Desertion

Desertion is the act of abandoning or withdrawing support from an entity to which one has given.

In a military unit, desertion is the act of leaving a unit. In some cases, the permanent or temporary nature of their leave, as defined by "intent" bears relevance on their distinction and further judgement as a deserter. Desertion is generally considered a serious crime, particularly during wartime, but punishments can vary widely; from execution to a simple discharge from duty.

AWOL: Absent Without Official Leave

In the United States, Britain, and France, military personnel become AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) when they are absent from their post without a valid pass or leave. Such people are dropped from their unit rolls after 30 days and listed as deserters. However, as a matter of U.S. military law, desertion is not measured by time away from the unit, but rather:

by leaving or remaining absent from their unit, organization, or place of duty, where there has been a determined intent to not return;
if that intent is determined to be to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important responsibility;
if they enlist or accept an appointment in the same or another branch of service without disclosing the fact that they have not been properly separated from current service; or
if they enter a foreign armed force not as authorized by the United States.
A person holding a top secret security clearance is a deserter rather than AWOL, because of the national security implications of the material to which they have access.

People who are away for more than 30 days but return voluntarily or indicate a credible intent to return may still be considered AWOL, while those who are away for fewer than 30 days but can credibly be shown to have no intent to return (as by joining the armed forces of another country) may nevertheless be tried for desertion or in some rare occasions treason if enough evidence is found.

In the United States, before the Civil War, deserters from the Army were flogged, while after 1861 tattoos or branding were also adopted. The maximum U.S. penalty for desertion in wartime remains death, although this punishment was last applied to Eddie Slovik in 1945.

"To go U.A.," a variant of the expression "to go AWOL," is used in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ("U.A." stands for "unauthorized absence").

American Civil War

Desertion was a major factor for the Confederacy in the last two years of the war. According to Weitz (2000), Confederate soldiers fought to defend their families, not a nation. He argues that a hegemonic "planter class" brought Georgia into the war with "little support from non-slaveholders" (p. 12), and the ambivalence of nonslaveholders toward secession, he maintains, was the key to understanding desertion. The privations of the home front combined with those of camp life and the terrors of battle to undermine the allegedly weak attachment of southern soldiers to the Confederacy, causing significant numbers to desert. For Georgia troops, Sherman's march through their home counties triggered the most desertions. Weitz relies on the fact that many women wrote to their husbands pleading with them to come home, yet he dismisses other letters in which wives insisted upon husbands doing their duty in spite of deteriorating conditions at home. Apparently there were as many southern women who preferred continued sacrifices over defeat.

World War II

Over 21,000 military personnel were convicted and sentenced for desertion during the 3.5 years of American involvement in World War II. Of these 21,000, 49 were given the death penalty, but only Eddie Slovik was actually executed.

Iraq War

According to the Pentagon, over 5500 military personnel deserted in 2003–2004, following the Iraq invasion and occupation. The number had reached about 8000 by the first quarter of 2006. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-07-deserters_x.htm

The UK military has reported over 1000 deserters since the beginning of the war in Iraq, with 566 deserting since 2005. ^*

References

Peter S. Bearman; " Desertion as Localism: Army Unit Solidarity and Group Norms in the U.S Civil War" Social Forces, Vol. 70, 1991
Ella Lonn; Desertion during the Civil War University of Nebraska Press, (1928 (reprinted 1998)
Aaron W. Marrs; "Desertion and Loyalty in the South Carolina Infantry, 1861-1865" Civil War History, Vol. 50, 2004
Mark A. Weitz; A Higher Duty: Desertion among Georgia Troops during the Civil War University of Nebraska Press, 2000
Mark A. Weitz; "Preparing for the Prodigal Sons: The Development of the Union Desertion Policy during the Civil War" Civil War History, Vol. 45, 1999

External links

G.I. Resistance to the Vietnam War