Navy-Marine Corps Conspiracy Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences
From 2017–2025, 49 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) with conspiracy under Article 81. The median confinement was 1.2 years, longer than the 9 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases.
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Short answer: From 2017–2025, 49 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) with conspiracy under Article 81. The median confinement was 1.2 years, longer than the 9 months across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases. Of cases with a plea on record, 31% were contested, compared with 20% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases.
NCOs Received Longer Sentences
Among 46 convictions, 39 carried confinement, with a median of 1.2 years. The comparison figure for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases is 9 months. A quarter of the NCO sentences were 2.7 years or more.
Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 37% of convictions here, compared with 25% across the service. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 11%, compared with 7%. In all, 22 of 46 convictions (48%) brought more than one year, compared with 32%.
Shorter sentences were less common. Under 6 months made up 20% of convictions and 6 months to 1 year made up 17%, compared with 30% and 31% for all Article 81 cases. No confinement was adjudged in 15% of convictions, compared with 8%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 15% | 8% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 20% | 30% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 8 | 17% | 31% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 17 | 37% | 25% |
| 5 years or more | 5 | 11% | 7% |
What These Sentences Cover
The figures are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge that ended in a conviction. Almost every case also charged other articles, so the sentence is for the whole case, not for the conspiracy charge alone.
Other Charges in These Cases
Just 2 of the 49 cases charged Article 81 by itself, compared with 6 of 249 across the service. Article 112a (drug) was the most common other charge, in 14 cases.
Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) each appeared in 13 cases, Article 121 (larceny) in 12, and Article 134 (general article) in 9. Obstruction was charged together with conspiracy in 13 of the 49 cases.
Pleas Recorded
Only 29 of the 49 records list a plea. Among those, 20 NCOs pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 31%, compared with 20% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either fully or through a mixed plea.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and most of these cases were tried before then. The plea counts cover only some of the cases.
Punitive Discharges
Of 46 convicted NCOs, 33 received a punitive discharge: 22 bad-conduct and 11 dishonorable. That share is lower than the 81% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.
General and Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial heard 28 of the 49 cases (57%), compared with 45% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 cases. Special courts-martial heard the other 21.
The median confinement was 2 years at the general level. At the special level, where confinement is capped at one year, it was 5 months. The contested share was 31% at both levels.
Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A higher general share means more of these cases were heard at the level where long sentences are possible. The records cannot show how the level was chosen for any case.
Fewer Cases After 2019
There were 7 cases in 2017, 10 in 2018, and 14 in 2019. There were 4 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 0 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. The records run from February 2017 to September 2025.
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 11 cases, Norfolk, Virginia 8, San Diego, California 5, and Okinawa, Japan and Bremerton, Washington 4 each. Those five installations account for 65% of the 49 cases. Larger bases try more cases of all kinds.
Rule Changes and Gaps
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Which rules applied to a case depends on the offense date, which these records do not give.
Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. With 49 cases, a few cases can change any percentage here.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025 that charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) under Article 81 (49 cases), compared with every Navy and Marine Corps Article 81 case.
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 81 (Conspiracy): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- Army Conspiracy Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- Army Conspiracy Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences
- Navy-Marine Corps Conspiracy Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences
- How Has Article 81 Changed in Army Courts-Martial Since 2021?
- Fewer or More? Conspiracy Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- 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.