8,000 desert during Iraq war

Yahoo! News ^ | 3/7/06 | Bill Nichols

[rlmorel]

Yeah. And I think that is what made me sad about it when I thought about it later. What a mean, nasty thing to do.

[freema]

Thanks. A GHE. Glass Half Empty headline.

A few during Combat Training walk off base. Lockdown in town found them in a hotel room, I heard. Another, disappeared. Seems he joined to piss off his parents after a fight, I heard. He was found. Don't know what they ever did to him. And then there's the kid who drowned at PI, who wanted out. Don't know that was a good way to try to get someone's attention IMHO........

I wouldn't have wanted any of them next to my son, though, I guarandamtee you that. Good riddance.

I'm please with these numbers. There are always going to be those who can't cut it. Many of them ARE in college right now. If they could cut it, and wanted to, they'd be in service. I do resent them somewhat, but they do seem to think they appreciate the sacrifice. Even though they don't have a clue ; )

Just for curiosity's sake it would be interesting to know the desertion rate during the Clinton years.

[RetiredArmy]

Late in my career, I was visiting at my father-in-law's house one weekend and his oldest son came by. With his son was another guy. The guy was my father-in-law's son's son-in-law (does that make sense??). Anyway, this guy kept acting strange after my father-in-law told him I was in the military and worked in legal doing courts-martial cases. The guy, really a kid, maybe 18 or 19 years old, was really acting strange. I asked my brother in law what was wrong with the guy. He said, "he walked off from the army a couple of months ago. He and my daughter have been staying at our house." I told my brother in law that if this guy was missing for two months, then the Army was listing him as a deserter. I told my brother in law that as a senior noncommissioned officer it was my duty to call the local cops and report him. My brother in law said he had no problem with it, that he should have finished what he started. I went out and told this kid who I was, and that he was to consider himself in custody. He sat down on the porch and said, okay, I am glad to get it over with. I called the county sheriff, who sent out a deputy. I told the deputy what was up and he took him into control. The deputy did not know what to do with the guy. I told him to call the Military Police Station out on Fort McClellan, Alabama (about 20 miles away) and tell them he had a deserter in custody and they would come get him. He put the kid in the back of the car. I had the kid's ID card and I gave it to the deputy. I never saw that kid again after that day.

[jec41]

Gee, I wonder when the last death penalty was imposed causing them to feel the need to include it?

For dereliction of duty I think the last US solder was put to death in WWII. He fell asleep on guard duty while protecting the Eisenhower command.

[Coop]

I bolted from the military just months after the Impeached Rapist took office!

Okay, so I did it the right way. :-p

We had one guy bolt during boot camp, while we were in the field he ran away -- all the way back to our normal barracks! What a rocket scientist. Also had some dude jumped headfirst out of a second story window. He survived and was sent home, just like he wanted.

[Don Carlos]

I'm way too late to be the first to call B.S. on this. Nevertheless, B.S.!!! Anyone willing to look into the facts will find todays desertion rate is way lower than at any time since before Vietnam, probably the lowest ever!

[maineman]

Free food and clothing!

[Don Carlos]

In my case, it was travel. Man, flying first class on a C-130, rubbing elbows with Colonels and Generals on C-141's, just can't be beat! (snerk)

[PAR35]

They need to find a suitable candidate for the firing squad. That would discourage improper conduct.

[R. Scott]

Sounds like the young man was tired of looking over his shoulder all the time. The one I had to drop from the rolls received 90 days in the Marine stockade and a dishonorable discharge.

[RetiredArmy]

And that is exactly what they do the rest of their lives, look over their shoulder. One traffic stop can catch you.

I will free mail you a really wild one that I had when I was still in the Infantry before going into JAG, shortly.

[Just A Nobody]

I have to think that most of these "desertions" are reserve soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, etc. not showing up or refusing to oblige their contracts for active duty.

I would have thought much the same way. One item I read claimed "desertion" did not apply to the Guard and Reserves. Continuing my search, I found this which is more recent and appears to contradict the above info.

https://www.nm.ngb.army.mil/DCSLOG/Army%20Regulations/r630-10.pdf

Desertion Rates
Fiscal Year - Number of Deserters - Rate Per 1000

Army:
1997- 2,218 - 4.58
1998 - 2,520 - 5.20
1999 - 2,966 - 6.13
2000 - 3,949 - 8.16
2001 - 4,597 - 9.50
2002 - 4,483 - 9.26
2003 - 3,678 - 7.60
2004 - 2,376 - 4.91

Air Force:
1997 - 26 - 0.07
1998 - 27 - 0.07
1999 - 45 - 0.12
2000 - 46 - 0.12
2001 - 62 - 0.17
2002 - 88 - 0.24
2003 - 56 - 0.15
2004 - 50 - 0.14

Navy:
1997 - 1,858 - 4.86
1998 - 2,038 - 5.33
1999 - 2,485 - 6.50
2000 - 3,255 - 8.51
2001 - 1,619 - 4.23
2003 - Not Available
2004 - Not Available

Marine Corps:
1997 - 1,375 - 7.94
1998 - 1,460 - 8.43
1999 - 1,689 - 9.75
2000 - 2,019 - 11.66
2001 - 1,310 - 7.57
2002 - 1,136 - 6.56
2003 - 1,236 - 7.14
2004 - 1,297 - 7.49

BTW, I found this interesting tidbit while searching for answers: The groundbreaking ceremony [of the Pentagon] took place on September 11, 1941.

[bkwells]

This article is extremely misleading.

Opposition to the war prompts a small fraction of desertions, says Army spokeswoman Maj. Elizabeth Robbins. "People always desert, and most do it because they don't adapt well to the military," she says. The vast majority of desertions happen inside the USA, Robbins says. There is only one known case of desertion in Iraq.

Most deserters return within months, without coercion. Commander Randy Lescault, spokesman for the Naval Personnel Command, says that between 2001 and 2005, 58% of Navy deserters walked back in. Of the rest, the most are apprehended during traffic stops. Penalties range from other-than-honorable discharges to death for desertion during wartime. Few are court-martialed.

So, after reading the whole article, looks like that the vast majority of these deserters come back or get caught.

[R. Scott]

That was a good story – and reminded me of an incident long ago.
I think one of the reasons my Joe Snuffy got the 90 days was because when the JAG Officer called to ask me if I wanted to speak up for the kid I told him I was too busy. I didn’t much like the kids attitude.

[freema]

I just have to wonder...

; )