Question:
Why do people believe the Army still enforces awol with prison?
2009-10-13 19:08:50 UTC
Here is my story!

This is a factual experience of going AWOL and being discharged from Ft. Knox. Do not listen to people who have not gone through such an experience, they don't know what they are talking about or are trying to scare you to stay in. Military law holds that you can receive the death penalty for desertion, but the reality is that it never happens. Same deal with going AWOL, the reality is right here in this thread.

Profile :
IET soldier, completed basic, no pending charges/article 15's. (There were permanent party soldiers with me at Knox too and they received the same deal as IET soldiers. I think if you go AWOL while serving overseas they treat you differently. There were also soldiers with a record of field grade article 15's, but as long as they are over and done with, you are treated the same as this profile)
I waited till I had confirmation that I was DFR'd, and took the bus to Ft. Knox and arrived on a Teusday. I did not want to be apprehended because you will be held at a local jail until they get you on a bus/plane to Knox/Sill. I avoided going this route because you can be held up to 30 days in local (usually 3-10 days), and won't shower, eat well, etc...
*If you are taking the bus, take it to Elizabethtown and not Louisville. Louisville is about 30 miles from Knox while Elizabethtown is only 15.

What to bring?
>Underwear/boxers. They let me keep a solid white undershirt and solid white ankle socks.
>A couple of good books.
>Money for food/drinks on (for some people) can be a long ride to PCF and back home.
Anything else will be put away into a locked room. Valuables such as keys, cellphone/charger, money, wallet, etc... will be sealed and put away and given to you moments before you are ready to leave the base and go home. Unopened cigarettes can be put in this bag as well, but if they are open they will be destroyed.

If your profile is like mine, the only way you will be held longer than the customary 3-4 days is if you bring up any issues that the Army has to investigate. Ie, recruiter fraud, problems with cadre/other soldiers, or if you put up a legal defense to the charge of going AWOL.

Arrive on a Teusday morning, eat a good meal, make sure you get there by noon so they can process you in that day. Theoretically you can still make a Friday departure if you get there on a Wed, but don't bet on it, just get there on Teusday.

Here is my experience :
I arrived at the gate where the civilian security frisked me, and searched all of my belongings. If you have cigarettes they will tell you to smoke a cigarette because you will not be able to smoke at the PCF.
MP's pick you up, cuff you, and drive you to the MP station. There you will be fingerprinted and the initial paperwork is done. This process isn't long at all. After they are done with you, they drive you to the PCF facility.
At PCF you will surrender your belongings and fill out in processing paperwork. You will get a foot locker, lock, Army sweats, sheets, pillow, blanket, and hygiene bag.
Your head will be shaved.
The rooms generally hold 3 people at most. When I arrived there was less than 10 people at PCF, by the end of the week that number would swell to over 30, but by the time it gets that large, most of those people go home.
The bed is comfy and you will sleep well. There is FG and CQ every night.
The food is provided by the RCF (military prison of Knox) and it is absolutely horrible. You get fed 3 times a day.
All day long you will sit in the day room and do nothing but talk to each other or stare at the wall. I only went on detail once, and I was glad to go because we bummed cigarettes of our civlian handlers.
The man in charge of PCF is Lt. Laplace. He is not an Army Lt. He is a cop Lt.
There is no PT or morning stretches whatsoever but if you are a real jackass Sgt. Rich will drop you.
Wake up is around 5:30a. Free time is around 6p. You can watch t.v., they generally let you watch whatever you want (they have cable). Or you can just go upstairs and pass out. Lights out is at 10p.
You get ACU's not BDU's, and no they do not fit right at all.

