What Was Tried at Nellis AFB, Nevada, 2019–2023? 46 Courts-Martial

Trends › By Installation › Nellis AFB, Nevada › 2019–2023

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

Most Cases Included a Drug Charge

Charge lists exist for 38 of the 46 cases, and each article counts once per case. 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%, compared with 6%. Article 134, the general article, was charged in 29%, compared with 21%.

Assault was less common. Article 128 was charged in 8% of Nellis cases, compared with 19% Air Force-wide. Air Force records rarely list the charges in cases that end in a full acquittal, so these shares mostly reflect cases that ended in a conviction.

Convictions and Sentences by Charge

Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions. The charge-level figures therefore show conviction counts and sentences, not conviction rates. The records show 26 convictions on Article 112a, with a median confinement of 5 months. There were 11 convictions on Article 134, with a median of 10 months, and 8 on Article 107, with a median of 6 months.

A sentence covers every charge in the case. These medians also include any other charges on which the accused was convicted.

From 2016–2018 to 2019–2023

Nellis had 30 cases in 2016–2018, about 10 a year, and about 9 a year in the full years since. The number of cases was about the same, but sentences were more severe. Median confinement went from 3 months to 6 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 41% to 72%. General courts-martial went from 20% of cases to 52%.

The share of convictions with any confinement went from 81% to 84%. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so the earlier period has no contested share or acquittal count to compare. Small groups change with a few cases, and the records cannot show why these figures changed.

Punitive Discharges After Conviction

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Of 36 enlisted members convicted, 26 received one (72%). The share across the Air Force was 56%. Of those 26 discharges, 6 were dishonorable.

The records list 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

More Sentences of 6 Months to 1 Year

Confinement was part of 84% of the 38 convictions. Half of those sentences were 6 months or less, compared with a 4 months median in the rest of the Air Force. A quarter were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Air Force records never report plea agreements.

Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 29% of convictions here, compared with 15% Air Force-wide. Sentences under 6 months made up 37%, compared with 50%. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 7 of 38 convictions (18%), compared with 23%.

Pleas, Panels, 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 were guilty pleas and 13 were contested. The contested share was 42%, compared with 50% across the Air Force.

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A judge alone heard 28 cases, enlisted panels heard 8, and officer panels heard 8. Members heard 12 of 13 contested cases (92%).

Of the 13 contested cases with a verdict, 7 ended in a full acquittal (54%). That is about the same as the 51% Air Force-wide. Another 1 ended in a partial acquittal. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.

The Two Court Levels

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Nellis held 24 general courts-martial (52%, compared with 53% in the rest of the Air Force) and 22 special courts-martial.

At general courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 10 months. At special courts-martial, 85% did, with a median of 4 months.

Minot and McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey and Minot AFB, North Dakota each tried 39 cases in the same years. The contested share was 42% at Nellis and at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and 48% at Minot. Full acquittals came in 7 of 13 contested cases here, 11 of 15 at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and 11 of 16 at Minot.

The punitive discharge share for enlisted members was 72% at Nellis, 50% at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and 68% at Minot.

Rank, Years, and What Is Missing

The accused included 28 junior enlisted members, 15 NCOs, and 3 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force overall, where 64% were junior enlisted. By year, there were 14, 11, 7, 9, and 5 cases from 2019 through 2023. Together they are 3% of 1,361 Air Force cases. The records do not include offense dates, evidence, or anything handled outside a court-martial.

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.