Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences

Trends › By Offense › Article 85 › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 42 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Sentences Were Short

Most confinement in these desertion cases was short. Of 42 convictions, 40 included confinement (95%). The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 5 months for all Navy and Marine Corps desertion cases. A quarter of sentences were 9 months or longer.

The under 6 months band had 64% of convictions, more than the 56% across the service. The 6 months to 1 year band was smaller: 14% compared with 21%. Only 2 convictions (5%) brought no confinement, compared with 6%.

Sentences longer than one year were uncommon: 7 of 42 convictions (17%), the same as the 17% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 85 cases. Only 1 conviction was 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

No Case Ended in Full Acquittal

Every one of the 42 cases ended with a conviction on at least one charge. None of the 11 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. The full-acquittal rate across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 85 cases was also 0%.

Some contested cases had not-guilty findings on some charges. In 3 of them, the result was a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, guilty of another. These counts do not show which charge had the not-guilty finding.

How the Accused Pleaded

Of the 42 records, 38 list a plea. Of those, 27 were guilty pleas and 11 were contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty plea to at least one charge.

The contested share, 29%, is about the same as the 28% for all Navy and Marine Corps Article 85 cases. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so the share uses only records that include it.

Punitive Discharges

Among the 42 convicted members, 31 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. The 74% share is about the same as the 75% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 85 cases. Only 7 of the 31 were dishonorable. The rest were bad-conduct discharges.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

Special courts-martial heard 31 of the 42 cases, and general courts-martial heard 11. The general share was 26%, compared with 33% for all Navy and Marine Corps desertion cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 2.2 years at the general level, and 4 of the 9 general court-martial cases with a plea recorded were contested. At the special level, the median was 3 months, and 24% were contested.

Other Charges in These Cases

Article 85 was the only charge in 8 of the 42 cases. Other charges included Article 112a (drug) in 18 cases, Article 86 (AWOL) in 10, Article 107 (false official statement) and Article 87 (missing movement) in 6 each, and Article 134 (general article) in 5. As with all court-martial sentences, the figures here cover every charge in the case.

Most Cases Came in 2021 Through 2023

There were few cases in the early years: 4 in 2017, 1 in 2018, 2 in 2019, and 3 in 2020. There were 7 in 2021, 10 in 2022, and 9 in 2023, and 3 in each of 2024 and 2025.

Norfolk, Virginia tried 15 of the 42 cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina had 8, San Diego, California and Bremerton, Washington 5 each, and Jacksonville, Florida 2. Together they account for 83% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. Junior enlisted members made up 82% of the accused across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 85 cases.

Law Changes and What Is Missing

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding involves an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give only trial dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to recent trials.

Absences handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included. The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or how long a member was absent.

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.