RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 23 Cases
RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom tried 23 courts-martial from 2019–2023, 87% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 50% in the rest of the Air Force. Article 120, sexual assault, appeared in 38% of cases with charges listed, compared with 11% Air Force-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom › 2019–2023
Short answer: RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom tried 23 courts-martial from 2019–2023, 87% of cases with a plea recorded were contested, compared with 50% in the rest of the Air Force. Article 120, sexual assault, appeared in 38% of cases with charges listed, compared with 11% Air Force-wide. The median confinement was 9 months, compared with 4 months elsewhere.
Most Cases Were Contested
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 15 Lakenheath records that list a plea, 13 were contested and 2 were guilty pleas. That 87% contested share is higher than the 50% in the rest of the Air Force.
Of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict, 5 ended in a full acquittal (42%). That is lower than the 51% Air Force-wide. Another 2 were partial acquittals: not guilty of at least one charge, but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Panels Heard Most of the Cases
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 52% of Lakenheath cases, compared with 38% across the Air Force. There were 9 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels, and 11 cases were tried by a judge alone. Among contested cases, members heard 9 of 13 (69%).
Sexual Assault Was the Most Common Charge
Charge shares here use the 13 cases whose records list charges. A case can count under several articles. Article 120 appeared in 38% of them, compared with 11% across the Air Force. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 31%, compared with 19%.
Drug charges were less common. Article 112a appeared in 15% of Lakenheath cases with charges listed, compared with 41% Air Force-wide. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in a full acquittal, so these shares come mostly from cases with a conviction.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 38% | 11% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 31% | 19% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 23% | 21% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 15% | 41% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 15% | 16% |
| Art. 112 Drunk on duty before 2019, drunkenness on duty since | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 8% | 3% |
Longer Sentences, Mostly at General Courts-Martial
13 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 12 of those sentences included confinement (92%). The median confinement was 9 months, higher than the 4 months in the rest of the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
General courts-martial tried 20 of the 23 cases (87%), compared with 53% across the Air Force. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year.
More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges
For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. For an officer, the equivalent is a dismissal. Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 9 received one (75%): 7 dishonorable and 2 bad-conduct. The rate across all Air Force cases was 56%. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears here, and that officer was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Who Was Accused
The accused were 18 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 2 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 3 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than the Air Force as a whole, where 64% were junior enlisted.
The records show cases from February 2019 to June 2023: 7 in 2019, 7 in 2020, 2 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 2 in 2023. Together they are 2% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
Compared With 2016–2018
In 2016–2018, Lakenheath had 11 cases, about 4 a year. It has had about 5 a year since, counting full years only. The median confinement went from 3 months to 9 months. The general court-martial share went from 55% to 87%. Convictions with confinement were 6 of 6 in the earlier period and 92% since. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 4 of 6 to 75%. The earlier records give no contested share. With groups this small, a few cases can change these numbers, so they show direction, not precise size.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 11 | 23 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 87% |
| Convictions with confinement | 6 of 6 | 92% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 4 of 6 | 75% |
| General courts-martial | 55% | 87% |
Compared With Barksdale and Kadena
Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and Kadena AB, Japan each tried 23 cases in the same years. At Barksdale, 40% of cases were contested, the median confinement was 2 months, and the punitive discharge rate was 56%. At Kadena, 67% were contested, the median was 1 year, and the rate was 86%. Lakenheath had the highest contested share of the 3, at 87%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom | 23 | 87% | 5 of 12 | 9 months | 75% |
| Barksdale AFB, Louisiana | 23 | 40% | 4 of 8 | 2 months | 56% |
| Kadena AB, Japan | 23 | 67% | 7 of 12 | 1 year | 86% |
What the Records Cannot Show
These records cover only cases that reached a court-martial. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or cases with no action. They do not show the evidence or plea terms. Air Force records never report plea agreements, and from 2016 to 2019 they rarely list a guilty plea.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom with a trial date in 2019–2023 (23 cases), compared with all 1,361 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
- RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom Courts-Martial, 2024–2026: What 15 Cases Show (another period)
- Inside 23 Courts-Martial at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 2019–2023 (same years, similar size)
- Kadena AB, Japan Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 23 Cases Show (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 RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, 2019–2023
- Willie J. Babor
- Eric J. Cadotte
- Mark W. Milam
- Sterling C. Pendleton
- Joshua D. Rosen
- Lance R. Smith
- 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.