StpmomNchicago said:
Would you like it better if everyone came here and praised the awol troops? I read a lot of these posts here (Jeesh Jill) and really there are only like 1 (maybe 2) helpful things of advice. Doesn't it seem kind of silly to start a guide on how to get away with going awol? It seems to make more sense to make a guide on places you can go to and people you can talk to to help you out to prevent you to go awol.
As I've told several clients over the years, we try the facts of the cases before us, not as we would have them be. As for AWOL, there are a lot of reasons people go AWOL, but the point is, it is often best to just try and deal with the situation at hand rather than ridicule people or tell them they are going to burn. AWOL is pretty simple, you leave your unit with the intent to return.
There are aggravating factors under the MCM that equals greater punishment. For instance, if you are gone less than 3 days, its often a mild slap on the wrist. If you are gone less than 30 days, they can't give you a bad conduct discharge, and often impose extra duty, forfeit pay, and maybe a stripe or two. After 30 days, it gets really serious.
Thats AWOL in a nutshell. And the Army often allows Chapter 10 packages for AWOL +30 days, which results, almost always, in an other than honorable.
And I don't eat bon bons -- I practice law, and did for several years on active duty in the military (now as a reservist).