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- webifram, on 11/17/2007, -17/+80An illegal occupation and immoral treatment of the troops has brought this about. They should never have been put in this position or treated in such an inhuman manner.
On a lighter note, at least maybe some of them are making 3X as much working for Halliburton now. Halliburton is based in Dubai, I don't think they have to follow any laws now. - crestfall, on 11/17/2007, -12/+54I would like to offer the shaved apes who will inevitably post here, calling deserters sissies, cowards, etc, an alternative: just post a link to a pic of your erect penis next to a ruler. You really should keep one handy. It would save time in the long run.
- navitatl, on 11/17/2007, -10/+39Good for them.
- Murdats, on 11/17/2007, -3/+28so does a few lumps of metal involentarily insterted into ones body.
- GMorgan, on 11/17/2007, -9/+34The deserters are the bravest of all. They stand up for their beliefs rather than being bullied out of them.
- inactive, on 11/17/2007, -6/+29Deceptive article.
Desertions are up to.9% from .7%. - thedarkrabbit, on 11/17/2007, -4/+27My question is: what was so bad in the 80s that people were wanting out? I mean... it was the 80s! I guess they all just wanted the "flock of Seagulls" hair.....
Hmmm... - badqat, on 11/17/2007, -0/+18Yep...that'll lead to a discharge rather quickly...
- HMTKSteve, on 11/17/2007, -4/+19"According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year."
So, two more soldiers per 1K deserted and this is major news? With a desertion rate that low even one more soldier deserting will give you a huge jump in percentages.
This is just one more example of how when you look into the real data behind an article you find no real story there. - lhbaker, on 11/17/2007, -1/+16Burkas in Dubai? Do you know anything at all about Dubai?
- gkiltz, on 11/17/2007, -4/+16Keep in mind that "Highest since 1980" is still very low!
We don't really have a desertion problem. Even when compared to the other major countries! - SteelAuger, on 11/17/2007, -5/+17Come on! Back in 1980 there was rumbling that we were about to invade Iran! Completely different situation today!
- GMorgan, on 11/17/2007, -0/+12Culture, bollocks. All part of the larger conflict over oil and Israel in the middle east. You do not fight wars over culture ot religion, they are just used to get the masses to accept war. The real reasons for invading Iraq all involve money.
- Asianwaste, on 11/17/2007, -2/+12I would actually attribute this more towards this being the first prolonged war we involved ourselves in since Vietnam. Which means low recruitment rates and high stop-losses.
It's not so much a morality issue as it is a morale issue. Troops have friends and family and don't want to see another grain of sand. - mclumber1, on 11/17/2007, -4/+14War sucks. I've been over to the Gulf twice in the last 3 years. Luckily I've been able to stay out at sea on a well protected aircraft carrier, but still, no one wants to be there. There are ways you can get out of a military contract without resorting to desertion, which can look very, very bad on your record.
- noremorse1, on 11/17/2007, -6/+15I know lot's of Soldiers who have gone AWOL. All of them seem to come back. I have seen a few let go and two who are doing short sentences and then leaving. I dont understand the purpose of jail time, if they did not want to be in... let them go. Why waste any more money from an already financially strapped military on people who they will soon let go anyways? Maybe it is to motivate others from leaving... but is a 3 month sentence really that motivating? Ugg...
- williamdyer, on 11/17/2007, -2/+11You don't know how the "hidden draft" works. Once you sign up, your ass is their's.
- Fantomfreq, on 11/17/2007, -4/+12There are two deserters who just came back to my battalion. Interestingly enough, neither of them left because of the war. Both left because they had personal (family) issues that they felt were best served by leaving and taking care of them before they came back.
- noremorse1, on 11/17/2007, -1/+8Dubai is an awesome place to visit if you have the money. And obviously your opinion of Dubai is ill-informed.
- baalzebub, on 11/17/2007, -13/+20who can blame them with idiots like bush & cheney running the show...
- inactive, on 11/17/2007, -1/+8Did you think that "cheap" meant cheap for the consumer?
- Nossie, on 11/17/2007, -0/+7or burkas for that matter.
- SolitarySoviet, on 11/17/2007, -1/+8not too good at this sarcasm thing are you amadeus?
- eviltandem, on 11/17/2007, -1/+7You should read up on "stop loss".
- AntBing, on 11/17/2007, -0/+6There are 6 year enlistments now, just fyi.
- shortkookyllama, on 11/17/2007, -1/+7The fact that more do keep leaving is important. I'd say the suicide and depression rate is a bigger deal though. Suicide/depression rate + an increase in troops deserting + those dying or wounded in action + no obvious goals to strive for + outsourced military recieving a much greater pay = no good.
- ussoldier, on 11/18/2007, -0/+5Rip up your ***** ***** contract and throw away your dollars. The US government and military don't give a flying F about you. They have no problem sending you into an obvious suicide mission. You can get out for your mom now, and live, or you can keep on plugging away at it and play the Russian Roulette probabilities over and over, but eventually you're going to catch a bullet. I'm not going to give an F about you if you do, my neighbor's not, the man on the street is not, and the VAH isn't going to do a hell of a lot for you. You're just going to be another cripple in a wheelchair on the sideline of life, GAME OVER. For what? A ***** medal? You find that crap at gunshows, tons of them, for a couple of dollars, they are worthless ribbon and metal trinkets.
