I saw this article this morning and thought the increase was not very significant so refrained from posting a thread about it.

OTOH I think aprox. one in a hundred is fairly high given the possible punishment for it.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The problem is that it is the Army's MP's (like myself) that used to go pick up and escort back those that went AWOL. Military Police is now knows as "the force of choice" for many reasons. We do it all. We don't have the time to go look for people that don't want to serve with us. Would YOU want to force a person to work with you when your like will depend on them? Not me. Letting the weak leave will make us a stronger whole.

Some of you are actually surprised that people with lack of character are being enticed by $20k and $40k bonuses yet don't want to do the job they have been paid to do?

A little food for thought:

Desertion Rates
Army Fiscal Year Number of Deserters Rate Per 1000
1997 . . . . . . . . . 2,218 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.58
1998 . . . . . . . . . 2,520 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.20
1999 . . . . . . . . . 2,966 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.13
2000 . . . . . . . . . 3,949 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.16
2001 . . . . . . . . . 4,597 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.50
2002 . . . . . . . . . 4,483 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.26
2003 . . . . . . . . . 3,678 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.60
2004 . . . . . . . . . 2,376 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.91
2005 . . . . . . . . . 2,357 . . . . . . . . . . . . ?????
2006 . . . . . . . . . 3,301 . . . . . . . . . . . . "less than 7"
2007 . . . . . . . . . 4,698 . . . . . . . . . . . . "about 9"

Okay, so all the people that were riding Uncle Sam for a paycheck jumped ship in 2001 when they found out they might have to actually do some work...and now that we've got the lowest standards and the highest bonuses ever...we're seeing similar numbers and this is news?

And for those of you that are ultra critical of how things are being run...what are you doing to make change? Are you serving your country, or just acting e-smart and complaining about this online?

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-James

'85 280GE...sold
'96 Impala SS ~ 6-speed 396
'14 Cadillac Vagon. . . . . . . . . . "Life without knowledge is death in disguise." - Hans-Peter Geerdes

Maybe GURKA can serve.........?

The desertions are going to break GURKA-the Leftist's Hire a "Homeless" Vet campaign! What's up with that deal, anyway........?

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I will leave the serving to Skid Row Joe

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

Back during the Viet Nam thing, some folks (like me) looked at getting drafted (mine was #12) and looked for other options. So when I got my notice for a draft physical I immediately went to the Navy recruiter to see what he had to offer.

When I reported to basic training I was assigned to a Company 119, along with about 120 other guys (IIRC). Getting kicked out of Navy bootcamp didn't absolve recruits of their military obligation so failure in bootcamp was not a pleasant option. Even so, I graduated with about 100 guys. Several of them went AWOL. A couple went nuts and tried to commit suicide (or faked it in hopes of being declared nutty), on guy took a hearty swing at a noncom and proceeded to get an ass-kicking that he probably still remembers, etc., some were allergic to wool or to the various inoculations, etc.

Then when I got to a ship, every time we returned to the United States from deployment a handful of guys would not come back. One guy I worked with woke up one morning and informed everybody that he was quitting, and he did. He disobeyed lawful and direct orders, got 3 days bread & water in the brig, and when we got back to the USA he got a court martial, from which he went AWOL before it even began. Nice guy and a good mechanic. I never have understood what went on in his mind.

I think the point of all of this is that people scratch for any number of reasons.

The 1980 stats are an interesting number but I bet nobody has an explanation of it. If the 1980 stats were as high or higher and we cannot explain the 1980 stats, why should we so quickly commit ourselves to the obvious?