A Year of Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield: 2024
Wheeler Army Airfield held 18 courts-martial in 2024. 17 of them were general courts-martial (94%), compared with 72% across the Army, and 44% of the cases were contested, compared with 27% Army-wide. Full acquittals came in 5 of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict.
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Short answer: Wheeler Army Airfield held 18 courts-martial in 2024. 17 of them were general courts-martial (94%), compared with 72% across the Army, and 44% of the cases were contested, compared with 27% Army-wide. Full acquittals came in 5 of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict.
Nearly Every Case Was a General Court-Martial
General courts-martial heard 17 cases and special courts-martial heard 1. The general share of 94% was higher than the 75% across all Army cases in 2024. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
By rank, the accused were 9 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 2 officers. That mix is more senior than in the Army as a whole.
Contested Cases and Acquittals
10 accused pleaded guilty and 8 contested. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 44% was higher than the 27% across the Army.
5 of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal on all charges. In 2023 the count was 5 of 12. 8 of the 10 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 2 have no entry. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms.
Assault, Domestic Violence, and Attempts
Charge lists cover all 18 cases. Assault under Article 128 and domestic violence under Article 128b each appeared in 6 cases (33%). Across the Army, each appeared in 23% of cases. Attempts under Article 80 appeared in 5 cases (28%), compared with 7%.
AWOL under Article 86 appeared in 3 cases (17%), compared with 4%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) also appeared in 3 cases (17%), close to the 15% Army-wide. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Army docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 33% | 23% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 6 | 33% | 23% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 5 | 28% | 7% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 17% | 4% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 17% | 15% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 11% | 9% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 6% | 6% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 6% | 12% |
Confinement and Punitive Discharges
13 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. 12 of those sentences included confinement (92%). The median confinement was 5 months, close to the 6-month median across the Army. Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 2 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
9 of the 11 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (82%), more often than the 72% across the Army. 5 of the 9 were dishonorable. Neither of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed.
2023 Compared With 2024
The case count went from 24 to 18. The median confinement went from 8 months to 5 months, and the share of convictions with confinement went from 100% to 92%. The general court-martial share went from 79% to 94%. The contested share went from 50% to 44%, and the punitive discharge rate went from 84% to 82%.
With 18 cases, a few results can move these figures, so the changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 24 | 18 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 50% | 44% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 5 of 12 | 5 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 100% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 8 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 84% | 82% |
| General courts-martial | 79% | 94% |
Members Panels
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 35% of the cases with the forum listed: 3 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. A military judge alone heard the other 11.
Kaiserslautern and Fort Campbell
Kaiserslautern (Europe) tried 25 cases in 2024 and Fort Campbell tried 27. Their contested shares were 24% and 15%. Their median confinement was 9 months and 8 months, both longer than at Wheeler. Their punitive discharge rates were 87% and 91%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler Army Airfield | 18 | 44% | 5 of 8 | 5 months | 82% |
| Kaiserslautern (Europe) | 25 | 24% | 1 of 6 | 9 months | 87% |
| Fort Campbell | 27 | 15% | 2 of 4 | 8 months | 91% |
Law Changes and Record Limits
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 is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so 2024 trials include cases under both sets of rules.
The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.
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 2024 (18 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 2023 (previous / next)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield: 2025 (previous / next)
- What Was Tried at Wheeler Army Airfield, 2024–2026? 54 Courts-Martial (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, 2024
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.