> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Insubordination Conviction? - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-91-sent-2017-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:07:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:20.000Z - Description: Of the 25 Navy and Marine Corps convictions under Article 91 (insubordination) in these records, only 13 included confinement (52%). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 91, Navy-Marine Corps [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 91](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-91-courts-martial/) › What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corp **Short answer:** Of the 25 Navy and Marine Corps convictions under Article 91 (insubordination) in these records, only 13 included confinement (52%). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A punitive discharge followed 26% of enlisted convictions, compared with 62% across the service, even though 62% of cases with a recorded plea were contested. Based on 25 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Often Contested, With Lighter Sentences Most insubordination cases were contested. Of 24 records with a plea, 15 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 9 were guilty pleas. Pleas appear in 24 of the 25 records, so the share covers nearly every case, though the numbers are small. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share here was 62%, compared with 24% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Every case in this group ended in a conviction, so full acquittals do not appear. In 7 of the 15 contested cases, the result was a partial acquittal: the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. ## Many Sentences Had No Confinement Of the 25 convictions, 12 (48%) had no confinement, compared with 18% across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. Among the 13 that included confinement, the median was 4 months, and a quarter were 6 months or longer. The other bands hold few cases: 8 convictions under 6 months, 4 between 6 months and 1 year, and 1 over 1 year (4%), compared with 25% across the service. No sentence was 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 12 | 48% | 18% | | Under 6 months | 8 | 32% | 35% | | 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 16% | 22% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 1 | 4% | 18% | | 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 7% | ## Fewer Punitive Discharges A punitive discharge followed 26% of enlisted convictions. All were bad-conduct discharges: 6 bad-conduct and 0 dishonorable. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, the rate was 62%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track. ## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial Special courts-martial tried 22 of the 25 cases and general courts-martial tried 3\. The general court-martial share was 12%, lower than the 41% across the service. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. ## Assault and Orders Charges in the Same Cases Article 91 was the only charge in 3 of the 25 cases. Article 128 (assault) was charged with it in 8 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 7, Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 112a (drug) in 5 each, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 4. A sentence covers all findings in a case. The other charges are included in the confinement and discharge figures. ## Junior Enlisted Members and NCOs Only Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 74% of the accused and NCOs were 26%. Officers were 0%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions, junior enlisted members were 65%, so the accused here were more junior than the service overall. Article 91 covers insubordinate conduct toward warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and petty officers. ## All Cases Are From 2021 or Later All 25 cases were tried between February 2021 and December 2025\. The records show 0 cases for each year from 2017 through 2020\. There were 5 cases in 2021, 2 in 2022, 8 in 2023, and 5 in each of 2024 and 2025\. The records do not explain why the early years have no cases. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 6 of the cases. Camp Pendleton, California and San Diego, California tried 4 each, Bremerton, Washington 3, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay 1\. Together these locations account for 72%. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## Rules That Applied The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial limited to 6 months of confinement with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Judges sentence within new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023\. The records lack offense dates, so trials from 2024 on cannot be sorted by which rules applied. ## What the Records Leave Out Only cases that reached a courtroom appear here. Insubordination handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not included. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they give trial dates rather than offense dates. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025: ending in a conviction under Article 91 (insubordination) (25 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 91 (Insubordinate Conduct Toward NCO): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-91-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [How Has Article 91 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-91-trend-2017-2025/) - [Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Insubordination Charge: How Contested Cases Ended](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-91-acq-2017-2025/) - [What Sentence Follows an Army Insubordination Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-91-sent-2021-2025/) (another service) - [How Much Confinement for an Article 91 Conviction in the Air Force?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-91-sent-2016-2025/) (another service) - [Article 107 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-107-sent-2017-2025/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.