“War-on-Terror”: Growing Desertion in the US Army
While the US diplomats have successfully resisted compulsory posting to Iraq, the Army personnel do not enjoy such luxury. The result: growing desertion.
Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, reports Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer.
“According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year.
“The Army defines a deserter as someone who has been absent without leave for longer than 30 days. The soldier is then discharged as a deserter.
“The increase comes as the Army continues to bear the brunt of the war demands with many soldiers serving repeated, lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military leaders — including Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey — have acknowledged that the Army has been stretched nearly to the breaking point by the combat. Efforts are under way to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps to lessen the burden and give troops more time off between deployments.”
12 Responses to ““War-on-Terror”: Growing Desertion in the US Army”
Here’s a link to Baldor’s article.
http://www.kentucky.com/522/story/232658.html
Here’s another perspective at ArmyTimes.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/military_desertions_071115w/
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If you are just going to clip and paste how about linking the original article? It seems clear some of those numbers are wrong and I would like to see if that is you or them. The number of army desertions in 2001 were 4,597, or just 101 different from the numbers of a peacetime army. That some solders are growing tired and becoming disheartened is obvious and should be expected. However the rash of blog postings and articles calling this “proof” of whatever they can twist it to fit is disingenuous and dishonest. With a hirer level and longer deployments you would of course get greater numbers of deserters which in and of itself proves squat all.
Bones_708… Please click here to clear your confusion. This a major Associated Press story quoted by all leading newspapers in the world… Not my figures but AP figures…
Well, a quick google search brought up this, and several supporting articles, which indicate the Army desertion rate per 1000 was well over 9 in 2001 and 2002 and was above 8 in 2000. If these and the AP numbers are correct then it seems the current desertion rate is equivalent to the three years preceding the Iraq war and is nothing compared to Vietnam (about 55 per 1000), or Korea (22 per 1000). I think that might result in different conclusions than the what the AP and so many clone articles postulate.
I don’t like to tell bloggers how to do their jobs, but I found these numbers and additonal supporting information in about 15 seconds. I would therefore humbly suggest that a modicum of fact-checking might take place before posting.
Oh I found the article, I just think that if you are going to do a clip job you should link the original, and again the numbers don’t really agree.
Desertion rates are rising
That’s an important consideration, in light of the stretched thin state of the military.
If the AP story hyped this trend, then the de-bunkers are leaning too far backwards in the opposite direction.
Obviously the military is concerned or it would not be engaged in measures to change the minds of the errant sheep. It’s a concern, here and now, in today’s circumstances.
Comparisons to other years serve to put the trend into better perspective, but they don’t negate the concern as it applies to the here and now.
The Viet Nam war, BTW, can not be standard by which we should assess when it’s time to start worrying.
Yes doma, the rate has been rising since 2003. It’s now at the level (or slightly above) it was in 2000-2002.
You know how this is going to be played on the lefty blogs, don’t you? The simple fact is that the article fails to mention that comparable rates existed before the war when the Army wasn’t deployed nearly as much. As a result, I’m simply suggesting that perhaps the desertion rate we’re seeing today isn’t unusually high historically and is not cause for hyperventilation.
Frankly, I’m quite surprised the rate isn’t much higher considering the strain on our Army. Maybe the upward trend will continue and maybe it won’t. Certainly the Army is cognizant of what’s going on and will monitor and take measures to keep desertion rates low – after all, high desertion rates negatively affect the morale, discipline and cohesion of armed forces.
“Certainly the Army is cognizant of what’s going on ”
That, I would say, goes in the ‘good news’ category.
They do appear to be reacting pro-actively.
Did anyone bother to read the article at ArmyTimes. It makes some of the same points as the AP article. Is AT guilty of Librul spin?
Both AT and AP state the same point about a significant increase in desertions. But nobody is claiming anything near the numbers of Vietnam, just a disturbing trend. maybe this has something to do with a broken military that many former military have warned us about.
Where is JS to moderate these…
Rudi,
Yes, I read the article.
No onw is disputing the trend.
The military is concerned and reacting.
It’s more a question of the degree of alarm warranted by the trend.
Judging by comparisons to pre-war years and current overall conditions, I see it as seriously higher than pooh-pooh but dramatically below SOS!
Agree with Doma’s last comment.
Oh noes! Desertion is back up the level it was for the three years preceding OIF! The sky is falling!