Quantico, Virginia in 2019: 12 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
The records show 12 courts-martial at Quantico, Virginia in 2019, down from 21 in 2018. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions, the same share as service-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Installation › Quantico, Virginia › 2019
Short answer: The records show 12 courts-martial at Quantico, Virginia in 2019, down from 21 in 2018. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions, the same share as service-wide.
Fewer Cases Than in 2018
Quantico tried 12 cases between January 2019 and December 2019. The year before, the count was 21.
The median confinement went from 11 months in 2018 to 5 months in 2019. General courts-martial went from 57% of cases to 17%. Convictions that included confinement went from 59% to 82%.
With groups this small, a few cases can move each figure. These changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 21 | 12 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0 of 1 | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 59% | 82% |
| Median confinement | 11 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 56% | 60% |
| General courts-martial | 57% | 17% |
Mostly Special Courts-Martial
Only 2 of the 12 cases were general courts-martial (17%). Special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Among the accused with rank recorded, 6 were junior enlisted members, 4 were NCOs, and 1 was an officer. That mix is similar to all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2019.
Orders Violations and Other Charges
Of the 12 records, 11 list the charges, and a case can count under more than one article. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) was the most common charge, in 4 cases (36%), compared with 17% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) appeared in 2 cases (18%), compared with 2% service-wide. Article 107 (false official statements) and Article 121 (larceny) also appeared in 18% of cases each.
Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 18% of cases, lower than the 30% service-wide. Assault under Article 128 also appeared in 18%, compared with 34%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 36% | 17% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 18% | 2% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 18% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 18% | 7% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 18% | 34% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 18% | 11% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 18% | 30% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 1 | 9% | 3% |
Confinement and Discharges
Confinement was part of 82% of the 11 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, and a quarter of the confinement terms were 10 months or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Okinawa and Bremerton
Okinawa, Japan tried 25 cases and Bremerton, Washington tried 47 in 2019. The median confinement was 1.8 years at Okinawa and 3 months at Bremerton, compared with 5 months at Quantico. Punitive discharges for enlisted members were 79% at Okinawa and 38% at Bremerton.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantico, Virginia | 12 | — | — | 5 months | 60% |
| Okinawa, Japan | 25 | 1 of 2 | 0 of 1 | 1.8 years | 79% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 47 | 11% | 4 of 5 | 3 months | 38% |
Gaps in the Records
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so this post does not report them for Quantico. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Quantico, Virginia with a trial date in 2019 (12 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
- Quantico, Virginia: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Quantico, Virginia in 2018: 21 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Quantico, Virginia: 2021 (previous / next)
- Quantico, Virginia Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 70 Cases Show (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
- 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.