What Happens If You Go AWOL or Desert in the Military
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Going AWOL, or absence without leave, is an offense under Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It is complete the moment a service member is absent without authority. Sickness or a lack of transportation does not change that status, and the Manual treats such a cause as a factor in extenuation, with one exception: a member on authorized leave who, without fault, cannot return when it ends. Desertion under Article 85 is a different offense. It requires proof of an intent to remain away permanently, or an intent to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important service. A long absence is evidence of that intent but does not prove it on its own. The punishment for AWOL grows with the length of the absence and with whether it ended in apprehension. Desertion carries up to five years in peacetime, and death in time of war.
AWOL Under Article 86: An Instantaneous Offense
The Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, paragraph 10, covers three forms of the offense: failing to go to an appointed place of duty, going from it, and absence “from his or her unit, organization, or place of duty at which he or she was required to be” without authority. The Manual calls the absence offense “an instantaneous offense. It is complete at the instant an accused absents himself or herself without authority”. The length of the absence “is a matter in aggravation for the purpose of increasing the maximum punishment”.
Two rules in paragraph 10 change outcomes:
- Inability to return. “The status of absence without leave is not changed by an inability to return through sickness, lack of transportation facilities, or other disabilities.” The Manual adds that an enforced or involuntary absence “is a factor in extenuation and should be given due weight when considering the initial disposition”. There is one exception: “a person on authorized leave, without fault, is unable to return at the expiration thereof, that person has not committed the offense of absence without leave.”
- How the absence ends. A surrender happens when a person “presents himself or herself to any military authority, whether or not a member of the same armed force, notifies that authority of his or her unauthorized absence status, and submits or demonstrates a willingness to submit to military control.” An absence ended by apprehension after more than 30 days carries a higher maximum than one ended by surrender.
Desertion Under Article 85: The Intent Element
Article 85 and paragraph 9 of the Manual describe three forms. The third, quitting a post before notice that a resignation has been accepted, applies only to a commissioned officer. The other two are:
- Intent to remain away permanently. The government must prove an unauthorized absence and that the accused, “at the time the absence began or at some time during the absence, intended to remain away … permanently”.
- Intent to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important service. The accused “quit” the unit “with the intent to avoid a certain duty or shirk a certain service”, the duty was “hazardous” or the service “important”, and the accused “knew that he or she would be required for such duty or service”. The Manual’s examples include “duty in a combat or other dangerous area” and “embarkation for certain foreign or sea duty”. The Manual adds: “Such services as drill, target practice, maneuvers, and practice marches are not ordinarily” hazardous duty or important service.
The Manual explains how intent is proven. It “may be formed any time during the unauthorized absence” and “need not exist throughout the absence”. It “may be proved by circumstantial evidence.” The circumstances listed include a “lengthy” absence; disposing of uniforms or other military property; buying a ticket “for a distant point”; being found or surrendering “a considerable distance” from the station; failing to surrender when it would have been convenient; remarks “indicating an intention to desert”; and “preparations indicative of an intent not to return (for example, financial arrangements)”. The Manual also says “A prompt repentance and return, while material in extenuation, is no defense” once desertion is complete.
The Manual lists a “lengthy” absence as one circumstance among several. It does not fix a number of days that turns an absence into desertion.
Maximum Punishments and Sentencing Categories
| Offense | Maximum punishment (MCM 2024) | App. 12C category, App. 12B range |
|---|---|---|
| AWOL, failing to go to or going from appointed place of duty | 1 month, two-thirds pay for 1 month | Category 1, 0 to 12 months (capped by the maximum) |
| AWOL from unit, not more than 3 days | 1 month, two-thirds pay for 1 month | Category 1 |
| AWOL, more than 3 days, not more than 30 days | 6 months, two-thirds pay for 6 months | Category 1 |
| AWOL, more than 30 days | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 1 year | Category 1 |
| AWOL, more than 30 days, terminated by apprehension | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 18 months | Category 1 |
| Desertion, terminated otherwise | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 2 years | Category 1, 0 to 12 months |
| Desertion, terminated by apprehension | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 3 years | Category 2, 1 to 36 months |
| Desertion with intent to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important service | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 5 years | Category 2, 1 to 36 months |
| Desertion in time of war | death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct | "Criteria" (App. 12D), not a numbered category |
The categories apply to offenses committed after December 27, 2023. Appendix 12B caps the range at an offense’s own maximum when that maximum is lower. Where death may be adjudged, as for desertion in time of war, R.C.M. 925(b) sends sentencing to R.C.M. 1004.
Time Limits and Tolling
Article 43 sets a general five-year limit for court-martial charges, measured to the receipt of sworn charges by an officer with summary court-martial jurisdiction. It removes any limit for “absence without leave or missing movement in time of war” and for “any other offense punishable by death,” which includes desertion in time of war. Article 43(c) says “Periods in which the accused is absent without authority or fleeing from justice shall be excluded in computing the period of limitation prescribed in this section (article).” The clock does not run while the absence continues.
The Disposition Choices
The command chooses the response. Options include administrative action, nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, and court-martial. A member not attached to or embarked in a vessel may refuse NJP and demand trial. Article 15 punishment cannot be imposed for an offense committed more than two years earlier, under Article 43(b)(3). The facts the Manual lists for intent are also the facts a command weighs in choosing between an Article 86 and an Article 85 charge. For a member who is absent now, the Manual’s description of surrender is the procedure that ends the absence.
Two Cases at the Edges
Private Eddie Slovik was executed by firing squad on January 31, 1945, after a World War II court-martial for desertion under the Articles of War. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty in 2017 to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and received no confinement. A federal district court vacated that conviction in 2023. On September 1, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled the district court lacked jurisdiction to do so, as reported by Military Times on September 3, 2026. Each case has its own record and lessons, but the article and the intent element are the same.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. 885, Article 85, Desertion (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 886, Article 86, Absence without leave (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 843, Article 43, Statute of limitations (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 815, Article 15, Commanding officer’s non-judicial punishment (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part II, R.C.M. 925(b); Part IV, para. 9 (Article 85) and para. 10 (Article 86); Appendix 12B; Appendix 12C.
- Military Times, “Court overturns 2023 ruling that wiped Bowe Bergdahl’s conviction”, Sept. 3, 2026
This guide explains how unauthorized absence and desertion are defined and punished under the UCMJ and the 2024 Manual for Courts-Martial. It is general information, not legal advice for a member who is currently absent.