{"id":353847,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/military\/criminal-law\/failure-to-report-for-duty-awol-and-other-charges.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T20:25:07","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T01:25:07","slug":"failure-to-report-for-duty-awol-and-other-charges","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/military\/criminal-law\/failure-to-report-for-duty-awol-and-other-charges.html","title":{"rendered":"Failure to Report for Duty: Desertion, AWOL, and Other Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Failure to Report for Duty: Desertion, AWOL, and Other Charges<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n

A military service member who fails to report for duty often faces serious charges. There are three related offenses that fall under this category\u2014absence without leave (or AWOL), desertion, and missing movement\u2014all carrying very serious penalties, up to and including the death penalty for desertion during war.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 Being AWOL for 30 days is considered desertion, while missing movement is charged when a service member misses the movement of a ship or aircraft intentionally or out of neglect.<\/p>\r\n

See FindLaw’s Military Criminal Law<\/a> section for additional articles and resources.<\/p>\r\n

AWOL: Absence Without Leave<\/h3>\r\n

A member of the armed forces is considered AWOL<\/a> if he or she fails to go to an appointed place, leaves that place, or is otherwise absent from his or her unit or appointed place of duty. For example, a service member ordered to guard a weapons cache would be charged with absence without leave if he left his post two hours early without permission. The Manual for Courts-Martial<\/a> (PDF) identifies the following ways a service member may be absent without leave (including the elements of each):<\/p>\r\n

1. Failure to go to appointed place of duty<\/i><\/p>\r\n