A U.S. Army sergeant major accused of inappropriate physical contact with subordinate soldiers, assault, and degrading remarks during a deployment to Poland was sentenced to 179 days in confinement after pleading guilty to three specifications of assault consummated by battery.
Sgt. Maj. Justin B. Foster, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, was sentenced June 23 during a special court-martial at Fort Riley, Kansas. The military judge also reduced Foster from sergeant major to master sergeant.
According to the referred charge sheet, the alleged misconduct occurred on or about Oct. 8, 2025, while Foster was deployed to Toruń, Poland. Prosecutors initially charged Foster with two specifications of abusive sexual contact under Article 120, three assault-related offenses under Article 128, two specifications of indecent language under Article 134, and one specification of maltreatment under Article 93 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Editor’s Note: To comply with advertising guidelines, this version of the article has been edited to omit certain graphic descriptions and explicit language contained in the official court records. Readers who wish to review the complete allegations, including excerpts from the referred charge sheet, can read the full uncensored version on The Salty Soldier Uncensored.
The charge sheet alleges Foster touched two subordinate soldiers through their clothing without consent and with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade them. Prosecutors also alleged Foster assaulted another soldier by strangulation and committed an additional unwanted touching involving another subordinate.
Foster was also accused of making degrading and sexually explicit remarks toward subordinates. Because of the nature of the language, The Salty Soldier is not publishing the remarks in full. According to the charge sheet, prosecutors alleged the comments were prejudicial to good order and discipline and brought discredit upon the armed forces.
(U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Dakota Bradford)
The maltreatment charge further alleged Foster abused a soldier subject to his orders through physical assault, strangulation, a chokehold, unwanted physical contact, and degrading language in the presence of other service members.
By the time of the alleged offenses, Foster had spent decades in the Army and risen to the rank of sergeant major, one of the service’s highest enlisted leadership positions. Public records indicate Foster has lived in communities surrounding Fort Bliss, Fort Drum, Fort Campbell, and Fort Riley during his Army career, suggesting assignments at multiple major Army installations before his deployment to Poland.
Despite the breadth of the original allegations, Foster ultimately pleaded guilty to three specifications of assault consummated by battery under Article 128. According to Michelle McCaskill, director of communications for the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, the government dismissed all remaining charges as part of the negotiated plea agreement.
“The trial for the case U.S. v. SGM Justin B. Foster concluded June 23, 2026, at the Fort Riley Courtroom, Fort Riley, Kansas,” McCaskill told The Salty Soldier. “He pleaded guilty to three specifications of assault consummated by a battery in violation of Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The military judge sentenced him to 179 days in confinement and a reduction in rank to E-8. Per the terms of the plea agreement, the government dismissed the remaining charges.”
The dismissal of the remaining charges does not constitute a finding that the allegations were unfounded. Rather, the charges were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement that resolved the case.
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