If true, then the UCMJ isn't worth spit, get rid of it and allow anarchy to rule the ranks. No order, no discipline.
An SP falling asleep at his post can just accept NJP and not worry about doing any hard time. A deserter in the face of war isn't that big of a deal, it's not like it affects the morale, order and discipline of those around him, right? And when you catch him, just him it's okay, you "understand" and send him to a hospital to "decompress" while his "buddies" have to do with one less trooper to pull his weight.
A trooper who left his post unguarded, which could have provided the enemy the one advantage they needed to infiltrate that OP.
That bastard needs to face the full force and effect of the UCMJ and the desertion charges.
I think he’ll desert one more time, never to be found.