Awol

[JS09]

Florida

hello my name is J and I'm 17 years old. I enlisted in the army reserves in september of 2008 as a split op. My ship date to basic training was on june 4, 2009. That morning I said good bye to my family and everything and was taken to MEPS. Turns out they had messed up the paper work and I wasnt supposed to ship until June 5. The next day I did the whole routine and was taken to MEPS again. After the MEPS I got on the bus and was taken to the airport. Turns out the flight got delayed and I couldnt make it to Atlanta in time for the bus to pick me up to take me to Fort Benning. They wanted to keep me in a hotel 10 minutes away from my house for 3 nights until monday morning. I refused to stay at the hotel and they let me go home for the 3 nights. My mother who didnt like the idea of me going in the first place made some calls and told them I was not going to show up for basic training, I didnt want to go anymore either after all this had happened. I've been home now and I got a call from a guy at the MEPS saying I am awol and there is nothing they can do to help me. I dont know what to do, I refuse to go to Fort Benning. I spoke to someone from the GI Rights Hotline who informed me that they really cant do anything to me since I am only 17 and never reported to basic training. I don't know what I should do any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by JS09

Florida

hello my name is J and I'm 17 years old. I enlisted in the army reserves in september of 2008 as a split op. My ship date to basic training was on june 4, 2009. That morning I said good bye to my family and everything and was taken to MEPS. Turns out they had messed up the paper work and I wasnt supposed to ship until June 5. The next day I did the whole routine and was taken to MEPS again. After the MEPS I got on the bus and was taken to the airport. Turns out the flight got delayed and I couldnt make it to Atlanta in time for the bus to pick me up to take me to Fort Benning. They wanted to keep me in a hotel 10 minutes away from my house for 3 nights until monday morning. I refused to stay at the hotel and they let me go home for the 3 nights. My mother who didnt like the idea of me going in the first place made some calls and told them I was not going to show up for basic training, I didnt want to go anymore either after all this had happened. I've been home now and I got a call from a guy at the MEPS saying I am awol and there is nothing they can do to help me. I dont know what to do, I refuse to go to Fort Benning. I spoke to someone from the GI Rights Hotline who informed me that they really cant do anything to me since I am only 17 and never reported to basic training. I don't know what I should do any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Did you sign a contract and take an oath of enlistment? (The answer is yes) Brace for impact, your poor attitude has brought you to this point.

[Cyndi59]

You sign a contract, you join the service, and then Change your mind? That's crazy. I am a 23 year Federal employee. I worked for Fort Mead in Maryland and the 911th in Pittsburgh and I never ONCE saw someone go AWOL! Do these kids think this is a joke?
They are dishonoring the USA! What are they Thinking?

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by Cyndi59

You sign a contract, you join the service, and then Change your mind? That's crazy. I am a 23 year Federal employee. I worked for Fort Mead in Maryland and the 911th in Pittsburgh and I never ONCE saw someone go AWOL! Do these kids think this is a joke?
They are dishonoring the USA! What are they Thinking?

They aren't Cyndi. The biggest problem is that groups like the GI Rights Hotline exist that make them think going AWOL is acceptable. They infer that some situations would warrant breaking a contract which is absolutely not true.

[Haydes]

Originally Posted by Cyndi59

You sign a contract, you join the service, and then Change your mind? That's crazy. I am a 23 year Federal employee. I worked for Fort Mead in Maryland and the 911th in Pittsburgh and I never ONCE saw someone go AWOL! Do these kids think this is a joke?
They are dishonoring the USA! What are they Thinking?

Until you went through what they have, then you can say something. This isn't your pen and push luxurious careers where you make big bucks for sitting faxing paper work and filing. You're a federal employee, not a military member.

[spiritus]

The person from GI Rights Hotline that you spoke with gave you the correct information. The MEPS program is really about preparing paperwork so that when you report to basic training, everything will be in order for them to proceed. Since you did not report to basic training, you have not been "gained"as the military lingo states and are therefore free to pursue your life. Of course, your military recruiter might be angry that he did not gain his quota for the month, so he may say that you are AWOL to scare you. However, you are not officially AWOL as you cannot leave from somewhere you never were in the first place i.e. basic training. Good luck in your pursuits...

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by spiritus

The person from GI Rights Hotline that you spoke with gave you the correct information. The MEPS program is really about preparing paperwork so that when you report to basic training, everything will be in order for them to proceed. Since you did not report to basic training, you have not been "gained"as the military lingo states and are therefore free to pursue your life. Of course, your military recruiter might be angry that he did not gain his quota for the month, so he may say that you are AWOL to scare you. However, you are not officially AWOL as you cannot leave from somewhere you never were in the first place i.e. basic training. Good luck in your pursuits...

This is not true. You are considered "gained" by the military after you sign your contract to enlist before you are shipped to boot camp.

[ArmyOTH]

The GI rights hotline people mean well, but aren't always correct. You refuse to go to Ft. Benning? Why is that? And yes, you can be considered AWOL because you were supposed to be somewhere and you weren't, regardless of whether you were ever there in the first place or not. Se, you were supposed to report, and did not. You still haven't, so you are intentionally not reporting. That's AWOL.

Here's the deal:

You can go to Ft. Benning and fight for your military career, the one you swore under oath you wanted. Or you can go to Ft. Knox where they will spend a few days sending you home with probably an ETS discharge, or at worst, an OTH. Before you go, read up on the UCMJ, Article 86 - AWOL, and read up on AR 635-200. They'll do you a world of good.