Air Force Major General Phillip Stewart Faces Dishonorable Discharge and 66 Years in Prison

Air Force 2 star general faces criminal prosecution up to 66 years imprisonment and dischargePhoto byAir Force

In a major shake up to Air Force command An Air Force two-star general, Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart sought to retire in lieu of facing a court-martial on sexual assault and other charges has had his request denied this week before a military court.

Stewart in January filed paperwork with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall asking to retire as his case was headed to arraignment, but that request was denied in February, Sherilyn Bunn, one of Stewart’s civilian lawyers, told the Air Force Times.

Stewart allegedly penetrated a woman’s vulva with his mouth and penis without her consent on multiple occasions while visiting Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, in mid-April, according to the charge sheet.

During the same trip, Stewart allegedly violated Air Force rules by piloting an unnamed aircraft less than 12 hours after consuming alcohol. Altus is a training hub for pilots, refueling boom operators, maintainers and other aircrew across the mobility enterprise.

Air Education and Training Command boss Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson fired Stewart last May amid a misconduct investigation. Stewart previously led 19th Air Force, where he oversaw pilot training, 32,000 employees and more than 1,500 aircraft from JBSA-Randolph.

Stewart is the second Air Force general officer to face court-martial for sexual assault. The decision marks a rare prosecution of a high-level officer in the U.S. armed forces, and the Air Force’s second court-martial of a general officer in the past three years.

He will be tried by a jury of his peers — a panel of two-, three- and four-star generals who have served in uniform at least as long as he has.

Stewart was in charge of 19th Air Force, where he oversaw pilot training, 32,000 employees and more than 1,500 aircraft, when he was fired by Air Education and Training Command boss Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson in May 2023 amid a misconduct investigation. He was charged in September with two counts of sexual assault under Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice; two counts of dereliction of duty under Article 92; one count of conduct unbecoming of an officer under Article 133; and one count of extramarital sexual conduct under Article 134.

Stewart could incur a minimum sentence of dismissal or dishonorable discharge, or up to 66 years in confinement and forfeiture of pay.

General officers are rarely prosecuted through the military legal system. Stewart is the third general officer in the Air Force’s 76-year history — and the second in the past three years — to face court-martial. It’s also the second time an Air Force general will be tried in military court for a sex crime.

Maj. Gen. Donald Kaufman was arraigned as part of a court-martial in 1992, but his case was dismissed and never went to a jury. Kaufman, who faced allegations of taking enemy AK-47 assault rifles as trophies from the Gulf War, was demoted to the rank of colonel and retired.

Thirty years passed before the second Air Force general officer to face court-martial, Maj. Gen. Bill Cooley, was convicted of abusive sexual contact in 2022. He retired as a colonel in June and is appealing his case.