"What happens if a soldier goes AWOL?"

His commanding officer gets to determine the punishment. He can select no punishment, non-judicial punishment, or can send him to a Court Marshall.

Article 86 of the Uniform code of Military Justice covers Absenses without Leave

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm86.htm

Article 86—Absence without leave

Text.

“Any member of the armed forces who, without authority—

(1) fails to go to his appointed place of duty at the time prescribed;

(2) goes from that place; or

(3) absents himself or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty at which he is required to be at the time prescribed; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Elements.

(1) Failure to go to appointed place of duty.

(a) That a certain authority appointed a certain time and place of duty for the accused;

(b) That the accused knew of that time and place; and

(c) That the accused, without authority, failed to go to the appointed place of duty at the time prescribed.

(2) Going from appointed place of duty.

(a) That a certain authority appointed a certain time and place of duty for the accused;

(b) That the accused knew of that time and place; and

(c) That the accused, without authority, went from the appointed place of duty after having reported at such place.

(3) Absence from unit, organization, or place of duty.

(a) That the accused absented himself or her-self from his or her unit, organization, or place of duty at which he or she was required to be;

(b) That the absence was without authority from anyone competent to give him or her leave; and

(c) That the absence was for a certain period of time. Note: if the absence was terminated by apprehension, add the following element

(d) That the absence was terminated by apprehension.

(4) Abandoning watch or guard.

(a) That the accused was a member of a guard, watch, or duty;

(b) That the accused absented himself or her-self from his or her guard, watch, or duty section;

(c) That absence of the accused was without authority; and Note: If the absence was with intent to abandon the accused’s guard, watch, or duty section, add the following element

(d) That the accused intended to abandon his or her guard, watch, or duty section.

(5) Absence from unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid maneuvers or field exercises.

(a) That the accused absented himself or herself from his or her unit, organization, or place of duty at which he or she was required to be;

(b) That the absence of the accused was with-out authority;

(c) That the absence was for a certain period of time;

(d) That the accused knew that the absence would occur during a part of a period of maneuvers or field exercises; and

(e) That the accused intended to avoid all or part of a period of maneuvers or field exercises.

Maximum punishment.

(1) Failing to go to, or going from, the appointed place of duty. Confinement for 1 month and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 1 month.

(2) Absence from unit, organization, or other place of duty.

(a) For not more than 3 days. Confinement for 1 month and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 1 month.

(b) For more than 3 days but not more than 30 days. Confinement for 6 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6months.

(c) For more than 30 days. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

(d) For more than 30 days and terminated by apprehension. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 18 months.

(3) From guard or watch. Confinement f o r 3 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months.

(4) From guard or watch with intent to abandon. Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months.

(5) With intent to avoid maneuvers or field exercises. Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months.

Those are Maximums


Missing movement is like Desertion - you can be executed.

You can be put in jail for it. As with all crimes it is up to the military authorities how they would like to proceed but it is a crime and the punishment is jail time. The name of the crime is desertion and if you say go AWOL to fight for the other guys you can probably be charged with treason which is punishable by death. You are considered AWOL if you are absent for 30 days.

Here is some good info about it from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertion

I just read it to figure out how long you need to be away to be considered AWOL.

If the solder are not at your duty post on time, a search will be conducted.  The solder’s residence will be checked, unit members and friends will be questioned, and the unit commander will be informed.  If there is still no sign of the solder, the solder is declared AWOL, and the search widens.  Hospitals are checked, the military police get a description of the solder’s vehicle, and emergency numbers on file are called.

 

Missing a duty could mean somebody had to fill in, or it could mean that a unit shipped out short handed and/or was delayed.  Somebody filling in might rate a letter of counseling for a first offense, or a letter of reprimand for a second offense.  Repeated minor offenses can lead to criminal punishment of reduction in rank, jail time, and/or discharge from the military.  Missing a deployment is very expensive, and the punishment is more harsh.  If it was unintentional, the solder may receive a minimal criminal punishment.  If it was intentional, criminal proceedings will be automatic and probably include all three forms mentioned above.

 

Absent without leave is nothing to mess around with.  The unit depends on each member to pull their weight.  Weakening the unit endangers the overall mission, and lives could be put at risk.  This is not the same as playing hooky from work.

If an AWOL soldier is caught he is subject to a court martial or being kicked out of the service fined a heavy sum of money and put in prison for a couple years