Canada deports coward

[Ben Kenobi]

Berz,

Why would he flee to Canada? If the worst he would suffer in the US is a dishonourable discharge, why didn't he just desert and then they would kick him out?

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Lorizael
Aren't you supposed to execute deserters in wartime?

Absent Without (Official) Leave

In the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and France, military personnel become AWOL (UK: Absent WithOut Leave; US: Absent Without Official Leave) or AWL (Canada and Australia: Absent Without Leave), all of which are pronounced /ˈeɪwɔːl/, except Australia who say the letters "A W L", when they are absent from their post without a valid pass or leave. The United States Marine Corps and United States Navy generally refer to this as Unauthorized Absence, or "UA." Such people are dropped from their unit rolls after 30 days and then 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.

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. No US servicemember has received more than 18 months imprisonment for desertion or missing movement during the Iraq war. [3]

AWOL/UA may be punished with nonjudicial punishment (NJP; called "office hours" in the Marines). It is usually punished by Court Martial for repeat or more severe offenses.

Also, "Missing Movement" is another term which is used to describe when a particular servicemember fails to arrive at the appointed time to deploy (or "move out") with their assigned unit, ship, or aircraft; in the United States military, it is a violation of the 87th article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The offense is similar to AWOL, but considered more severe.

Less severe is "Failure to Repair," consisting of missing a formation, or failing to appear at an assigned place and time when so ordered.

Iraq War

[edit]
United Kingdom

The UK military has reported over 1000 deserters since the beginning of the war in Iraq, with 566 deserting since 2005. [9]

[edit]
United States of America

According to the Pentagon, more than 5500 military personnel deserted in 2003–2004, following the Iraq invasion and occupation. [10]. The number had reached about 8000 by the first quarter of 2006. [11] Another report stated that since 2000, about 40,000 troops from all branches of the military have deserted, also according to the Pentagon. More than half of these served in the US Army [12]. Almost all of these soldiers deserted within the USA. There has only been one reported case of a desertion in Iraq. The Army, Navy and Air Force reported 7,978 desertions in 2001, compared with 3,456 in 2005. The Marine Corps showed 1,603 Marines in desertion status in 2001. That had declined by 148 in 2005. [13] To date, no service member from the Iraq war has received a sentence of more than 18 months for desertion or missing movement. [14]

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Berz,

Why would he flee to Canada? If the worst he would suffer in the US is a dishonourable discharge, why didn't he just desert and then they would kick him out?

Because a Dishonorable discharge would basically ruin you for life.

[Ben Kenobi]

Because a Dishonorable discharge would basically ruin you for life.

As opposed to fleeing to Canada and getting deported back?

[Kuciwalker]

As opposed to fleeing to Canada and NOT getting deported back.

Duh.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Lonestar


Because a Dishonorable discharge would basically ruin you for life.

Why would it? Just don't include it on your resume, life goes on.

[Berzerker]

Why would he flee to Canada? If the worst he would suffer in the US is a dishonourable discharge, why didn't he just desert and then they would kick him out?

Dont know and I dont know what the worst could be, but he aint a coward.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Lonestar


Because a Dishonorable discharge would basically ruin you for life.

Get your discharge and move to Canada?

[Kuciwalker]

Canada does have some immigration controls with the US, doesn't it? Would they be eager to accept a felon?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Berzerker
A coward? *******

Yes.

[Patroklos]

Dont know and I dont know what the worst could be, but he aint a coward.

He certainly is. Just like certain hippies don't understand, if you want to cross a legal system fine, just don't whine when the legal consequenses punch you in the face. In fact, you should be proud you are subjected to the expected consequences of your actions. If you think you are in the right, your consequences should be a boon to your cause, no?

Even if you think this guy is not a coward for deserting, he is still a coward for not facing the consequences of his supposedly right decision.

[SlowwHand]

Muhammed Ali is a perfect example of a man making his decision in the face of knowing the penalty, and standing honorably by it. He gave up a lot for doing it, and he knew he would be doing so. He stood by it.
When you volunteer, you don't pick and choose.

[Theben]

Considering he was right about the war crimes charge, this is a poor decision on the part of the Canadians.

[DinoDoc]

Why? One of the perks of volunteering rather than being drafted is that less people tend to have sympathy for you when you wanna quit.

[Theben]

And one of the perks of getting a job when your boss turns out to be a slimeball is that you can walk away from it.

Let him go, with neither honorable nor dishonorable discharge. He still wasted a good chunk of his youth, if that makes you happy.