Osan AB, South Korea Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 11 Cases Show
All 11 courts-martial at Osan AB, South Korea from 2024–2026 ended in a conviction, and a military judge alone decided guilt in every case. Only 10% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 43% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Osan AB, South Korea › 2024–2026
Short answer: All 11 courts-martial at Osan AB, South Korea from 2024–2026 ended in a conviction, and a military judge alone decided guilt in every case. Only 10% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 43% across the Air Force. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 55% of cases, compared with 16% Air Force-wide.
Guilty Pleas in 9 of 10 Recorded Pleas
Pleas are recorded for 10 of the 11 cases. The accused pleaded guilty in 9 and contested 1. A contested case means a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 10%, compares with 43% in all Air Force cases in those years.
In 2019–2023, the contested share at Osan was 71%.
Orders Violations and False Statements
Every record lists the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was charged in 6 cases (55%), compared with 16% across the Air Force. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 107 (false official statements) were each charged in 4 (36%). The Article 107 share compares with 6% Air Force-wide.
Article 128 (assault), Article 112a (drug use or possession), and Article 86 (AWOL) were each charged in 2 cases (18%). Article 91 (insubordinate conduct toward an NCO) and Article 95a (disrespect toward a sentinel) were each charged in 1.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 55% | 16% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 36% | 24% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 4 | 36% | 6% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 18% | 13% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 18% | 20% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 18% | 3% |
| Art. 91 Insubordinate conduct toward NCO | 1 | 9% | 1% |
| Art. 95a Disrespect toward sentinel | 1 | 9% | 0% |
Confinement and Bad-Conduct Discharges
All 11 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 10 of those sentences included confinement (91%). The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months across the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 10 months or longer.
A punitive discharge followed 64% of enlisted convictions, about the same as the 62% Air Force-wide. All 7 were bad-conduct discharges, and none was dishonorable. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Special Courts-Martial and Judge-Alone Trials
There were 2 general and 9 special courts-martial. The general share, 18%, compares with 56% Air Force-wide. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of 11 cases (100%). No panel of members heard a case here.
Junior Enlisted Accused
The accused were 7 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 4 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). No officer was tried. That mix is more junior than the rest of the Air Force, where 58% were junior enlisted.
Changes From 2019–2023
Osan had 18 cases in 2019–2023, about 4 a year, and the pace was about the same in 2024–2026. The punitive discharge rate went from 17% to 64%. The median confinement went from 8 months to 4 months. The general court-martial share went from 39% to 18%. A few cases can move these figures.
| 2019–2023 | 2024–2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 18 | 11 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 71% | 10% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 6 of 12 | 0 of 1 |
| Convictions with confinement | 67% | 91% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 17% | 64% |
| General courts-martial | 39% | 18% |
Ramstein AB and McConnell AFB
Ramstein AB, Germany tried 20 cases and McConnell AFB, Kansas tried 21. Ramstein had a contested share of 59% and McConnell 21%, both higher than Osan. Their median confinement was 9 months and 3 months.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osan AB, South Korea | 11 | 10% | 0 of 1 | 4 months | 64% |
| Ramstein AB, Germany | 20 | 59% | 3 of 10 | 9 months | 65% |
| McConnell AFB, Kansas | 21 | 21% | 1 of 3 | 3 months | 44% |
Dates, Rules, and Limits
The cases ran from April 2024 to June 2026: 4 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 2 in 2026, a partial year. They are 2% of the 598 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and they do not describe the evidence or the plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Osan AB, South Korea with a trial date in 2024–2026 (11 cases), compared with all 598 Air Force trials in those years. Dates are trial dates.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Osan AB, South Korea: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- What Was Tried at Osan AB, South Korea, 2019–2023? 18 Courts-Martial (another period)
- Inside 11 Courts-Martial at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 2024–2026 (same years, similar size)
- What Was Tried at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2024–2026? 10 Courts-Martial (same years, similar size)
- Andersen AFB, Guam Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 13 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 16 Cases Show
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases
- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2016–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Osan AB, South Korea, 2024–2026
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.