Is Navy-Marine Corps Orders Violation Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 92, 2017–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 92 › Navy-Marine Corps

Based on 633 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

One of the Most Common Charges

Failing to obey an order or regulation is one of the most common military charges. From January 2017 through December 2025, 633 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial included it. That is 17% of the 3,740 cases the services tried in those years.

There were between 56 and 88 cases each year: 81 in 2017, 63 in 2018, 71 in 2019, 66 in 2020, 88 in 2021, 63 in 2022, 56 in 2023, 62 in 2024, and 83 in 2025.

Share of Convictions Over Time

The total number of cases was smaller later in the period, so the share of convictions that included the charge is a better measure than the count. In 2017–2019, Article 92 was part of 198 of 1243 convictions with offenses listed (16%). In 2023–2025 it was part of 182 of 940 (19%), a larger share.

The yearly share was 14% in 2018 and 22% in 2021. In 2021 the number of convictions was the highest of the period, 85. The share was 15% in 2024 and 24% in 2025, the highest share in the table, on 76 convictions.

Contested Cases and Acquittals

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 399 records that list a plea, 145 were contested and 254 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 36%, compared with 32% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.

Full acquittals were in 25 of 145 contested cases that reached a verdict, or 17%. That is lower than the 31% across all cases. Another 46 cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification, and guilty of another.

Confinement at Each Court Level

Of 588 convictions, 428 included confinement (73%). The median confinement was 5 months, close to the 6 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. All figures are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial can impose no more than 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. At the 189 general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.3 years. At the 444 special courts-martial, 69% did, and the median was 3 months.

27% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 18% across the service. Terms longer than 1 year were in 90 of 588 convictions (15%), compared with 25%. 4% were 5 years or more.

Punitive Discharges

Of 550 convicted enlisted members, 300 received a punitive discharge: 239 bad-conduct discharges and 61 dishonorable discharges. That is 55%, lower than the 62% for the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Of 16 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Of the 633 cases, 520 charged Article 92 with at least one other article. The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault) in 147 cases, Article 112a (drug) in 136, Article 134 (general article) in 89, Article 107 (false official statement) in 80, and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) in 64.

Sentences cover all charges together. These other charges are part of every sentence figure above.

Rank and Installation

Among the accused with rank recorded, 349 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 226 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 17 were officers or warrant officers. The accused were more senior than across all cases, where 63% were junior enlisted members. General courts-martial were 30% of these cases.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina tried 122, Camp Pendleton, California 101, San Diego, California 49, Norfolk, Virginia 40, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay 39. Together these locations account for 55% of the total. Larger installations have more cases, and a high count says nothing on its own about a base.

Law Changes and What Records Omit

Several law changes took effect during these years. The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Judges sentence within new parameters when all guilty findings are for offenses after December 27, 2023. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. The records cannot show whether any law change affected the share of cases.

The data also lacks the evidence, plea terms, and conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so plea counts use only records that list one.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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.