UK/Big rise in deserters 'fuelled by Iraq war'

[cal04]

The number of soldiers to desert the army or go absent without leave has more than doubled over the past year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. There are now more than 500 soldiers whose whereabouts are unknown.

The rise coincided with the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. Independent sources said yesterday that the war was clearly a factor. However, the rising trend over four years suggests that other issues also played a part. The number of soldiers still illegally absent last year totalled 530, compared with 205 in 2003, 150 in 2002, and 100 in 2001.

The figures show that soldiers went Awol more than 3,000 times last year, with only a third of that figure accounting for returns to base within 21 days. The largest number of soldiers going Awol came from the infantry, followed by the Royal Logistic Corps and the Royal Artillery, according to the MoD. The figures were released to Bob Russell, the Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, a garrison town. Though he first asked for the information in January, the MoD did not respond until it was too late for him to pursue the matter.


"I think Iraq has had an impact. It's not necessarily people who don't want to fight but people who have found themselves in situations upon their return that they can't necessarily cope with." Mark McGhee, another solicitor, said: "Certainly from my experience of dealing with soldiers returning from Iraq, I would be very concerned about the fact that there's been a doubling up of the numbers going Awol."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1458283,00.html

[thecrow]

1. and this rise comes as the Brits' numbers in Iraq DECREASED

How many are our deserters/AWOLs?
(Excluding our Chimperator, who has ALLways been AWOL)

[dbt]

2. Not to put too fine a point on it (but I will anyway),

bu$h is a DESERTER, the term used when one is AWOL for greater than thirty days. 9/11 was not the first time he ran like a scared rabbit.