Any member of the armed forces who, without authority--
(1) fails to go to his appointed place of duty at the time prescribed;
(2) goes from that place; or
(3) absents himself or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty at which he is required to be at the time prescribed; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
(a) Any member of the armed forces who--
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States; is guilty of desertion.
(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design misses the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Any person subject to this chapter who before or in the presence of the enemy--
(1) runs away;
(2) shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place, or military property which it is his duty to defend;
(3) through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;
(4) casts away his arms or ammunition;
(5) is guilty of cowardly conduct;
(6) quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;
(7) causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces;
(8) willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or
(9) does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;
shall be punished by death or such punishment as a court- martial may direct.
The reason i placed this in this post today, is that there is an article on aol.com about a soldier surrendering after going AWOL for 19 months. after reading so many of the posts by anti war groups saying how brave he is and what a hero he is and that he deserves a medal, i decided to come here, to speak my mind without any outside moderation.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/awol-soldier-surrenders-after-19-months/20060901041609990017?cid=2359
the above articles are from the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. they apply to this young man's situation. keep in mind, from 0-29 days you are considered Unauthorized Absence, from 30-90 days you are counted AWOL(Absent without leave) and 91 days till you get caught, you are a deserter. he was gone for over a year. his attorney says he was meaning to turn himself in... that is to circumvent his getting nailed with article 85, Desertion. which can be punishable by death.
somewhere around the middle of the article on aol.com it mentions max punishment. however that is the maximums for NJP (non judicial punishment) or the most a CO can give someone without requesting a court-martial. a court-martial tribunal can give the max punishment described in the UCMJ. which the applicable articles above state can me death. there are a few more that would apply, but i got the big ones. the one that fits the bill is desertion. however the CO can rule under NJP for each, or ask for a special court-martial. this kids best bet is the NJP route. he can request the court-martial if he feels the punishment isnt right, however if he does this he could be signing his own death warrant. the posters on aol are ramping this up to be a topic on bashing the commander in chief, like he is completely to blame for this kid running away. this kid joined on his own, with a clear concience, knowing that in the time after 9/11 war was a distinct possibility, goes to iraq once, then runs away before he has to go again. Shaunny's cousin has been there 3 different times, my little brother is probably headed there after he finishes his training. this young man probably joined right after 9/11 to go wax some terrorist ass. and just like the WWII japanese(not at all like the pictures depicetd, were not bucktoothed midgets with thick glasses and pointy hats) these islamic fighters are not pushovers. remember, in the 80's these people's predecessors recieved american training, to fight against their opressors. these fighters we are up against are better suited to the environment, have more in the ranks, with more joining every day, and are willing to die for their beliefs. the 3 things you do not want to see in the enemy.
he knew what he was up against, and he chickened out.
lemmie know what ya think...
Allie =)
