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Army Desertions Have Risen 80% Since 2003

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The Associated Press

Published: November 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - 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.

Although the totals are still far lower than during the Vietnam War, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year.

"We're asking a lot of soldiers these days," said Roy Wallace, director of plans and resources for Army personnel. "They're humans. They have all sorts of issues back home and other places like that. So I'm sure it has to do with the stress of being a soldier."

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.

Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, compared with 3,301 last year.

Although the Army does not have an up-to-date profile of deserters, more than 75 percent of them are soldiers in their first term of enlistment. And most are male.

In contrast, the Navy has seen a steady decline in deserters since 2001, going from 3,665 that year to 1,129 in 2007.

The Marine Corps has seen the number of deserters stay fairly stable with about 1,000 a year. The Air Force can tout the fewest number of deserters - with no more than 56 bolting in each of the past five years. The low was in fiscal 2007, with just 16 deserters.

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