GI faces charges for alleged desertion in 2006

Army desertion rates peaked in 2007 with 4,698 deserters, an 80 percent increase since the Iraq war started in 2003. That’s the most since 2001, when 4,399 soldiers deserted, according to military records.

GI faces charges for alleged desertion in 2006

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 30, 2008 14:29:32 EDT

WELLINGTON, Fla. — A 24-year-old Wellington woman is accused of deserting the Army eight months after joining.

Kristen Westerberg joined the Army in October 2005. Her family said she was promised she would never see war duty; she deserted after being told she might be sent to Iraq.

But soldiers shouldn’t be surprised if they are sent to war, said Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman.

“You don’t have to be a news junkie to know there were two wars going on,” Edgecomb told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Our recruiters are professional. I don’t know why a recruiter would tell someone at this time in our country’s history that they won’t see war.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_awol_033008/