Just to toss some gas/petrol into this fire, here is the US Uniformed Code of Military Justice article on desertion:
885. ART. 85. DESERTION
(a) Any member of the armed forces who--
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States; is guilty of desertion.
(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
So as you can see the US already has a provision for a punishment of death for desertion during wartime. Now, when was the last time anyone heard them using it?
And here is the article that went along with that nice little graph SASless posted, titled,
'8,000 desert during Iraq war'. While there may be only one known case of desertion in Iraq, a lot of people are still deserting long before they get there. Makes sense, doesn't it? Why wait until you are in a place where there is nowhere to go, and no way to get there?
And whereas the USAF is drawing down, the Army has stopped people from separating and retiring due to their retention problems. But I am in full agreement with your final comments to Pontius. I do not question the loyalty and dedication of the troops on the ground and in the air, I spent 25 years in a US uniform and know the vast majority of them are honorable individuals. However, I
do question the political leadership of this country on a regular basis. As far as I am concerned, they have not earned the privilege to lead our nation's forces. We
are our own worst enemy!
Cheers! M2