Inside 26 Courts-Martial at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, 2019–2023
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma held 26 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Drug offenses (Article 112a) were charged in 65% of cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Installation › Tinker AFB, Oklahoma › 2019–2023
Short answer: Tinker AFB, Oklahoma held 26 courts-martial from 2019–2023. Drug offenses (Article 112a) were charged in 65% of cases with charges listed, compared with 41% across the Air Force. 18% of cases with a plea listed were contested, compared with 50% in the rest of the Air Force, and the median confinement was 4 months, the same as the service as a whole.
Drug Charges Were the Most Common
20 of the 26 records list the charges. 13 of those 20 cases charged Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances. That is 65%, compared with 41% Air Force-wide. Each article counts once per case.
Some less common articles were also charged more often here. Domestic violence (Article 128b) appeared in 15% of cases, compared with 5%. Drunken or reckless driving (Article 113) and resistance or breach of arrest (Article 87a) each appeared in 10% of cases, compared with 4% and 1%. Assault (Article 128) and sexual assault (Article 120) were charged less often here than across the service.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Air Force docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 13 | 65% | 41% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 20% | 21% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 15% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 10% | 16% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 10% | 19% |
| Art. 113 Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since | 2 | 10% | 4% |
| Art. 87a Resistance, flight, breach of arrest | 2 | 10% | 1% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 5% | 11% |
Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. 17 records list a plea. 14 were guilty pleas and 3 were contested. The contested share was 18%, compared with 50% across the Air Force.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 22 of 26 cases (85%). Members heard 4 cases: 3 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so this split follows the number of guilty pleas.
Median Confinement Was 4 Months
20 of 21 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the 4 months for the Air Force as a whole. A quarter of the sentences were 6 months or longer.
71% of convictions had confinement under 6 months, compared with 50% service-wide. Only 2 of 21 convictions (10%) had confinement longer than one year, 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 each covers every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 5% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 15 | 71% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 14% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 10% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 6% |
Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. 11 of 19 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (58%): 9 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. In the Air Force as a whole, the share was 56%. 2 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 1 was sentenced to dismissal.
In 2016–2018, the share for convicted enlisted members was 92%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not include administrative separations.
Comparing 2016–2018 With 2019–2023
Tinker had 18 cases in 2016–2018, about 6 a year. It had about 5 a year in 2019–2023, counting full years only. The median confinement was 5 months in the earlier period and 4 months in the later one. Convictions with confinement were 100% and 95%. The general court-martial share was 78% and 46%.
In small groups, a few cases can move a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precision. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so the table has no contested share for the earlier period.
| 2016–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 18 | 26 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | 18% |
| Convictions with confinement | 100% | 95% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 92% | 58% |
| General courts-martial | 78% | 46% |
Full Acquittals
5 of the 26 cases ended in a full acquittal (19%), compared with 24% for all Air Force cases. A full acquittal means a finding of not guilty on every charge. Air Force plea records before 2019 are incomplete, so this rate is measured against all cases, not only contested cases.
Rank, Court Level, and Case Counts
The accused were 19 junior enlisted members, 4 NCOs, and 3 officers. That group is more junior than all Air Force cases in those years.
General courts-martial heard 12 of the 26 cases (46%), compared with 53% in the rest of the Air Force. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The median confinement was 5 months at general courts-martial. The 14 special courts-martial, which are capped at one year of confinement, had a median of 3 months.
The cases were tried from April 2019 to September 2023. The yearly counts were 2019: 7, 2020: 8, 2021: 6, 2022: 4, and 2023: 1. That is 2% of the 1,361 Air Force courts-martial in those years.
Scott AFB and Ellsworth AFB
Scott AFB, Illinois held 26 cases and Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota held 27 in the same years. Both had a contested share of 38%, higher than the 18% at Tinker.
The median confinement was 4 months at Scott and 3 months at Ellsworth. The punitive discharge rate for convicted enlisted members was 60% at Scott and 45% at Ellsworth, compared with 58% at Tinker.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tinker AFB, Oklahoma | 26 | 18% | 1 of 3 | 4 months | 58% |
| Scott AFB, Illinois | 26 | 38% | 5 of 8 | 4 months | 60% |
| Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota | 27 | 38% | 4 of 5 | 3 months | 45% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or misconduct handled by nonjudicial punishment. Air Force records 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 Tinker AFB, Oklahoma 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
- Tinker AFB, Oklahoma: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Scott AFB, Illinois, 2019–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 26 Cases (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
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona Courts-Martial, 2019–2023: What 29 Cases Show
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, 2019–2023
- Thomas J. Alford
- Jefferson B. Brown
- James E. Key III
- Shad R. Kidd
- Charlton J. Meginley
- Sterling C. Pendleton
- Julie L. Pitvorec
- Mark F. Rosenow
- Thomas A. Smith
- Matthew D. Talcott
- Charles G. Warren
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.