Somebody comes up to me and tells me they deserted, I'm like, holy ***** *****, you are the bravest ***** I know... and someone who got some sense.... finally. Someone sticking in taking the crap and slaving away because they are afraid of the ***** above them yelling at them... no... I have no respect for them... just another spineless peon in the military... and its full of those enlisted jokers. - williamdyer, on 11/17/2007, -2/+7My kids have their second passports. ***** the war.
- kuzotz, on 11/17/2007, -0/+599 luftballons!!!!
- biotch, on 11/17/2007, -0/+4Yeah and people disagreed with it. Just like people disagree with the prominent notion of invading Iran today. The majority of our troops are disenchanted with our motives for the Iraq war as well.
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075 - luvearth, on 11/17/2007, -13/+17SOLDERS: REALIZE THEY ARE USING YOU FOR OIL! GET OUT! THERE IS NO WAR ON TERROR!
- luvearth, on 11/17/2007, -2/+6sweetie, if you take one drug dealer off the street, another one will soon replace him. DO NOT VOTE HILARY
- eviltandem, on 11/17/2007, -2/+6oh yeah. I forgot it's practically raining kittens and rainbows there now.
- inactive, on 11/17/2007, -2/+6Who's going to hold together our motherboards if SOLDERS start deserting? THINK OF THE N00BS! WHO WILL FRAG THEM?
- manchu2, on 11/17/2007, -1/+4LOL...I don't think any of you can articulate what "stop loss" really means, what the ramifications are, etc.
"Hidden draft", my ass. - Nossie, on 11/17/2007, -5/+8what like? bending over and offering to take it in the ass?
- captbbq, on 11/17/2007, -5/+81. The longest active army enlistment I know of is four years. That means everyone serving joined during the war, and knew that they would be sent there eventually.
2. I had a member of my unit desert while in Korea. She went on leave and just never came back. They didn't go after her, they just begged her to come back, even offered to buy a plane ticket for her. Eventually they just processed the paperwork to discharge her. You guys might not realize it, but it makes all of the rest of us feel like bitches for bothering to follow the rules and for respecting the institution that protects the United States. Deserters should be tracked down and sent to jail. If you read the article it says as much. This is the army's' fault for being too soft. If you think otherwise consider this: I also know a guy who raped a female service member, he got 30 days and a dishonorable discharge. Not cool. - Pritchard, on 11/17/2007, -0/+3Yo! Let's get everyone to desert. No matter if Congress or the Executive Branch is going to tell us to go to war. If we simply don't go, what can be done? The soldiers really have to take a look at themselves and understand the position that they are in is one which can be used on a large scale. Giving us Weapons and telling us to kill innocent people. What do they do if all of us just say no?
Diplomacy is telling our government we won't take this. It ends when they don't listen. Our founding fathers told in diplomatic manners to their own King that they were no longer going to take his orders, that they would be free. This was illegal, but diplomacy. It ended as soon as he sent his soldiers over, we won, and we grew into what we are today. - kuzotz, on 11/17/2007, -0/+3yea we might just actually invade Iran..
- wramos, on 11/18/2007, -0/+3You stupid *****, have you ever heard of Germany, Korea or Japan. You are an ingnorant mother ***** for sure.
- APoverME, on 11/18/2007, -0/+3Our military is a 100% volunteer force and the vast majority have signed up / renewed their contracts knowing we are at war. The people who believe as you do are not in uniform, generally speaking.
- jmknsd, on 11/17/2007, -3/+6Me thinks you don't understand the meaning of the word 'rate'
- Observant1, on 11/17/2007, -1/+4no, they PUT saddam into power to watch over opium and oil production, saddams money featured pictures of refineries built by halliburton on the backs of the bills. saddam wasnt a nice guy to his people at all, but they were happy with him until he began selling too much oil, using the refineries built there to pay down his national deficit and keeping the price of gasoline down.. THEN they began demonizing him, not that he wasnt a devil before all of this. find the photo of rumsfeld shaking hands with saddam years ago tells it pretty clearly
- AladinSane, on 11/17/2007, -3/+6Wow, really? Higher than any point since that watershed year for military dissent, "1980"? WOAH! Tell me it ain't so! This reminds me of CNN constantly telling us that "consumer confidence is at it's lowest point since 3:00 Tuesday".
- APoverME, on 11/18/2007, -0/+3Yeah, you're pretty much an idiot.
Our economy wouldn't suddenly halt because of a $200 price tag on a barrel of oil. Driving would cut back a bit, airlines would charge more for tickets, and life would go on (just less waste). By the time we run out of oil there will be alternatives.
If it weren't for goddam ethanol current food prices would be a lot lower. A free economy is a wonderful thing when let well enough alone.
Plus, you're an ***** for calling our military members "dumb kids." - vguard, on 11/18/2007, -1/+3Since when has the United States military actually freed anybody?
- fantasticFlan, on 11/17/2007, -1/+3Not necessarily. If desertion rates are higher among combat troops, increasing the number of troops in combat would increase the overall desertion rate.
- thebellmaster1x, on 11/17/2007, -5/+7I'll bury every article you submit from Fox News, then.
- cubeeggs, on 11/17/2007, -0/+2No, it's 0.9% instead of 0.7%. You could also say the desertion rate is up 29%.
- mattsw84, on 11/17/2007, -0/+2So what was going on in 1980. Also, quit whacking yourselves off were talking only a few people out of a couple of million.
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