Scott AFB, Illinois, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 26 Cases
Scott AFB, Illinois held 26 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Drug offenses (Article 112a) were the most common charge, in 53% of cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Scott AFB, Illinois › 2019–2023
Short answer: Scott AFB, Illinois held 26 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Drug offenses (Article 112a) were the most common charge, in 53% of cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force. 38% of cases were contested, compared with 50% Air Force-wide, and the median confinement was 4 months, the same as the rest of the service.
Drug Charges Were the Most Common
19 of the 26 records list the charges. Each article counts once per case, so a case charging 2 offenses appears under both. Article 112a (wrongful use or possession of controlled substances) appeared in 10 cases, or 53%. Across the Air Force, the share was 41%.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged more often than in the rest of the service: 21% compared with 11%. Article 120b (offenses against a child) appeared in 11% of cases, compared with 7%. Article 128 (assault) was about the same as the Air Force figure: 21% compared with 19%. Article 134 (the general article) was charged less often: 11% compared with 21%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 53% | 41% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 4 | 21% | 11% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 4 | 21% | 19% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 134 General article | 2 | 11% | 21% |
| Art. 115 Malingering before 2019, communicating threats since | 1 | 5% | 4% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 5% | 5% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 5% | 3% |
Most Sentences Were Short
95% of the 20 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the median in the rest of the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences were 10 months or longer.
65% of convictions here had confinement under 6 months, compared with 50% in the rest of the service. Sentences longer than one year occurred at about the same rate as Air Force-wide: 4 of 20 convictions (20%), compared with 23%. No sentence was 5 years or more.
These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 5% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 13 | 65% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 10% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 20% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 6% |
Sentences at Each Court Level
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose no more than one year of confinement and no dishonorable discharge. Scott held 12 general and 14 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 46%, compared with 53% Air Force-wide.
Sentences differed by court level. At general courts-martial, 7 of 7 convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.2 years. At special courts-martial, 92% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2 months.
Pleas, Acquittals, and Who Decided Guilt
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. 21 records list a plea. 13 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested. The contested share was 38%, compared with 50% for the Air Force as a whole.
6 of the 26 cases ended in a full acquittal (23%), compared with 24% across the Air Force. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. For that reason, this rate is measured against all cases, not only contested cases.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 19 of 26 cases (73%). Members heard 7 cases: 3 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split mostly follows the number of contested cases.
Did Convictions End Careers?
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. 12 of 20 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (60%): 8 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across the Air Force, the share was 56%.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Administrative separations are not in these records.
Comparing 2016–2018 With 2019–2023
Scott had 19 cases in 2016–2018, about 6 a year. It had about 5 a year in 2019–2023 (full years only). The yearly counts were 2019: 5, 2020: 2, 2021: 5, 2022: 6, and 2023: 8. The 26 cases were 2% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
The median confinement was 4 months in both periods. The share of convictions with confinement was 80% in the earlier period and 95% in the later one. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 53% and 60%. The general court-martial share was 53% and 46%. In small groups, a few cases can move a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precision.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 19 | 26 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 38% |
| Convictions with confinement | 80% | 95% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 53% | 60% |
| General courts-martial | 53% | 46% |
Rank of the Accused
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 62% of the accused. NCOs were 31%, and officers were 8%. Across the Air Force, junior enlisted members were 64% of the accused, so the rank mix here was similar.
Tinker AFB and Ellsworth AFB
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma (26 cases) and Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota (27 cases) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. The contested share was 38% at both Scott and Ellsworth and 18% at Tinker.
The median confinement was 4 months at Scott and Tinker and 3 months at Ellsworth. The punitive discharge rate for convicted enlisted members was 60% at Scott, 58% at Tinker, and 45% at Ellsworth.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott AFB, Illinois | 26 | 38% | 5 of 8 | 4 months | 60% |
| Tinker AFB, Oklahoma | 26 | 18% | 1 of 3 | 4 months | 58% |
| Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota | 27 | 38% | 4 of 5 | 3 months | 45% |
What the Records Do Not Show
These records cover only cases tried by court-martial. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, or cases closed with no action. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They give trial dates, not offense dates. Air Force records also rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial in the data tried at Scott AFB, Illinois with a trial date in 2019–2023 (26 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
- Scott AFB, Illinois: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Scott AFB, Illinois Courts-Martial, 2016–2018: What 19 Cases Show (another period)
- Inside 26 Courts-Martial at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, 2019–2023 (same years, similar size)
- Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 27 Cases (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 Scott AFB, Illinois, 2019–2023
- Wesley A. Braun
- Matthew N. McCall
- Mark W. Milam
- Tyler B. Musselman
- Julie L. Pitvorec
- Natalie D. Richardson
- Joshua D. Rosen
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Michael A. Schrama
- Shaun S. Speranza
- Pilar G. Wennrich
- 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.