What happens to a soldier that deserts the Army?

Question

What would happen if a soldier deserted the army after completing basic. If he got a leave and does not return. Is there any way he can get out? he has an injury that occurred in basic but they don't seem to care. they just gave him pain killers and keep working him. He can hardly run, but is forced to do so in pain. What can be done?

Answer 1

After 30 days he is considered a deserter and a warrant will be issued for his arrest. This warrant will sit in the system until something happens that causes a police officer to check him for a criminal history. At that point he will be arrested and put in jail (note: desertion is a 'no bail' offense). For most people this happens years later and after that person has settled down, started a family and a career.

Then he will discover that the military will regard getting him out of jail as a 'when we get around to it' issue. Eventually the military will send the police a one-way bus ticket to a military base. The police will put him on the bus with the warning that if he does not report to the military base - sometime in the future he will have to go through the same process again. (Note: the bus is used because it is the most inexpensive form of transport. This should reveal the military's attitude towards the guy.)

Once he gets to the military base he will be placed in a holding facility. At this point he is back on the books in the military and gets pay, meals, housing and any necessary medial care. (He should not count on keeping the pay - it will all be taken away as partial payment of the fines in the legal proceedings.)

While he is at the holding facility he will be put to work doing menial jobs such as picking up trash and mowing lawns while his records are collected and the decision is made on what will happen to him. Once his records are collected they will be reviewed and he will be scheduled for a hearing where his punishment will be determined.

Depending on how annoyed the military is he will be given anything from an 'Other Than Honorable' discharge to prison time and a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge is equalivalent to a felony conviction and _will_ mess up the rest of his life.

When he does finally walk out the gate he generally will be provided with a bus ticket home (if he annoyed his supervisors while waiting for his processing he may simply be driven to a phone booth off post). At this point he will be free of the military. However with the fines and debt for government property that was not recovered he will generally wind up with a debt to the US government that will be turned over to the IRS for collection.

And he will have a very difficult time getting the VA to take care of his injury. The default assumption will be that the injury occurred while on AWOL/desertion status and as a result is not the concern of the US government. He will have to prove that the injury was sustained while in 'duty' status.

Sounds like this guy just really messed up his life.

Answer 2

For the most part. No. It would take quite a long time to explain Japanese culture but for those soldiers, death would have been more of a consideration than deserting. As other people have mentioned there were two soldiers who continued fighting the war long after it was over in the jungles of the philipeans and guam. Look up Hiro Onoda. Those that went missing were presumed dead or captured. If anyone had actually deserted those cases would have been immediately covered up by the Army. There is one famous case however of some Kamikaze pilots who, in the very last few days of the war, were ordered to fly to their deaths into some American ships. When they got into the air however the leader convinced his group to fly to Hawaii and surrender...which they did. There was a documentary on it years ago. The most unbelievable thing was that all of the men returned to Japan and found that they were treated very badly once the story got out. All of them returned to Hawaii and lived out their remaining lives in the USA

Answer 3

Any military person with the slightest common sense would tell you to turn yourself in. AWOL and desertion are reserved for those who do not intend to return. UA is used on a person that is missing for whatever reason, but because the military doesn't know if you are going to come back or not, they can't label you as AWOL or desertion. After usually 30 days UA you will be considered a deserter. My advice from someone who has thought of going UA many times. Stop and think about what your doing. Ask yourself if this is worth the consequences that you know will happen. Turn yourself in to a Chaplain and explain to him the reason you went UA. Then with the help of the chaplain contact your chain of command and tell them why you did it. You will get in trouble, but because you turned yourself in the punishment won't be as harsh. Don't listen to the people about Court-Marshal or Prison time. I've seen people go UA for more than 4 months and they got restriction and a dis-honorable discharge. It may be as simple as 30 days in the brig. (NOT YEARS!)
Oh and by the way, this is not a real WAR, Vietnam was a war, WW2 was a war, this is Operation Iraqi Freedom, you can call it a war, but I see it as merely a liberation.

Answer 4

If you have been following the news the last few weeks you will know if you desert, the outcome is not good. First it jail time and then a court marshall that will follow you all the rest of the days of your life. Ask yourself is this really worth it. If you feel you have a injury that will cause you not to perform your duties any longer you get jag or a good lawyer to take your case. Don't run away from it the price to pay is to high.

Answer 5

There is a difference between being AWOL/UA and DESERTION. That reason is THE INTENT. Two articles of the UCMJ cover that: Article 85 and 86. A military member can be gone 24 hours and be declared a DESERTER but can be gone 30 years and only be AWOL. Again, it's the INTENT.
Going UA/DESERTING is on answer and has only compounded his problems. If he gets a BCD for his actions, his problems will become even worse. He should turn himself in as soon as possible and accept what ever happens to him. He has only himself to blame for anything that comes down.
(USN/retired)

Answer 6

It sounds like this guy is either a wuss and can't take it(no offense) or he is getting screwed by someone. Either way, deserting is not the way to fix it. Go through the chain of command and if he is really injured, someone will fix it and help him out.

The best way to get out of the Army is too finish your contract. There is no point to spend all that time in jail instead of doing something honorable.

Answer 7

In the paper recently, a soldier refused to report for his second duty in Iraq and was sentenced to seven month in military jail. He needs to see a specialist for examination, and that specialist will need to notify the Army that this soldier is not fit for training.

Answer 8

If he is AWOL for 31 days, he/she will be reported to the FBI as a deserter and will be placed on their Most Wanted List. If they find him, he will face courts martial and will be given either a Bad Conduct or Dishonorable Discharge
and could face prison time!!!If he/she was injured during Basic training, he/she would have been placed on Medical Leave and been seen by a Specialist/Doctor until he/she was medically able to return to duty or been given a Medical Discharge

Answer 9

Nowadays what will happen is he might get courtmartialed and be sent to jail,after he does his time he will be given a dishonorable discharge,which in these times means nothing since some of our leaders in Washington never served in the military honorably,many years ago,a dishonorable discharge was a disgrace,now the liberal media will actually make a hero of such a person

Answer 10

DO NOT GO AWOL ! - Continue complaining, see the Co or Batallion CO or Division CO, maybe the chaplain, but do not go AWOL - After 30 days you are considered a desertor - Could mean,, in time of war, years in the brig.-