A Year of Courts-Martial at Parris Island, South Carolina: 2018
Parris Island, South Carolina held 11 courts-martial in 2018. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 60% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Installation › Parris Island, South Carolina › 2018
Short answer: Parris Island, South Carolina held 11 courts-martial in 2018. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 60% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2018. Only 4 of 10 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (40%), compared with 66% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Assault Was the Most Common Charge
Charge lists exist for 10 of the 11 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 6 of them (60%). Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 3 cases, or 30%, compared with 13% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), Article 80 (attempts), Article 81 (conspiracy), and Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019) each appeared in 2 cases (20%). Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 1 case (10%), compared with 26% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A case with several articles counts under each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Navy and Marine Corps-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 60% | 34% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 30% | 13% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 2 | 20% | 12% |
| Art. 131b Obstruction, numbered since 2019 | 2 | 20% | 5% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 2 | 20% | 9% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 1 | 10% | 26% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 10% | 10% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges
Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 4 received a punitive discharge: 2 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. The share, 40%, was lower than the 66% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
1 officer or warrant officer was convicted, and that officer 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
The records show 11 convictions, and 73% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 7 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. These are adjudged sentences, as imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
A More Senior Group of Accused
NCOs (E-5 to E-9) were 6 of the accused, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 4, and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 61% of the accused were junior enlisted.
There were 5 general courts-martial and 6 special courts-martial. The general share, 45%, was the same as across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Quantico and Bremerton in 2018
Quantico, Virginia tried 21 cases and Bremerton, Washington tried 28. Parris Island had the lowest punitive discharge rate of these installations, at 40%, compared with 56% at Quantico and 46% at Bremerton. Its median confinement, 8 months, was shorter than the 11 months at Quantico and longer than the 6 months at Bremerton.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parris Island, South Carolina | 11 | — | — | 8 months | 40% |
| Quantico, Virginia | 21 | 0 of 1 | — | 11 months | 56% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 28 | 18% | 0 of 5 | 6 months | 46% |
Before the 2019 Rules, and Gaps in the Records
These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial, and brought in written plea agreements. None of those changes applied here.
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, so this page gives no contested share or acquittal figures. The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Parris Island, South Carolina with a trial date in 2018 (11 cases).
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
- Parris Island, South Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Parris Island, South Carolina: 2020 (previous / next)
- Parris Island, South Carolina, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 20 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- Search every case in 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.