Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps AWOL Cases: How Often, and What Came Next

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Based on 91 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

Most unauthorized absence cases that ended in a guilty plea were tried at special courts-martial. Of the 91 cases, 79 were special courts-martial and 12 were general courts-martial. The general share, 13%, compares with 37% in all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Here, the median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.

Shorter Confinement Than Other Guilty Pleas

Every case here ended in a conviction, and 82 of the 91 sentences included confinement (90%). The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months median in all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas. A quarter of these sentences were 7 months or longer.

Sentences longer than one year were less common: 5 of 91 convictions (5%), compared with 21% in all guilty pleas. Sentences under 6 months made up 60% of these convictions, compared with 40% in all guilty pleas. The band of 6 months to 1 year was 24% in both groups. Sentences of 5 years or more were 2% here, compared with 5%. No confinement followed 10% of these convictions, compared with 15%.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in its case.

Few Dishonorable Discharges

Among 87 enlisted members convicted, 52 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (60%), about as often as in all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas (60%). Only 6 of those 52 were dishonorable. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

The records include 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, and none was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Other Charges in These Cases

Article 86 was the only charge in 8 of the 91 cases. Drug charges were the most common other charge: Article 112a in 43 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 15, Article 128 (assault) in 12, Article 121 (larceny) in 11, and Article 87 (missing movement) in 9.

A sentence covers every charge, so these other offenses are included in the confinement and discharge figures.

Rank of the Accused

The accused included 73 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 14 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 were officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, where 65% were junior enlisted.

Only Records With a Recorded Guilty Plea

This page includes only cases whose records show a guilty plea. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so earlier absence cases appear here only when the record lists one. None of these 91 cases was contested.

The records show 91 cases from March 2017 to December 2025. The yearly count was 9 in 2017, 8 in 2018, 11 in 2019, 9 in 2020, 11 in 2021, 13 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 10 in 2025.

Where They Were Tried

Norfolk, Virginia (17), San Diego, California (16), Bremerton, Washington (13), Camp Pendleton, California (10), and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (8) had the most cases. Together they account for 70% of the 91 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so the counts do not show a problem at any one base.

Law Changes Across the Period

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses before 2019 kept the old rules.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both depend on offense dates, which the records do not give.

What the Records Do Not Show

Absence cases handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The records also do not describe the length of each absence, the evidence, or the plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 86 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: 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.