My son went AWOL from basic and has been out for over 30 days. He is at this very moment on his way back to the base to turn himself in. My question is will they let him stay in. He said he wants to go through with it now.

His violation is an Article 86, which is not as serious as desertion, assuming that the judicial board sees it that way. He's also at the beginning of his career as well. It will probably be an entry level separation. No one can really predict what can happen though. The letter would state 'separation', but who knows what the Commanding officer will think. The military today is plagued by young kids getting a wake up call. For most, they are not able to be prepared and have no reference how to respond when the yelling starts. It becomes a flight or fight response. Maybe it will work out, maybe not. If not, get him into college and maybe this experience will work in his favor...good luck.

Doesn't being AWOL more than 30 days constitute desertion?

quote:

Originally posted by lechnoid:
Doesn't being AWOL more than 30 days constitute desertion?

No. It's not necessarily about time, it's about intent. He would be guilty of desertion if his intent was not to return at all, or he was deserting to avoid hazardous duty. As he is returning to fulfill his obligation willingly, it becomes an 86 not an 85. The problem will be how the powers determine his willingness to serve in a time of war. The question will be, 'what would prevent him from deserting during a combat deployment?' All of this is moot though, because one thing I learned a long time ago is the military can do wonders when it wants too.

Yup, katana is right all the way. I've seen it go both ways. In some cases, the AWOL service member is allowed to return to duty and in some cases they are separated. It depends entirely on the command and whether they think the person can be rehabilitated. If not, they may still give him an entry level sep. as suggested earlier with a reason like "failure to adapt - under 2 years" rather than a bad conduct discharge. Just depends on what the local command thinks about him and his story.

As a Drill Sergeant who deals with that everyday, the prior posts are 100% accurate! Depending what type of Soldier your son is, what happened and what the command thinks about it will determine his fate.

Also, dont forget about what he may have contracted for. Its highly doubtful he can ever obtain a secret or higher security clearance now. This could adversely effect his being allowed to remain in the service, and his willingness to remain in. My experience has been that if the young man strongly desires to stay in and accepts his punishment, and for >30 days it will be severe, he MIGHT be allowed to stay and finish basic.