Friend AWOL for 10 days?

Question

ok, my friend went AWOL for 10 days from the Army. She is going back to work tommorrow. It was kind of a misunderstanding. she was TOLD her leave was approved, left, then got a phone call saying it was unauthorized. She stayed in communication with her chain of commanduntil she returned (today) who is still saying they will process the AWOL charges. She is returning to work tommorrow. How can she fight the AWOL charges?

no copies of leave forms. never signed them. was a verbal authorization.

dont tell me she did wrong dont want to hear it. whats done is done. her husband was home on R&R from Iraq.

AGAIN. She has been in contact with her unit the whole time. Would that make a difference?

Another reason- she went on "leave" because her husband was on R&R from Iraq AND her childcare got canceled. Her NCO was informed and autorized in from the lowest levels up to the CO.

What she is going for is havin it completely droped or FTR.

What is the time line on reporting an AWOL?

She is a PFC with 4 years in I think (only 2 as active duty)
She has NEVER takin leave before and wasnt aware of the procedures.

Answer 1

It's a good thing she maintained contact with her unit and that should look good when they start talking about punishment, if any. However, she should have known there is no such thing as 'verbal' leave authorization, a properly filled out leave form and authorization must be obtained prior to beginning leave. Otherwise, that's trying to take leave 'off the books' and that's definitely not allowed.

You didn't state her rank or how long she'd been in. That can be a factor in any punishment.

She may be offered an Article 15 and the consequences of accepting one, which again, rank comes into play. If she decides to fight the charge, she can refuse the Article 15 and elect trial by court-martial, something I personally would not recommend if it's her first offense as a junior enlisted troop. Her military defense attorney will provide her with her options and the rest is up to her.

Answer 2

Unless she actually signed out on leave then she is AWOL regardless of the circumstances(normally only E-7 and up can call in and that depends on the unit) She should have IMMEDIATLY returned when she was informed her leave was unauthorized (the unit most likely gave her a time to be back by) and cleared things up. She is supposed to have a family care plan in place with back up babysitters, could have called the FRG for help if necessary, or the Chaplain there are ways to get things fixed without being AWOL.

Weather YOU like it or not she is responsible for this and was AWOL - while the unit may have screwed up somewhere as well it is still her responsibility to make sure she is signed out on leave - regardless of weather this was her first time or not the 1SGT would have put that info out at formation or she should have notified him/her immediatly after receiving the call. Unless the unit faxed her a leave form to sign and return - or asked her to come in and do so (a simple fix) then it's her fault. If she doesn't have documentation/recorded phone calls then she has nothing to fight with/against.

Having a spouse home on R&R is not a reason for AWOL either rather one to make sure you are squared away BEFORE leaving the unit! Even if she didn't "know the procedures" surely hubby does?

Sorry no sympathy for stupidity or unwillingness to ask for help.

Answer 3

The only defense would be to show a copy of approved leave papers. If she did not have a copy in hand when she left, she should have known it was not approved.

Another issue she is going to have; she did not return immediately once the command told her she was AWOL.

I wish her luck, however sounds like she is in trouble.

Since it was less than 30 days, she is AWOL, not a deserter. It will probably be handled at NJP. No lawyers.

Being in contact would help her if she was stuck somewhere. if she was just sitting at home and she did not come back in, it may actually hurt her. Had she returned to the base as soon as they called, they might have let it go. Now it is unlikely she will get off.

Answer 4

They give her a lawyer, they will schedule a trial, AWOL is a serious charge and the military takes a dim view of people who are told they are not on leave and ignore phone calls that say otherwise. She could get anything from a slap on the hand to a dishonorable discharge.
It's sometimes called an article 15; however, if she has been a disciplinary problem previous to this event this will really be the last straw.
From your additonal information she has no paperwork signed by anyone so her only saving grace is that she called in... however she was told of how the system works when she went through boot camp many, many times so to defy orders is really stupid.

Answer 5

My question is; why did it take her ten days to return after being notified that she was AWOL? I am pretty sure she was notified that she was AWOL after a few days of being on leave, and she should have returned ASAP. It takes 12 hours or a little more to fly from Japan to the United States. So, I would think that she could have been anywhere in the world and been able to return within a 24hr period. I do not think that her thinking that she had approval for leave is going to cut it. She should have asked more questions and made sure that everything was in place. If you aren't sure of procedures, that is what your superiors are for. I am sure she won't make this mistake again.

Answer 6

My suggestion is for your buddy to either contact the local police and turn himself in, or contact a recruiter, or the nearest military base, and turn himself in. It would be a wise decision to get an attorney on the payroll asap. The military view AWOL as away without leave for the first 29 days. After that period of time, it is viewed as Desertion. Your buddy can expect to be courtmartialed, at the very least, and more than likely will be kicked out of the Army with a BCD. At any rate, the military, has already turned his name into the NCIC data bank, and sooner or later, he'll get caught by the police and turned over to the Army. It would serve your buddy's case better to turn himself in, rather than get caught. Good Luck

Answer 7

It really depends on what she's in, ie Army, RAF or Navy.
I can only answer for the army. now it depends what she's in, a corp or a regiment, I was in a corp and there a little less brain dead than regiments.
I was reported for 2 weeks awol and had nothing happen to me, at the same time a grenadier was returning from being sick whilst on leave, he was already told he was doing 28 day jail.
after all that it will still depend on weather or not her face fits.

I'd say she'll get extra duties, but if she is being punished for it, tell her to ask for her leave days back!!!

Answer 8

If she was smart just take the Article 15, if she choices a court martial and is found guilty it is a felony. If she does want to fight it, have her get witnesses that she was told she could go on leave. Have who ever told her she could go to say why he/she said it. Without that she is AWOL, she was in contact with her unit so she knew that she did not have leave after she was gone.

Answer 9

Well... she better find her JAG office... ofcourse she will have plenty of time for that with the AWOL charges... She should hav returned to base and went to her chain of command personally. Every soldier who takes leave is supposed to be briefed on this, what to do if you need more leave due to emergencies. Leave does not just get extended just because you want to take a few extra days off. It is the military, not a civilian job

Answer 10

Well she can expect some kind of punishment but if she goes back and faces the music they might go easier on her. if she goes back kicking and screaming they won't be so nice.

She can potentially fight against it, but my best recommendation is work towards a lighter punishment rather than a full dismissal of the case, she has a better chance that way.