Did you know that Army Statistics Show More Soldiers Are Deserting Their Duty?

Question

Army statistics released this week show the number of desertions rose in the four years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America prompted the Bush administration's war on terrorism. Desertions then fell for three years but they have been rising steadily again in the last three years as the increasingly unpopular campaign in Iraq has worn on.

Even with the recent increases, less than 1 percent of the Army's active duty force of 507,000 soldiers desert, according to Army data. That compares with 3.4 percent of the 1971 force that fought the Vietnam war, Maj. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

And even with a sizable boost in the rate of prosecutions, the overwhelming majority of cases still are handled through administrative discharge. Some 5 percent of cases go to trial, Edgecomb said.

"The three primary reasons deserters cite for their actions are dissatisfaction with military life, family problems and homesickness," she said.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265137,00.html

Read the article before making rude comments.

Gunny: Apparently you didnt read the article. The head was ripped from the article..word via word..

I agreed with your comment until I read the last paragraph...

Answer 1

lots are killing themselves too.

just more of that good news from iraq that we never hear about...

Answer 2

Yes it is up; being deployed and away from families has a bad effect on marriages and causes many of these
"desertions"; most are not actually desertion which is a category of unauthorized absence. I also do not see disbelief in the war as listed as one of the reasons. Many people have marriage problems, unhappy with their jobs and are homesick when they leave home; in civilian life you take time off from work and/or change jobs to get closer to home. A military career or enlistment does not always allow that; so some one makes a decision and goes over the hill to try to straighten out the problem. Some of these will be Reserves or National Guard who joined for the "college free" and one weekend a month with two weeks a summer and are shocked they actually have to go for a year those numbers and personnel would not have been part of the figures prior to activation so the figure willincrease because active duty number would be higher; those people did not read the contract and expected a lot of benefits for very little commitment; some people join active duty for training and a technical job and don;t think about going to Iraq then act shocked when orders come sending them there. What is not quoted above is the pre-911 data which would show a better match up against the current then the rate immediately after. Funny how some one can make a comment about "just more of the good news from Iraq we never hear about" when the question lists a news source for the figures. Wha the article shows is that the number and rate is lower now then it was in the year ending prior to 911 and the military has always prosecuted harsher in war time because he points his fellow troops in danger; you need to read the artcle instead of reading what you want it to say.

Answer 3

Yeah, one thing they forget to mention is that an administrative discharge under other than honorable circumstances might as well be the same exact thing as a punitive bad conduct discharge by trial. Some 5% go to trial by courts martial... the rest can get roughly the same punishment with the removed stigma of a federal conviction on their record to boot.

That being said: note the reasons that people are deserting. Any conflict increases the ops tempo. People aren't leaving because of some ideological opposition to war (as per vietnam) but rather because of the increased stress put on their home lives. Not a reason to break contract, of course, but it's more understandable to say the least.

In the end, don't worry, desertions are still VERY low compared to historical figures, and we'll continue to do just fine.

Answer 4

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 5

Desertion, AWOL has always been a part of the military, and will continue to be, whether there is a war or not. It is part of the 2% theory I go by. If you haven't heard it before, here it is again:
"Regardless of it being a civilian organization or a military oganization, there are 2% that make everything/one else look bad. They are unhappy with the work, the "atmosphere" the sacrifice it takes to be successful or the demands put upon them.
Look around where you work. There are people dissatisfied with their job, they call out sick even when they aren't, they bad mouth the company in the lunch room, or in small circles of "confidants", even no call no show. Same as in the military.
So lets not all get on the bandwagon and start saying our military is going to pieces. IIt is not.

Answer 6

Desertion rate is less than one percent. I know you stated that, but I want to re-emphisize it. What is so important for a soldier is knowing that everything is alright and stable at home. Some guys don't have that stability at home because of the actions of a spouse, for example. And I've seen that really tear a few guys up and they can't function. Being far away with the expectation of combat is much more bearable when everything is alright at home.

Answer 7

The key is to compare it to desertions in other conflicts/wars...not to peacetime. Obviously, there are going to be more desertions during a war. So as you so accurately point out, when you compare it to the latest conflict...Vietnam, we aren't doing that bad...for all the reasons you state, but also due to the fact this is a volunteer force who, generally, want to be there.

Answer 8

One can put a spin on any news and make it look as good, or bad as one wants.

Desertions are lower now than the Vietnam war.

Desertions during wartime are always higher.

Answer 9

The desertion rate here at my comfy office job is higher than 1%.

Answer 10

Dissertion is common in any war.

Please brush up on your history. Lots of Union soldiers were executed by firing squad for desertion during the Civil War; and soldiers were executed during the Revolutionary War; War of 1812; and the Mexican War. And two American privates were executed by firing squad for desertion in WWII (one was Private Ernie Slovik of the Oklahoma National Guard).

So far no American soldier has been executed for dessertion in the Afghanistan or Iraq wars.*

Answer 11

You need to reread.

While the number has increased in 04 and 05, it's still less than the high in 2001, before the war started.

And very significanly lower than during Vietnam.

The story here is "less" not "more."