Originally Posted by
Psychoblues
They are also likely to be very principled and as American as you or me, peg.
Cowards? I think not. Cowards don't do AWOL. They do as they are told. Cowards resort to exemptions, excuses, waivers, etc. to cover up their fear of duty. Don't you agree?
No, they are criminals. Honor among thieves? Still thieves. Desertion is a cowards way out. Likely they simply realised that they were not man enough to do what they promised to do. And, likely they were not smart enough to try to play the system. When all else fails, run like hell.
Originally Posted by
bullypulpit
If they desert stateside, let 'em go. They'd probably try to save their own asses under fire thus endangering the lives of their squad mates. So better to have them run now than in the heat of combat. Save time and money by giving them a dishonorable discharge upon their desertion and leave them to spend the rest of their lives wallowing in the mire of their own cowardice.
Of course, if they desert under fire or in theater, the UCMJ has ways of dealing with that.
I could agree with this if the DD came with a federal arrest warrant. At that point they have to live underground. But eventually they would come up on the radar. Then we could court martial them, lawfully shoot them, and dump the bodies with the rest of the garbage.
I'm Phil -- 40 something heterosexual white male, fairly self sufficient, great with my kids, wed 29 years to the same woman, and I firmly believe that ones actions have logical consequences. How much more out the box can you get nowadays? -- MSgt of Marines (ret)