Nellis AFB, Nevada, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look

Trends › By Installation › Nellis AFB, Nevada › Before and after 2019

Based on 46 cases · 2019–2023 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Drug Charges in Most Cases

Drug charges were the most common charge at Nellis in 2019–2023. The charge lists cover 38 of the 46 cases. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was charged in 26 of them (68%). In all Air Force cases in those years, the share was 41%.

Article 107, false official statements, was charged in 21% of cases, compared with 6% service-wide. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 29%, compared with 21%. Assault under Article 128 was charged less often: 8% of cases here, compared with 19% across the Air Force. A case with several articles counts once under each.

How the Two Periods Compare

Compared with 2016–2018, the later period had longer confinement and more punitive discharges. Median confinement went from 3 months to 6 months. The share of convictions with any confinement went from 81% to 84%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 41% to 72%.

General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence, made up 20% of cases in the earlier period and 52% in the later one. The earlier period averaged about 10 cases a year, and the later one about 9 a year, counting full years only.

These are small groups, so a few cases can change a percentage, and the figures show direction more than precision. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so the earlier period has no usable contested share.

Punitive Discharges at Nellis and Across the Air Force

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. In 2019–2023, one followed 72% of enlisted convictions at Nellis: 20 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable discharges. In all Air Force cases in those years, the share was 56%.

The later period also includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Confinement by Length and by Court Level

Confinement was part of 84% of the 38 convictions. Half of those sentences were 6 months or less. The Air Force median was 4 months. Nellis had more sentences of 6 months to 1 year, 29% compared with 15%, and fewer under 6 months, 37% compared with 50%.

Sentences longer than one year were less common here: 7 of 38 convictions (18%), compared with 23% service-wide. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year. At the 24 general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 10 months. At the 22 special courts-martial, 85% did, with a median of 4 months.

All of these are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

Sentences by Charge

Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions. The charge-level figures therefore give conviction counts and sentences, not conviction rates. The records show 26 convictions on Article 112a drug charges, with a median confinement of 5 months. The median for Article 134 convictions was 10 months, and the median for Article 107 convictions was 6 months.

Contested Cases and Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 31 records that list a plea, 18 accused pleaded guilty and 13 contested (42%). Across the Air Force, 50% were contested, so cases at Nellis were contested less often.

Of the 13 contested cases that reached a verdict, 7 ended in a full acquittal (54%). That is about the same as the Air Force figure of 51%. Another 1 case ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of one charge but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.

Members heard 12 of the 13 contested cases (92%). Overall, a military judge alone decided guilt in 28 of 44 cases with the forum listed (64%). Members heard 16: 8 enlisted panels and 8 officer panels.

Comparable Installations and the Accused

JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Minot AFB, North Dakota, tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Nellis had the highest punitive discharge share of the 3: 72%, compared with 50% and 68%. Its median confinement, 6 months, was the same as at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Junior enlisted members, E-1 to E-4, made up 61% of the accused at Nellis. NCOs made up 33%, and officers 7%. Air Force-wide, junior enlisted members were 64%. General courts-martial were 52% of cases, compared with 53% across the service.

What the Records Do Not Show

Since 2019, a special court-martial can be tried by a military judge alone, capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge. The later period therefore had a different set of court options. The records cannot show whether that change affected any figure here.

The data gives trial dates, not offense dates. It does not describe the evidence. Air Force records never report plea agreements and rarely list charges in full acquittals. Cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.

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.