, compared with 10%. All are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Pleas and Verdicts

Of the 45 records, 36 list a plea. Of those, 16 were contested and 20 were guilty pleas. A contested case is one where the officer pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 44%, lower than the 51% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 133 cases.

Of the 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6% ended in a full acquittal. That is about the same as the 5% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 133 cases. Another 6 cases were partial acquittals: the officer was found not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another.

Sentences by Court Level

General courts-martial tried 31 of the 45 cases (69%), and special courts-martial tried 14. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and dismissal. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement.

At general courts-martial, 70% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 10 months. At special courts-martial, 7% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 30 days.

Case Counts by Year

The yearly count was never higher than 7. There were 5 cases in 2017, 7 in 2018, 7 in 2019, 5 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 3 in 2023, 4 in 2024, and 4 in 2025. The first trial in this group was in April 2017, and the most recent was in November 2025.

Installations With the Most Cases

Norfolk, Virginia tried 10 of these cases, the most of any location. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 5, San Diego, California 4, and Camp Pendleton, California and Quantico, Virginia 3 each. Those five installations account for 56% of the 45 cases.

Larger installations try more courts-martial of every kind. A high count alone does not show a problem at a base.

Law Changes During the Period

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It brought written plea agreements and fixed panel sizes. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023.

Those rules depend on the offense date, and the records list only trial dates. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both the old and new rules.

What the Records Do Not Show

Misconduct handled outside a court-martial, through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action, does not appear here. The records also do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.