What Wheeler Army Airfield Tried in 2023
Wheeler Army Airfield held 24 courts-martial in 2023, and 50% were contested, compared with 31% across the Army. Attempts under Article 80 were charged in 33% of the cases, compared with 8% Army-wide. All 19 convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months.
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Short answer: Wheeler Army Airfield held 24 courts-martial in 2023, and 50% were contested, compared with 31% across the Army. Attempts under Article 80 were charged in 33% of the cases, compared with 8% Army-wide. All 19 convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months.
A Contested Share Higher Than the Army's
12 accused pleaded guilty and 12 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 50% was higher than the 31% across all Army cases in 2023.
All 12 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not what it said.
Full and Partial Acquittals
5 of the 12 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. That rate of 42% was close to the 39% across the Army. 4 other contested cases ended in a partial acquittal.
A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army records.
Which Articles Were Charged?
Every case has a charge list. Article 80 (attempts) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 8 cases (33%). Across the Army, the shares were 8% and 24%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 7 cases (29%), compared with 21%. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 6 cases (25%), about the same as the 26% Army-wide.
Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 3 cases (12%), compared with 5%. Domestic violence under Article 128b also appeared in 3 cases (12%), lower than the 21% across the Army. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 80 Attempts | 8 | 33% | 8% |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 33% | 24% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 29% | 21% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 25% | 26% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 3 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 12% | 11% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 3 | 12% | 21% |
Results on the Most Common Charges
7 of the 8 Article 80 cases ended in a conviction on that article. The median confinement for those convictions was 8 months. 5 of the 8 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction on that article, with a median of 1.8 years.
A case can include a conviction on one article and an acquittal on another, so these rows overlap.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 80 Attempts | 8 | 7 (7 of 8) | 8 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 8 | 5 (5 of 8) | 1.8 years |
Confinement in Every Sentence
19 cases ended in a conviction, and all 19 sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 8 months, longer than the 6-month median for all Army cases in 2023. Among these sentences, a quarter were 1.8 years or longer.
Sentences here are as adjudged at trial. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Punitive Discharges
16 of the 19 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (84%): 8 bad-conduct discharges and 8 dishonorable discharges. Across the Army, the share was 74%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 16 of the 23 cases with the forum listed (70%). Members heard 7: 5 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels.
Among contested cases, members heard 7 of 11 (64%). Guilty pleas are usually heard by a military judge alone, so the overall split follows the number of contested cases.
Rank and Court Level
The accused were 13 junior enlisted members and 11 NCOs. No officers were tried. That mix is similar to the Army as a whole. General courts-martial heard 19 of the 24 cases (79%), compared with 76% Army-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Fort Stewart and Fort Polk
Fort Stewart tried 24 cases in 2023 and Fort Polk tried 23. Their contested shares were 38% and 35%, both lower than Wheeler's. The median confinement was 4 months at Fort Stewart and 1.4 years at Fort Polk. Punitive discharge rates were 71% at Fort Stewart and 100% at Fort Polk.
The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler Army Airfield | 24 | 50% | 5 of 12 | 8 months | 84% |
| Fort Stewart | 24 | 38% | 6 of 9 | 4 months | 71% |
| Fort Polk | 23 | 35% | 6 of 8 | 1.4 years | 100% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Wheeler Army Airfield with a trial date in 2023 (24 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
- Wheeler Army Airfield: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- What Wheeler Army Airfield Tried in 2022 (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield: 2024 (previous / next)
- Wheeler Army Airfield, 2020–2023: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 75 Cases (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Wheeler Army Airfield, 2023
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.