Posted on 03/22/2007 7:03:45 PM PDT by bnelson44
A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.
The new calculations by the Army significantly alter the annual desertion totals since the 2000 fiscal year. In 2005, for example, the Army now says that 2,543 soldiers deserted, not the 2,011 it had reported. For some earlier years, the desertion numbers were revised downward.
National Public Radio first reported on Tuesday that the Army had been inaccurately reporting desertion figures.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Oooh! The John Edwardses at NPR have a big scoop and their, um...buddies at the NYT are all a twitter!
And this is important....why????
Too late treasonous Clymers. The surge is going to wrok...
This weeds out the morally unfit Americans in the combat arm of the service. Now if we would just make it mandatory that JAG officers had to serve a year of front-line combat duty, we could weed out the rest.
When a soldier fails to report for duty he is not automatically listed as a deserter. Initially he is listed as AWOL (Absent Without Leave). If the Army determines he has left with no intention of ever returning his status is changed to deserter. I believe that if he fails to return within a certain period his stats can be changed as well. There is some subjectivity between AWOL and desertion. It has been awhile since my UCMJ classes, but that is how I remember it.
ahh,the old media and the dems,they never give up.
Although this -1% is far lower than the number of traitors and criminals in Congress, we at the nyt and npr will never pass up a chance to disparage the American military or hurt the war effort.
Hahahah. When this story was first posted on Drudge the bet was the story was from the nyt. How right they were. So we need at least two confirming sources to see if the story is true or the usual spin from the nyt.
The force is healthy. Weeding out the rot. Where's the bad news?
That is one of the profound solutions I have ever heard. I love it.
"Now if we would just make it mandatory that JAG officers had to serve a year of front-line combat duty"
Add the IG's to that...
in the 60's jag types served a year in a combat arms field before going to jag.
If a troop goes AWOL, after 30 days he is DFR (Dropped From the Rolls) and his unit no longer must account for him. The conditions under Article 85 of UCMJ for Desertion read thus:
• They are absent without authority for 30 consecutive days.
• The unit commander believes the soldier voluntarily sought political asylum or is living in a foreign country apart from official duties or authorized leave.
• The soldier has joined the armed forces of another country.
• There is reasonable belief that the soldier has left his or her duty station with the intent to avoid hazardous duty or important service, or intends to remain permanently absent. An expressed intention not to return to a particular unit is not enough evidence to drop the soldier from the rolls of the Army.
• The soldier fails to return to a unit from which he or she is AWOL after returning to military control at another location or departs prior to the completion of administrative, judicial, or non-judicial action for a previous absence.
• The soldier escapes from confinement.
• The soldier is identified as a special category absentee.
• A commissioned officer tenders their resignation and before notice of its acceptance, departs their post or proper duties without leave and with the intent to
remain away therefrom permanently.
• A member of the Armed Forces leaves from, or remains absent from, their unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently.
Desertion is a felony
Desertion Rates
Army
Fiscal Year Number of Deserters Rate Per 1000
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
They do seem to be just like ticks and just keep sucking the blood right out of you.
I did a brief stint as a Courts & Boards clerk.
You are correct that after 30 days AWOL, a soldier is dropped from the rolls as a deserter. However, that is an administrative move, so that the unit can request a replacement.
If the soldier returns later, or is caught, the court martial has to prove that he never planned to return in order to charge him with desertion. Enlisting in another branch of the service, or enlisting in the Army under another name is considered proof of desertion. That dates back to the Civil War, when some scoundrels would enlist, collect their bonus, desert, and enlist again to collect another bonus.
The desertions remain below prewar levels.
The war news is good, we cant stand that so lets dig up some bad news to try and make the Army look bad. Anything to undermind the war effort and cause us to lose.
A well-intentioned and serious question asked with no sinister intent: Does this conclusion concerning JAGs come from a person with actual combat experience?
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