In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of one's "duty" or post without permission from one's Government or one's superior. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking The term abandonment has a multitude of uses legal and extra-legal Duty (from "due" that which is owing O Fr deu did past participle of devoir Lat One's ultimate "duty" or "responsibility," however, under International Law, is not necessarily always to one's "Government" nor to one's "superior," as we see in the fourth of the Nuremberg Principles, which states:

"The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him. Duty (from "due" that which is owing O Fr deu did past participle of devoir Lat International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards The Nuremberg Principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a War crime. "[1]

This Nuremberg Principle of "moral choice," "morality," or "conscience" being the higher authority was subsequently formulated into International Law by the United Nations as we see in this quote:

"Under UN General Assembly Resolution 177 (II), paragraph (a), the International Law Commission was directed to "formulate the principles of international law recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the judgment of the Tribunal. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Conscience is a hypothesized Ability or faculty that distinguishes whether our actions are right or wrong International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ""[2]

In 1998, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights document called “Conscientious objection to military service, United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77” recognized that “persons [already] performing military service may develop conscientious objections” while performing military service. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR) is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support The United Nations Commission on Human Rights ( UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations. A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support ^[1]

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 Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States The Canadian Forces (CF ( French: Forces canadiennes) are the unified Armed forces of Canada, governed by the National Defence The Military of France encompasses an army, a navy, an air force and a military police force. A pass is permission to be away from one's Military unit for a limited period of time In the United States Military, leave is permission to be away from one's unit for a specific period of time 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. Military law is a distinct legal system to which members of Armed forces are subject Duty (from "due" that which is owing O Fr deu did past participle of devoir Lat Intent in Law is the planning and desire to perform an act, to fail to do so (i

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. For the military meaning see Armed forces. For the Soviet sports society see Armed Forces (sports society Armed Forces In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation.

In the United States, before the Civil War, deserters from the Army were flogged, while after 1861 tattoos or branding were also adopted. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip" the human body A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons Human branding is the process in which a mark usually a symbol or ornamental pattern is burned into the skin of a living person with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent The maximum U. S. penalty for desertion in wartime remains death, although this punishment was last applied to Eddie Slovik in 1945. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Edward Donald Slovik ( February 18, 1920 &ndash January 31, 1945) was a private in the United States Army during World War 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). Nonjudicial punishment in the United States military, is a form of Military discipline authorized by Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 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. A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States The Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ,,) is the foundation of Military law in the United States. 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.

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 non-slaveholders toward secession, he maintains, was the key to understanding desertion. The privations of the home front and camp life, combined with the terror of battle, undermined the weak attachment of southern soldiers to the Confederacy. For Georgia troops, Sherman's march through their home counties triggered the most desertions.

One example of desertion in the Civil War was Confederate soldier Arthur Muntz, who was killed by his fellow soldiers after deserting at The First Battle of Bull Run. Background Brig Gen Irvin McDowell was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to command the Army of Northeastern Virginia.

The fictional story of a wounded Confederate deserter is told in the novel Cold Mountain, who at the end of the Civil War walks for months to return home to the love of his life after receiving her letters pleading him to come home. Cold Mountain is a 1997 Historical fiction novel by Charles Frazier.

World War I

"306 British and Commonwealth soldiers [were] executed for. . . desertion during World War I," records the Shot at Dawn Memorial. The Shot at Dawn Memorial is a British Monument located at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas, in Staffordshire, England "During the period between August 1914 and March 1920 more than 20,000 servicemen were convicted by court-martials of offences which carried the death sentence. Only 3,000 of those men were ordered to be put to death and of those just over 10% were executed. . . . " [4]

World War II

Over 21,000 US military personnel were convicted and sentenced for desertion during the 3. 5 years of American involvement in World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Of these, 49 were sentenced to death, but only one soldier, Eddie Slovik, was actually executed for desertion. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Edward Donald Slovik ( February 18, 1920 &ndash January 31, 1945) was a private in the United States Army during World War

The 'Lost Division' was a term given to the estimated 19,000 U.S. Army soldiers absent without leave in France at the close of World War II. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Of the Germans who deserted the Wehrmacht, 15,000 men were executed. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 In June of 1988 the Initiative for the Creation of a Memorial to Deserters came to life in Ulm (birthplace of Albert Einstein). Ulm (ˈʊlm is a City in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical A central idea was, "Desertion is not reprehensible, war is". [5]

Iraq War

United Kingdom

The UK military has reported over 1000 deserters since the beginning of the war in Iraq, with 566 deserting since 2005. [6]

United States of America

According to the Pentagon, more than 5500 military personnel deserted in 2003–2004, following the Iraq invasion and occupation. The Pentagon is the Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia [7]. The number had reached about 8000 by the first quarter of 2006. [8] 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 [9]. 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. [10] To date, no service member from the Iraq war has received a sentence of more than 18 months for desertion or missing movement. [11]

See also

• Eddie Slovik
• Draft dodger
• Mutiny
• Shot at Dawn Memorial

References

• Peter S. Edward Donald Slovik ( February 18, 1920 &ndash January 31, 1945) was a private in the United States Army during World War A draft dodger, draft evader or draft resister, is a person who avoids ("dodges" or otherwise violates the Conscription policies of the Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the Military; or the Crew of any ship even The Shot at Dawn Memorial is a British Monument located at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas, in Staffordshire, England 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

Notes

External links

• Missing movement from About.com
• RITA Resistance Inside the Armies
• Memorial to German World War Two deserters in Ulm, Germany at the Sites of Memory webpage
• Memorial to German World War Two deserters in Stuttgart, Germany at the Sites of Memory webpage
• Awol Information