What Happens at Court-Martial for AWOL (Article 86)?

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Based on 211 cases · 2021–2025 · Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

AWOL Was Usually Charged With Other Offenses

Article 86 was the only charge in 32 of the 211 cases. The other cases charged at least one more article, and the sentence covers every charge in the case.

Article 112a (drug) was the most common companion charge, in 64 cases. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 57 cases. Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 107 (false official statement) each appeared in 35, and Article 128 (assault) in 30.

Most AWOL Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

144 of the 208 cases with a court level listed were special courts-martial, and 64 were general courts-martial. The court level is not listed for 3 cases. The general court-martial share was 31%, compared with 56% for all convictions in those years.

A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial tried by a military judge alone is capped at six months with no punitive discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

The median confinement was 8 months at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. The contested shares were 22% and 21%.

How Much Confinement Followed an AWOL Conviction?

180 of the 211 convictions carried confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6 months for all convictions in those years. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 7 months or longer.

126 convictions (60%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 39% of all convictions. 34 (16%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, and 31 (15%) had no confinement.

Only 20 of 211 convictions were sentenced to more than one year (9%), compared with 25% of all convictions. 8 of those were 5 years or more.

Punitive Discharges After AWOL Convictions

A punitive discharge followed 59% of enlisted AWOL convictions, lower than the 65% for all convictions in those years. 99 were bad-conduct discharges and 17 were dishonorable discharges.

9 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these cases, and 5 were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Pleas and Partial Acquittals

The plea is listed in 207 of the 211 records. 160 accused pleaded guilty, and 47 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 23%, compared with 25% for all convictions in those years.

Of the 47 contested cases, 19 ended in a partial acquittal (40%). The accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Every case here ended in a conviction on Article 86, so full acquittals are not included.

Junior Enlisted Members Made Up 72% of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 72% of the accused in AWOL convictions. NCOs made up 23%, and officers 4%. Across all convictions in those years, junior enlisted members were 61%.

Installations and Years

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, had 13 of these cases. Camp Pendleton, California, and Fort Riley each had 12, and San Diego, California, and Norfolk, Virginia, each had 9. These 5 installations account for 26% of the 211 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not by itself show more AWOL at a base.

The yearly count was 50 in 2021, 44 in both 2022 and 2023, 40 in 2024, and 33 in 2025.

Limits of the AWOL Records

These figures cover only AWOL cases that reached a courtroom. Absences handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in the records. The records also do not describe the evidence, the length of the absence, or the plea terms.

All sentences here are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules turn on the offense date. The records give only trial dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both old and new rules.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 86 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.