Desertion

Desertion is the act of abandoning military duty or a specific post without permission. To be considered a deserter, a person must leave with the specific intention of never returning. This is different from being Absent Without Leave (AWOL) or having an unauthorized absence. AWOL refers to temporary absences where the person might still return. In many modern militaries, such as those in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, personnel are classified as AWOL if they lack a valid pass or leave.

Military law distinguishes desertion from other types of absence through specific intent. In the United States, personnel are often dropped from unit rolls after thirty days of absence. Once this happens, they are listed as deserters. However, legal desertion is not strictly about the amount of time spent away. It is defined by the intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk a contractual obligation. A person might even be charged with desertion if they join a different branch of service without disclosing their previous status.

There are several other specific violations regarding military presence. Missing movement occurs when a service member fails to arrive at a set time and place to deploy with their unit. In the United States, this violates Article 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Another violation is failure to repair, which is a lesser offense under Article 86 of the UCMJ. This happens when someone misses a formation or an assigned meeting. To manage these situations, the U.S. military created the "absent-unknown" (AUN) status in 2020. This status prompts police investigations during the first 48 hours a member is missing.

History shows that desertion has occurred across many different eras and conflicts. During the First World War, the Australian Imperial Force had a very high rate of unauthorized absences. Despite pressure from the British, the Australian Government refused to execute soldiers for desertion. In Canada during the same war, the military passed more than 200 death sentences. However, only 25 men were actually executed. In Italy, the scale was much larger, with about 128,000 desertion cases during the First World War.

Punishments for desertion have varied wildly depending on the country and the time period. In Germany, the numbers changed drastically between the two World Wars. Only 18 Germans were executed for desertion during the First World War. In contrast, the German Wehrmacht executed 15,000 men for desertion during the Second World War. In Ireland, about 7,000 men deserted during the Second World War. Many of these men left their posts to fight against fascism. While they were once seen as traitors, the Irish government issued a pardon to them in 2012.

Sometimes, desertion is linked to political or moral decisions. During the First Indochina War, some members of the French Foreign Legion deserted to fight for the Việt Minh. They did this after witnessing the torture of Vietnamese peasants. In Austria, the perspective on desertion has shifted toward honoring those who left the Nazi military. In 2014, President Heinz Fischer inaugurated a memorial in Vienna for these victims. The monument was created by artist Olaf Nicolai and features a poem by Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Modern conflicts also show how desertion can affect the strength of an organization. In Colombia, the FARC insurgency saw a massive decline due to desertion. Between 2002 and 2017, the Ministry of Defense reported 19,504 deserters from the group. In Afghanistan, one quarter of the ANA and ANSF troops reportedly deserted in 2009. More recently, since the 2022 Russian mobilization, desertion has remained a major issue. Leaked documents suggest that more than 50,000 Russian soldiers deserted during the invasion of Ukraine, mostly throughout 2023 and 2024.