What Changed at Peterson SFB, Colorado After 2019? 26 Cases vs. 21
Peterson SFB, Colorado tried fewer courts-martial after 2019: 21 cases from 2019–2023, compared with 26 in 2016–2018. 62% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 50% Air Force-wide. General courts-martial were 67% of cases.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Peterson SFB, Colorado › Before and after 2019
Short answer: Peterson SFB, Colorado tried fewer courts-martial after 2019: 21 cases from 2019–2023, compared with 26 in 2016–2018. 62% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 50% Air Force-wide. General courts-martial were 67% of cases. 46% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% across the Air Force.
Fewer Cases, More Often Contested
The largest change at Peterson is the number of cases. In 2016–2018 the installation tried 26 cases, about 9 a year. From January 2019 to August 2023 the records show 21, about 4 a year, counting full years only.
Of the 13 records in the later period that list a plea, 8 were contested and 5 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 62% is higher than the 50% across all Air Force cases in the same years.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 26 | 21 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 62% |
| Convictions with confinement | 80% | 94% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 44% | 46% |
| General courts-martial | 54% | 67% |
More Officers Among the Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 52% of the accused at Peterson, NCOs 29%, and officers 19%. Air Force-wide, junior enlisted members made up 64% of the accused. The accused at Peterson were more senior.
Of the 3 convicted officers or warrant officers in the records, 1 was dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
More General Courts-Martial Than Before
Of the 21 cases, 14 were general courts-martial, or 67%. That compares with 53% in the rest of the Air Force and with 54% at Peterson in 2016–2018. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge, a dismissal, or more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial cannot.
The higher general court-martial share and the higher contested share are in the same period. The records cannot show whether one is connected to the other.
Confinement in Almost Every Conviction
94% of the 16 convictions in 2019–2023 included confinement, compared with 80% in the earlier period. The median confinement was 3 months in the earlier period and 4 months in the later one. The later median is the same as the 4-month median in the rest of the Air Force.
In the later period, a quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer. The sentences here are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial. They are before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in a case.
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Air Force Rate
In 2019–2023, 4 convicted enlisted members at Peterson received a bad-conduct discharge and 2 received a dishonorable discharge. That is 46% of enlisted convictions. Across the Air Force the rate was 56%. In 2016–2018 the Peterson rate was 44%, about the same.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not show administrative separations.
Full Acquittals the Same as the Air Force
The full acquittal rate at Peterson was 24% (5 of 21 cases), the same as the Air Force rate of 24%. This rate uses all cases as its base. Guilty pleas are rarely listed in Air Force records from 2016 to 2019, so a rate based on contested cases only is not possible.
Drugs and Assault Were the Most Common Charges
Of the 21 records, 16 list the charges. Article 112a, covering wrongful use and possession of controlled substances, appeared in 7 cases (44%, compared with 41% Air Force-wide). Article 128 assault appeared in 4 (25%, compared with 19%).
Article 134, the general article, appeared in 12% of Peterson cases, compared with 21% service-wide. Article 92 orders violations appeared in 12%, compared with 16%. Each article counts once per case, so a single case can appear in several rows.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 44% | 41% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 25% | 19% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 12% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 12% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 12% | 16% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 1 | 6% | 7% |
| Art. 117a Wrongful broadcast of intimate visual images | 1 | 6% | 1% |
| Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since | 1 | 6% | 4% |
Who Decided Guilt
A military judge alone decided guilt in 10 of the 21 cases (48%). Members heard 11: 5 enlisted panels and 6 officer panels. The accused usually chooses between a judge and a panel. Guilty pleas are usually heard by a judge alone, so more contested cases usually means more panels.
By year, there were 8 cases in 2019, 2 in 2020, 3 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 3 in 2023.
Compared With Similar Installations
In the same years, FE Warren AFB, Wyoming and JB Andrews, Maryland also tried 21 Air Force cases each. The median confinement was 4 months at all 3. Peterson's contested share of 62% was higher than FE Warren's 44% and JB Andrews' 50%. Its punitive discharge rate of 46% was lower than both (64% and 50%).
Groups this small change with a few cases, so the differences show direction, not precise size.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterson SFB, Colorado | 21 | 62% | 4 of 8 | 4 months | 46% |
| FE Warren AFB, Wyoming | 21 | 44% | 5 of 7 | 4 months | 64% |
| JB Andrews, Maryland | 21 | 50% | 5 of 7 | 4 months | 50% |
What These Records Cannot Show
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not show the evidence or plea terms. They do not include misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Plea agreements are never reported in Air Force records, and charges are rarely listed when a case ended in a full acquittal.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Peterson SFB, Colorado in 2016–2018 (26) and 2019–2023 (21).
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
- Peterson SFB, Colorado: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 26 Courts-Martial at Peterson SFB, Colorado, 2016–2018
- Peterson SFB, Colorado, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 21 Cases
- Andersen AFB, Guam Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Aviano AB, Italy, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2016–2018 vs. 2019–2023: A Side-by-Side Look
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026: A Side-by-Side Look
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Peterson SFB, Colorado, 2019–2023
- Thomas J. Alford
- Jefferson B. Brown
- Colin P. Eichenberger
- Donald R. Eller Jr.
- Bryon T. Gleisner
- Shad R. Kidd
- Bradley J. Palmer
- Julie L. Pitvorec
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Christopher M. Schumann
- Thomas A. Smith
- Matthew D. Talcott
- Charles G. Warren
- Bryan D. Watson
- Charles E. Wiedie Jr.
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.