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Two AWOL soldiers return to their units
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Posted on Jan 26 2005
The Army Reservist who was reported to have gone on AWOL status has returned to his unit, joining his fellow troops sometime a week and a half ago in Fort Polk, Louisiana, according to Edward Camacho.
Camacho indicated in an interview yesterday that the military also found out that an active duty soldier who was also on leave on Saipan went on AWOL status as well.
Camacho said the active soldier, whose identity was not disclosed, returned to his unit earlier this month.
The reservist, Camacho said, turned himself in. He is member of Echo Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry and was on island during the Christmas holidays.
Camacho said that penalties would be imposed on the two soldiers, but he does not know if the penalties have been administered already by the U.S. Department of Defense, citing that the process “takes a while.”
Earlier, Camacho said disciplinary actions may be reduction in rank, forfeiture of pay, court marshal, or the individual could face time in prison.
He said a person in AWOL status or any status where the person fails to perform military orders is given a grace period to show an effort to return.
He explained that when someone is on AWOL, the U.S. Department of Defense would contact the local law enforcement agency for a collaborative effort in detaining the individual.
“They can work together in detaining this individual until authorities arrive to pick him up and send him for disciplinary actions,” he said.
Echo Company reservists were mobilized for training in August last year. After a period of training in Hawaii, the troops headed to Fort Bliss, Texas, before going on holiday leave in Dec.
Many of the troops who were able to return home spent about a week and a half on island before returning to the U.S. mainland.
The soldiers have finished their training and will soon head to Kuwait and move to Iraq from there. They will serve in Iraq for a maximum of one year.
The current policy of the Army is to limit the deployment tour of duty to 12 months but the timeline is subject to change anytime, depending on how the war in Iraq develops.
