A Year of Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield: 2025
Wheeler Army Airfield held 18 courts-martial in 2025. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 8 months across the Army. 87% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% Army-wide.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Wheeler Army Airfield › 2025
Short answer: Wheeler Army Airfield held 18 courts-martial in 2025. The median confinement was 1.5 years, compared with 8 months across the Army. 87% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 73% Army-wide.
Every Conviction Included Confinement
16 cases ended in a conviction, and every one of those sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 1.5 years. Across all Army cases in 2025, the median was 8 months. Among the sentences at Wheeler, a quarter were 2.5 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences. They are set at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.
Punitive Discharges
13 of the 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 7 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. That rate of 87% was higher than the 73% across the Army. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in the records and was not dismissed.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
14 accused pleaded guilty and 4 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. Contested cases made up 22% of those with a plea recorded, about the same as the 20% across the Army. All 14 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms.
2 of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Members heard 28% of the cases with the forum listed: 4 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. A military judge alone heard the other 13.
Domestic Violence and Attempts
Each of the 18 cases has a charge list. Domestic violence under Article 128b was the most common charge, in 5 cases (28%), compared with 26% across the Army. Attempts under Article 80 appeared in 4 cases (22%), compared with 7%.
Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) appeared in 2 cases (11%), compared with 2%, and obstructing justice under Article 131b appeared in 2 cases (11%), compared with 4%. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 11% of cases, lower than the 19% Army-wide. A case with several articles is counted under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Army as a whole |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 5 | 28% | 26% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 4 | 22% | 7% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 17% | 22% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 2 | 11% | 2% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 2 | 11% | 4% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 11% | 19% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 11% | 11% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 1 | 6% | 2% |
General Courts-Martial and Rank
17 of the 18 cases were general courts-martial (94%), compared with 66% across the Army. 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.
11 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. Across the Army, 50% of the accused were junior enlisted.
Fort Drum and Fort Stewart
Fort Drum and Fort Stewart each tried 20 cases in 2025. Their median confinement was 5 months and 6 months, both shorter than the 1.5 years at Wheeler. Their contested shares were 15% and 5%. Their punitive discharge rates were 94% and 100%, both higher than at Wheeler.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler Army Airfield | 18 | 22% | 2 of 4 | 1.5 years | 87% |
| Fort Drum | 20 | 15% | 2 of 2 | 5 months | 94% |
| Fort Stewart | 20 | 5% | 0 of 1 | 6 months | 100% |
New Rules and Missing Details
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges sentence within new sentencing parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case. They also leave out the evidence, the plea terms, and nonjudicial punishment.
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 2025 (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)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Wheeler Army Airfield: 2024 (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
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2025
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Wheeler Army Airfield, 2025
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.