Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Sergeant Major Daniel P. Deen was convicted of two domestic violence specifications involving Julia Bailey and that the allegations involving a child resulted in acquittals. Deen was convicted of one Article 128b specification involving Bailey and one involving a family member under the age of 16. Three other Article 128b specifications were dismissed, including one involving the child and two involving Bailey. The article also incorrectly described Deen’s total 90-day confinement sentence as the result of a statutory cap. The two confinement terms were ordered to run concurrently under the terms of his plea agreement. The Salty Soldier regrets the errors.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated after The Salty Soldier obtained a copy of Sergeant Major Daniel P. Deen’s official Statement of Trial Results from a confidential source. The Army had not publicly released Deen’s court-martial outcome at the time of publication, but the document confirms his convictions, plea agreement and sentence.
The U.S. Army released multiple court-martial results from mid-November — including cases where junior Soldiers received months of confinement, reductions to E-1 and punitive discharges — while Deen’s November 13, 2025, general court-martial result remained unpublished.
Deen, then a Sergeant Major assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, faced multiple domestic violence charges involving an intimate partner and a family member under the age of 16, along with a charge alleging he threatened to set his former partner’s possessions on fire.
One of Deen’s victims who attended the hearing previously told The Salty Soldier that the senior enlisted leader was sentenced to 90 days of confinement, reduction to E-8 and would be permitted to retire.
The Statement of Trial Results obtained by The Salty Soldier now independently confirms 90 days of confinement and reduction to Master Sergeant (E-8). It also shows Deen received no punitive discharge, forfeitures, fine or reprimand. The document does not, however, state that Deen retired or guarantee his retirement benefits.
The document shows Deen pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two Article 128b domestic violence specifications. Three other Article 128b specifications were dismissed, as was the Article 115 communicating-threats specification.
The Same UCMJ Charge, Different Sentences
The Army published the result of SGT Daniel O. Thomas’s general court-martial following his November 17, 2025, conviction at Camp Humphreys.
Thomas pleaded guilty to one specification of domestic violence under Article 128b and one specification of assault consummated by battery under Article 128.
He was sentenced to reduction to E-1, nine months of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge.
Deen was convicted of two Article 128b domestic violence specifications. His remaining three Article 128b specifications and the Article 115 specification were dismissed.
His sentence was 90 days of confinement and reduction by one pay grade, from E-9 to E-8, with no punitive discharge.
The comparison does not establish that the cases were equivalent. Court-martial sentences can depend on the specific conduct, plea agreements, evidence, aggravating and mitigating circumstances and other factors particular to each case. But the difference in the published outcomes is substantial: Thomas received nine months and a bad-conduct discharge, while Deen received 90 days and no punitive separation.
What SGM Deen Was Charged With — And What He Was Convicted Of
Deen, 41, originally faced a total of six UCMJ specifications:
- Five Article 128b domestic violence specifications
- One Article 115 specification involving an alleged threat
Three Article 128b specifications involved Julia Bailey, Deen’s former intimate partner.
The Statement of Trial Results shows Deen pleaded guilty to slapping Bailey in the face with his hand on or about September 7, 2024, at or near Fort Bragg, then known as Fort Liberty. The military judge found him guilty.
Two additional allegations involving Bailey — that Deen pushed her on September 21, 2024, and again near Raeford on February 6, 2025 — were dismissed after Deen pleaded not guilty.
Bailey previously told The Salty Soldier that the September assault left her with a black eye and swollen, split lip. She said Deen took her phone and prevented her from leaving the residence and that she attempted to escape through a bathroom window.
Two additional Article 128b specifications involved a family member under the age of 16, whose identity The Salty Soldier is withholding.
One alleged that Deen pushed the child off a chair on or about June 26, 2024. Deen pleaded not guilty to that specification, and it was dismissed.
The second alleged that Deen struck the child in the face with his hand on the same date. Deen pleaded guilty and was convicted of that offense.
A forensic interview previously reviewed by The Salty Soldier contained additional allegations concerning Deen’s treatment of the child. Those allegations should be distinguished from the conduct for which he was actually convicted.
Deen was also accused under Article 115 of threatening Bailey on or about October 9, 2024, by threatening to set her possessions on fire. He pleaded not guilty, and that specification was dismissed.
Previous Civilian Domestic Violence Case
Deen’s military prosecution followed separate criminal proceedings in Cumberland County involving Samantha Tice.
In May 2025, Deen pleaded guilty in North Carolina state court to two counts of assault on a female stemming from incidents involving Tice in 2019.
Court records previously reviewed by The Salty Soldier alleged that during one incident Deen pushed Tice down, punched her in the face and placed his hands around her throat.
The court granted Deen a conditional discharge and imposed conditions including no contact with Tice, anger-management programming and substance-abuse treatment.
Deen had also previously been arrested in Tampa, Florida, in 2012 on a domestic-violence battery charge. That arrest should not be characterized as a conviction.
His earlier North Carolina record includes a 2003 guilty plea for issuing a worthless check. Separate misdemeanor larceny and injury-to-real-property charges from that year were dismissed.
Plea Agreement Limited Deen’s Punishment
The Statement of Trial Results provides additional details about a plea agreement that substantially limited the punishment available to the military judge.
The agreement specifically provided that:
- A punitive discharge could not be adjudged
- Confinement had to fall between 60 and 119 days, with the confinement imposed for the two convictions running concurrently
- Deen could be reduced to E-8
- Other lawful punishments could not be imposed
The military judge ultimately sentenced Deen to 90 days of confinement for striking the child and 70 days for assaulting Bailey. Because the sentences were ordered to run concurrently, Deen’s total confinement was 90 days.
Deen was also reduced from E-9 to E-8.
There were no forfeitures, no fine, no reprimand and no punitive discharge.
A victim who attended the court-martial told The Salty Soldier that Deen would be permitted to retire following the proceedings. The Statement of Trial Results confirms that the plea agreement prohibited a punitive discharge, but does not itself state that Deen retired or establish the status of his retirement benefits.
Why the Lack of Transparency Matters
The Army publicly released other court-martial results from the same period while Deen’s result remained unavailable through the Army’s publicly posted court-martial results.
That left the outcome of a general court-martial involving an E-9 and multiple domestic violence allegations unavailable to the public until The Salty Soldier obtained the Statement of Trial Results from a confidential source.
The document now establishes that Deen was convicted of two domestic violence offenses involving two different victims: striking a family member under 16 in the face and slapping his intimate partner in the face. Three additional Article 128b specifications and the Article 115 threat specification were dismissed.
It also confirms that his plea agreement prevented a punitive discharge and limited confinement to between 60 and 119 days, with the sentences running concurrently. The military judge imposed 90 days and reduced Deen to E-8.
As of the publication of the original report, the Army had not publicly released Deen’s result. The Salty Soldier will continue to update the case if additional official records become available.
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