Here is the procedure: If you get there on a Teus.
Teus - In-processing into PCF.
Wed. - You meet civilans on the second floor to gather up your legal documents requesting a Ch. 10 OTH.
Thurs - You meet JAG lawyers, they only meet you on Mon, or Thurs. If you accept the Ch. 10 and they sign off on it, you are almost out the door. In the afternoon you are given a class detailing what this discharge affords you benefits wise, and all that other good stuff.
Fri - In the morning you hand everything in and basically outprocess. You change into your civies, are given your leave papers, and board a bus that usually comes around 11a. Yes, you leave in the morning. The bus takes you to 1 of 2 destinations, the airport or bus in Louisville. The best time to get a ticket is 1am or past. Those that had a 12:30 bus ticket just barely made i
Seven answers:
crnd
2009-10-14 17:38:48 UTC
You're missing the point. A couple days in a cushy room, a month in jail, none of that matters. That's all short term and no big deal, as you figured out.



What matters is your type of discharge and what's on your DD214. I'll give you a hint, yours does NOT say both "honorable" and "RE-1".



Future employers are going to want to see your DD214, and you can expect to have trouble getting a decent job for the rest of your life.



Good luck......
Trinidad
2016-06-10 19:06:53 UTC
1
Michaela
2015-05-16 17:42:42 UTC
the thing is this: they CAN enforce AWOL with prison.... the roll of the dice is WILL THEY?



it depends how big of a pr-I-ck you are. A member of my unit went AWOL because he did not want to deploy overseas (hey - you KNOW this going in! no sympathy from this chick) - and our commander threw the book at him. now he did not get sent to Kansas (federal prison) because that is for courts martial convictions, but he was lucky the CO did not refer him for CM because our CO is very 'gung-ho' when it comes to deployments. you join the Army to go to war. period. my former team member? well let's just say the 2 1/2 months it took to get him the boot he spent in the brig. not a club feb by any means. no house arrest. cement wall on either side to keep you from seeing your fellow 'guests', bars on either side. one hallway on either side of the bars where you could meet with an attorney, the other so you could go was your rear in a shower every 3rd day. there was no cell phone, computer, tablet use. there was no tv for this guy. only 23/7 sitting in an 8 x 10 cell to reflect on how much of a 'winner' he was.
jaspal
2016-09-28 19:11:03 UTC
This guy made a large mistake. If he did spend one excursion in Iraq and believed that harmless adult adult males, women, and chidren have been being killed then he might have utilized for conscientious objector status and gained an honorable discharge. All he had to do became say he became morally antagonistic to killing harmless human beings and he might have been allowed to take the uniform off for sturdy. He has dishonored himself, his unit, the army, the finished U.S. militia, and his usa. Now he's making an attempt to weasel his way out of a sentence to confinement and a dishonorable discharge by technique of attempting this occasion in the court docket of public opinion. As individual who proudly serves in the militia I actual have 0 know for this guy and can spit in his face if given the prospect. P.S.: He mentioned he can't help the "unlawful" conflict -- who the hell is he to come again to a decision whether a conflict is unlawful or no longer? If he has ethical subjects with it that's wonderful, yet he's not the choose and jury right here. P.P.S.: back, we've ignorant liberals who're so stagnant of their prepare of theory that they are nevertheless employing the now VERY drained sixteen-365 days-previous line "we are struggling with a conflict for oil." How stupid are you able to get? Have oil fees gotten from now on proper provided that we despatched our troops in? For crying out loud, get some new cloth -- a minimum of it's going to supply conservatives who stay in the authentic worldwide something to chortle at...
2009-10-13 19:22:12 UTC
Thats nice...your still a looser.

Military is so full of people, right now they dont have to put up with dingbats...of course they arnt going to waste time and money on you.



Good luck getting a civilian job in this market!
L.I.F.E
2009-10-14 10:46:17 UTC
Hey thanks for posting this!

Your experience is spot on with mine.

People need to learn the facts and deal with the issue.

Not just keep running because all they "know" is that they 'WILL' go to prison.
satcomgrunt
2009-10-13 20:08:34 UTC
Nice story. Tell me how does it feel to be a quitter, and a loser at life.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...