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Desertions highest since 2001

In a likely reflection of the continued strain of multiple deployments to a 4½-year war, the number of soldiers deserting the Army skyrocketed during the past fiscal year to its highest level since 2001.

All told, 4,698 soldiers were declared deserters, according to Lt. Col. Darryl Darden of the Army’s office of the deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel. That is a 42.3 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, and the highest annual total since fiscal year 2001, when 4,399 troops deserted.

More disturbingly, the pace of Army desertions appears to have increased even during fiscal 2007: 63.6 percent of the year’s 4,698 desertions were recorded from April through September, according to Army data.

At the same time, desertions fell in two of the other three services. A total of 1,036 Marines walked away last fiscal year, marking a three-year decline. Navy desertions — 1,129 during the 12 months ending Sept. 30 — fell for the seventh straight year.

And a mere 16 airmen left the Air Force for more than 30 days, the time a service member must be absent without leave before being declared a deserter.

Military-wide statistics are kept by calendar year, so 2007 numbers are not yet available. The Defense Department’s 2006 calendar-year desertion total, 5,361, was an increase of 219 over the previous year and reversed a 3-year decline. Given the rapid rise in Army desertions in the last half of fiscal 2007, however, that number could increase.

The Army has borne the brunt of the contentious Iraq war. Thousands of troops are on their second, third and even fourth deployments. Soldiers currently deploy to Iraq for 15 months and come home for 12; leaders at all levels lament the lack of “dwell time,” saying troops need more time to rest and reconnect with families as well to properly train for the next deployment.

Troops in mobilized, deployed and deploying units who have reached the end of their enlistment contracts fall under the ongoing “stop-loss” program and cannot be discharged.

That strain largely explains the rise in desertions, said Lawrence Korb, formerly a senior Pentagon personnel official in the Reagan administration and now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “It’s a combination of not enough dwell time, and having to go back [to the war] as well as the type of people you’re taking in,” Korb said.

The increased rate of desertions in fiscal 2007’s second half, he said, coincided with the surge of troops sent to Iraq. “A lot of them probably didn’t want to go back,” Korb said. “And don’t forget, you’ve lowered your standards of people you’re taking in.”

In an effort to boost recruiting, the Army granted moral waivers for past criminal behavior to 11.6 percent of new recruits in fiscal 2007, and accepted more recruits who dropped out of high school or scored low on entrance tests.

The Army acknowledges the desertion problem. “These types of numbers do concern us,” said Roy Wallace, director of plans and resources for the deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel programs. “We need to keep every able-bodied service member in the Army to fight this global war on terrorism.”

Wallace also acknowledged the strains of the war. “All of those are stressing us,” he said.

But he declined to say whether lowered recruiting standards helped increase the desertion rate, as Korb alleged. “I don’t think I could possibly comment on that and give you anything … definitive,” Wallace said.

In the Army’s defense, however, Wallace said the percentage of the force that deserted last fiscal year was nearly identical to the fiscal 2001 figure — indicating that the newer figure, produced under more stress, is actually somewhat of an improvement.

“We’re comparing a wartime footing with a peacetime footing,” he said. “The Army was not in combat in [fiscal] 2001.”

And while desertions are up, the first-term attrition rate — which includes desertions — has dropped from 18.1 percent in April 2005 to 7.2 percent today.

More soldiers are walking away, he agreed, but some who return are “rehabilitated.” The Army is also losing fewer people to medical problems, “failure to adjust” issues and admitted homosexual activity. He couldn’t immediately say whether most deserters are also first-termers.

“I have tried to work with these soldiers to keep them in the Army,” Wallace said. “Those soldiers that really don’t want to be here, and really shouldn’t probably be here, have found their way to get back home. And one of those ways is desertion.” Desertion is a felony, punishable by death under military law if committed in wartime.

While it’s still treated seriously, that maximum punishment may be a thing of the past. The last service member executed for desertion was Pvt. Eddie Slovik, who was shot by a firing squad in France on Jan. 31, 1945, following his conviction for desertion under fire.

The last military execution for any crime took place in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder in Germany. Officials say six inmates are currently on death row at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., but none were deserters.

A death penalty for desertion “obviously has struck [military] convening authorities and juries as excessive,” said Eugene Fidell, an attorney specializing in military law who is president of the National Institute of Military Justice. “We rely more on positive incentives for our personnel to remain with their units, rather than fear of death.”

At least a few more troops could soon be facing some form of punishment for desertion. On Nov. 15, the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the case of two U.S. soldiers who had sought asylum in Canada — a popular destination during the draft era of the Vietnam War — so they would not have to deploy to Iraq.

Both now face deportation and likely courts-martial proceedings on desertion charges.

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Canada court refuses cases of U.S. deserters