Desrtion or AWOL does it matter?

[Nightwing]

Is it a wise use of our resources to go after someone from 40 years ago?

I am curious what this does to morale in a unit if it is timely. Do other soldiers black list the AWOL guys or are they understanding?

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Jenkins' desertion trial to be high-profile
Conviction may bring light punishment
Monday, September 20, 2004 Posted: 1:24 PM EDT (1724 GMT)


CAMP ZAMA, Japan (AP) -- The U.S. Army is preparing for its biggest desertion trial in decades following the surrender of Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, wanted for allegedly abandoning his patrol nearly 40 years ago and becoming a North Korean propaganda tool.

But while publicity is guaranteed, the prosecution might have a hard time winning the case, experts say. And if Jenkins does a plea bargain, as is widely expected, he may suffer nothing worse than a dishonorable discharge.

Jenkins has been living at this base just southwest of Tokyo with his Japanese wife and two North Korea-born daughters since he surrendered on September 11.

Pending an investigation to determine whether a court martial should be held, the frail 64-year-old has been put back in uniform and assigned to clerical duties with a new unit.

Base legal experts say a verdict could take from one to three months, and with sentencing two or three months afterward.

Besides desertion, Jenkins faces two counts of soliciting other service members to desert, one of aiding the enemy and two of encouraging disloyalty.

Shortly after Jenkins was separated from Company C of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division along the Demilitarized Zone in January 1965, his voice was heard in broadcasts urging other soldiers to join him. Years later, he appeared in anti-U.S. propaganda movies and taught English at a school for North Korean intelligence agents.

Possible plea agreement
Jenkins has not publicly addressed the desertion charge. But he met repeatedly with a military lawyer before surrendering and is widely believed to be planning to propose a pretrial agreement that would limit his sentence in exchange for a guilty plea and perhaps information on his years in the secretive North.

Getting the agreement could be crucial to the military.

"It is very, very hard to prove desertion," said Annette Eddie-Callagain, a former Air Force lawyer who now has a private practice on Okinawa, where many American troops in Japan are based. "You have to prove that the person intended to never, ever come back."

Without such proof, the charge becomes the much lesser one of being absent without leave, or AWOL.

Eddie-Callagain added Jenkins may claim to have strayed into the North by accident, or to have been forcibly taken there. "If he was taken to the North against his will, he is entitled to a lot of back pay," she said.

Jenkins's wife, Hitomi Soga, was in fact abducted by North Korean agents in 1978 and held virtual prisoner until leader Kim Jong Il agreed to let her and four other Japanese abductees return home two years ago.

Why Jenkins would have deserted remains a mystery.

Past history, possible punishment
He joined the Army in 1955, and in November 1961, shortly after completing his first tour of duty in Korea, won a Good Conduct Award for "exemplary behavior, efficiency and fidelity."

Pentagon officials say they have letters to support the desertion charge, but Jenkins' relatives in North Carolina dispute their authenticity.

Maj. John Amberg, spokesman for the U.S. Army in Japan, said Jenkins was one of 2,490 people wanted for desertion in the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, which goes back to World War II. He said 1,631 soldiers had been put on desertion status from October through June this year.

Punishment can vary widely.

In wartime, the maximum penalty is death. More than 21,000 soldiers were convicted of desertion in World War II, and 49 sentenced to death. But only Pvt. Eddie Slovak was actually executed, by firing squad in January 1945. No soldier has been executed for desertion since.

Sentences in peacetime range from life in prison at hard labor to a dishonorable discharge.

It hasn't been determined which category would apply to Jenkins, who was accused of desertion after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other Japanese government officials have urged leniency so that the family can live together in peace.

Sheila Smith, an analyst at the East-West Center, a private think-tank in Honolulu, said that with military service an issue in the U.S. election, "There is a question in my mind as to what veterans might think about `letting someone off' for desertion in that context."

"It does open up the question of honor and service, and whether or not the system works for those who do put in their time and risk their lives."

She added, however, that leniency might be called for in this case.

"My guess is that he would have preferred to have spent his life much, much differently," she said. "A dishonorable discharge, if that is his punishment, seems enough."

[Felix The Assassin]

No matter your feelings, "He took an Oath" (federal oath) however, in modern politics the crime/punishment is way to lenient.
Some of his allegations was to attempt to persuade his fellow soldiers to throw down their weapons and leave their post. That is treason, and he should thank somebody he is still alive.

AWOL = Absent Without Leave = peace time, no longer a big deal.

Desertion = During a time of war. You will be hunted down. You will return to service, you will face repercussions. You will face your unit. And that might just be why the final federal charge is no longer as sever as it once was.

Morale = You get the POS out of the unit ASAP while cuffed and escorted by the MPs, only after he has repented, and recited his oath while the unit stands in formation.

[Nightwing]

But 40 years later does it really have relevance. Most of the men in his unit are retired.

[Khazadman Risen]

One of the things he should be made to do is to face a reunion of his fellow soldiers and apologize to them. On his hands and knees.

[Nightwing]

I'd have to agree with you there Khazadman.

[Timber Loftis]

Are we really going to consider it fairly described as "desertion" in 1965? You know, that doesn't work since in the last 50 years or so it has become the military's practice to not end wars but rather sign cease fires.

[aleph_null1]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Are we really going to consider it fairly described as "desertion" in 1965? You know, that doesn't work since in the last 50 years or so it has become the military's practice to not end wars but rather sign cease fires.

Forgive me for being dense, but I've no idea what you mean here.

Are you saying that '65 was not a time of war, or that the 39 year interlude mitigates the crime?

And I've really no clue what you mean by the cease fire thing... sorry [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Timber Loftis]

I was arguing whether it was a time of war.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Nightwing: In wartime, the maximum penalty is death. More than 21,000 soldiers were convicted of desertion in World War II, and 49 sentenced to death. But only Pvt. Eddie Slovak was actually executed, by firing squad in January 1945. No soldier has been executed for desertion since. Sentences in peacetime range from life in prison at hard labor to a dishonorable discharge. It hasn't been determined which category would apply to Jenkins, who was accused of desertion after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

AWOL is just that, absent without leave.

Desertion is leaving, while knowing you are not coming back.

It isn't the issue of whether it happened in war or peace time which decides desertion vs AWOL. War or peace time determines the level of punishment for the crime.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Nightwing: Shortly after Jenkins was separated from Company C of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division along the Demilitarized Zone in January 1965, his voice was heard in broadcasts urging other soldiers to join him. Years later, he appeared in anti-U.S. propaganda movies and taught English at a school for North Korean intelligence agents.

It is the charges related to these actions that make this a desertion case, unless he was taken against his will, which is his likely defense.

My guess is that he will receive a dishonorable discharge, be treated for his ailment in Japan as he planned, and he will return to his home... North Korea.

[ 09-21-2004, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]