An Article 128 court-martial covers the offense of assault, and the first thing to understand is that “assault” in the military spans a wide range. The same article reaches a shove that lands nowhere serious and an attack that breaks bones or threatens a life. A case under Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice could be a minor matter or a grave one, and which it is depends entirely on what conduct the government alleges and proves.
The spectrum within one article #
Article 128 is best read as a ladder, not a single rung. The recognized forms run roughly as follows.
- Simple assault. An attempt or offer to do bodily harm with unlawful force or violence. No contact has to occur. The threat or attempt is the offense.
- Assault consummated by a battery. The bodily harm is actually carried through. The difference from simple assault is that the contact happened, not merely that it was attempted.
- Aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon. An assault committed with a weapon or a means likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.
- Aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm. Conduct that causes serious injury, such as broken bones, deep cuts, or internal damage.
Reading the charge sheet for which of these is alleged tells a service member more about the case than the word “assault” alone ever could. A simple-assault allegation and an aggravated-assault allegation are different animals, with very different exposure.
Why the level charged matters #
Each step up the ladder raises what is at stake. Lower-level assault offenses carry comparatively limited maximum punishment, while aggravated forms carry the possibility of confinement measured in years, a punitive discharge, and forfeitures. The dividing lines are the presence of a weapon, the seriousness of the injury, and whether contact actually occurred. Because those facts drive the exposure, they are often the facts most closely contested in an assault case.
Article 128b and domestic violence #
Article 128b is a separate offense, and it is important not to fold it into ordinary assault. Article 128b addresses domestic violence: violent acts, threats, violations of protective orders, and assaults by strangulation or suffocation committed against a spouse, an intimate partner, or an immediate family member. The relationship between the accused and the alleged victim is what brings conduct within 128b rather than 128.
That relationship also raises the stakes. A violent offense charged under the domestic-violence article can carry the underlying offense’s maximum punishment increased by an additional term, so the same act that would be a minor matter between strangers becomes far more serious when the alleged victim is a spouse or partner.
Article 128b also carries a consequence that reaches outside the military. Under the federal Lautenberg Amendment, a qualifying domestic-violence conviction triggers a lifetime federal prohibition on possessing firearms, which can be incompatible with continued service.
A further distinction: for offenses committed on or after late December 2023, Article 128b domestic violence is a covered offense under the independent Office of Special Trial Counsel, whose specialized prosecutors hold exclusive, binding authority over whether to refer it. Ordinary Article 128 assault is not, by itself, a covered offense in that category. So two cases that both involve a punch can move through entirely different prosecutorial channels depending on who was struck.
How to read an Article 128 case #
Three questions frame any assault charge under these articles:
- Which offense is alleged, and where on the spectrum does it sit?
- Is it charged under Article 128, or under Article 128b because of a domestic relationship?
- What facts (weapon, injury, contact, relationship) drive the exposure?
This page explains how the offenses are structured and what distinguishes them; it does not advise on any particular case. Because the level charged and the channel it travels through can vary so widely, anyone facing a court-martial should consult a qualified military defense attorney about their situation.
In short, an Article 128 court-martial is a trial for assault that can mean almost anything from an attempted shove to a weapon attack, with Article 128b standing apart to address domestic violence and carrying heavier exposure and an independent prosecutor. The charge’s place on that range is the whole story.