awol advice

[markmwieland]

AWOL From AIT Ft. Benning

I know you have heard it before, but I am looking for the best advise to get my discharge after going AWOL from basic training.
I was in Fort Benning, and having serious family issues (my fater in law had 3 heart attacks, and wife was going thru some mental issues due to my absence and her dad). I was recycled once while in Basic, and in my second cycle I was told by the first sergeant that he was going to let me go. After about 4 weeks in the platoon, 4 weeks of doing nothing, they flipped on me and told me there was no way I was leaving, and that they were recycling me again. At this point I had not done any training for 8 weeks (4 from the last cycle, 4 in this one) and they had already started my paperwork to go to C Co. I snapped, and left during midday.
Now I want to take care of this the right way. I have a good job, my wife is doing better, and so is her father. I do not want to stay in, my experience in Basic told me that I cannot trust anyone in the Army (I was told in BOTH cycles that they were going to chapter me out, and in BOTH they changed their minds). I have heard that I have to go to Fort Sill or Fort Knox, but I am wondering what the procedures for this is. I have already received a letter from my Basic Training unit saying that I have been dropped from the rolls, and that I am no longer assigned to them, but that I am now a deserter and that the local police can pick me up, exc, exc. I am about to purchase my ticket to Ft. Sill this week to go back in July, is this the best course of action to take?

 

[ERAUPIKE]

I know you have heard it before, but I am looking for the best advise to get my discharge after going AWOL from basic training.
I was in Fort Benning, and having serious family issues (my fater in law had 3 heart attacks, and wife was going thru some mental issues due to my absence and her dad). I was recycled once while in Basic, and in my second cycle I was told by the first sergeant that he was going to let me go. After about 4 weeks in the platoon, 4 weeks of doing nothing, they flipped on me and told me there was no way I was leaving, and that they were recycling me again. At this point I had not done any training for 8 weeks (4 from the last cycle, 4 in this one) and they had already started my paperwork to go to C Co. I snapped, and left during midday.
Now I want to take care of this the right way. I have a good job, my wife is doing better, and so is her father. I do not want to stay in, my experience in Basic told me that I cannot trust anyone in the Army (I was told in BOTH cycles that they were going to chapter me out, and in BOTH they changed their minds). I have heard that I have to go to Fort Sill or Fort Knox, but I am wondering what the procedures for this is. I have already received a letter from my Basic Training unit saying that I have been dropped from the rolls, and that I am no longer assigned to them, but that I am now a deserter and that the local police can pick me up, exc, exc. I am about to purchase my ticket to Ft. Sill this week to go back in July, is this the best course of action to take?

It is the only course of action you can take.

 

[Haydes]

I will give you guys advice and tell you about my experience since I've been in and out of your situations. Right now we are in a recession, and it will only get worse as years come by. My suggestion is to stay in hack away that 4 years, and if you want, you can get out or stay in. You get paid to do very valuable training that you will carry on for the rest of your life, doesn't matter what profession you jump into. Like every other civilian jobs, you also have to climb the ranks in order to gain increase in pay. Everything in the civilian sector, is relevant to the military sector. Even the schools are, and the way things are managed, are taken from military fashions.

I've went UA from the Marines for 8 months, turn myself in with the intentions of staying, until Staff Sergeant comes waltzing in and starts chewing me out, and reminded me of why I wanted to get out of the Corps. Thanks to him, my life is in peril of the abyss. I don't have a father, or a good friend, nor a good anybody that I know personally that would punch me in the face and tell me to stay in for the good of my future. I was dumb, only thought of the present moment, rather than my future. After 4 years of service, which you would still be young, mid 20s, you have the option of college, or work force. Most employers will instantly hire you because of an honorable service to the country. However if you have an OTH, and you tell them about that, chances are, you're going to learn something really quick, and not ever again mention that discharge.

I wish I had someone there to push me into staying, I have no father figure around me to teach me about life, I had to learn the hard way. In return I got this nice little jacked up military records of an other than honorable discharge, also that I can no longer reenlist to fix my dumb, and young mistake. I've met many people who served and still are that wants out, and I've met many people who have been discharged with "OTH" that wants back in, but they are denied that because of the RE-4. These are great people, they are actually more mature than most of the ones on active. A few good men, is a few good men that is needed to lead the majority of the jacked up men. I am no jacked up person, I was a very stellar Marine, I was asked to take the position of Squad Leader during Marine Corp basic training, meaning I was above average during my time. I sincerely turn that position down, and was another dumb mistake I made, Drill Instructor taught me something I've never forgotten where ever I may be. "You don't know, until you try." From what I experienced, if you only went UA once, you have the option to a second chance, the military will recycle, rehabilitate anyone who wants to stay in.

Once your 4 years is completed, you can move on to great paying jobs that would take about 4 years in college to complete. Such as the fire department, they make about 60-80k a year. Whether it be a cop, swat, investigator, paramedic, administrations, you will get paid very well for your 4 years in service. Rather than 4 years in college. It is fundamentally the same, just different roads. You still have to climb the ladder in order to get paid respectively. Same way in service, as your time in service increases, your pay increases. The same way corporations work. Military just pays better, and a bit more relaxed. You screw up you just get reprimanded, or done in to hard labor. In the civilian world, you screw up you're fired. Game over. Civilian life is a challenge, believe that.

Stay in, do your 4 years and get out, you don't have to be stellar, you don't have to be perfect to get an honorable discharge. Hell, some people that got honorable discharges are **** bags, they just stuck with it until 4 years came up.

If any of you youths who are planning to make a dumb mistake and wants a discharge with an OTH, don't do it. Learn from those who's come before you, who have experienced it, and already been through it.

Finish it, you are wearing the United States banner, have pride in what you serve, those behind you have support for you when you come back where ever you go. In addition you will have bragging rights when you watch Hollywood war movies, games, and military brats who's think they've already served.

When you do have children, they will know about your legacy and carry it on throughout your future generations. It would be a shame for your children to find out you were a deserter during the war.

I feel pathetic to have abandon my brothers, and sisters out there in the field fighting for the interest of America, In which I live under. It has sadden me greatly, that this country has given me the freedom to leave the military with just a slap on the wrist. Long ago I would be dead by now. The US has my gratitude. I owe them a favor, I owe them my life.

Those that are wondering why I went UA, after the crucible during basic training, my foot started rotting, everyday I woke up, jumped out of my rack I would experience the pain of about a thousand needles jumping up the soles of my feet. I didn't report to medical, I just left because I had enough of enduring that pain for 3 months, and could no longer handle that pain during the time when I was about to start infantry training. I already lost my other platoon because some **** bags left my sea bag on the bus, and that delayed my training, I got shafted into guard training. A 24/7 rotation shift, 4 hour on, 4 hour off. And the only time they allowed us to go to the store to buy, was between 1800-2000. You were lucky if you got off duty on those hours.

The brotherhood relationship was horrible, I'm Asian American and I have experienced racial prejudice, and discrimination quite frequently since the Marine corps majority are Red neck backgrounds. I read the statistics earlier on another post about racial discrimination, I'm not surprised. The Sergeant Major told us a similar story that he was about to quit the Marines long ago because of discrimination against his color, he is African American.

I go through it, so you don't have to. Perhaps that's the purpose of a role one is given by the creator. It's just unfortunate that when that happens it usually involves suffering.