That's not the way I understood it, but I definitely ain't no JAG officer. It was my understanding that Hassoun was a deserter before. If you go UA from your training unit in the states, you're not a deserter until you've been gone 30 days. But since Hassoun left his post in a designated war zone, it is desertion immediately. As a matter of fact, there was a big article on the FoxNews website because Hassoun is now a two-time deserter and is, therefore, eligible for the death penalty.
As far as I'm concerned, Hassoun never should have made it back to the states. When he turned himself in to the US Embassy in Lebanon, he should have been sent back to his unit in Iraq and executed on the battlefield.