Desertion rate declines

San Antonio Express-News:

The Army is on course to having its lowest percentage of deserters since just after the Gulf War, a mark that experts say is driven by a sputtering economy, better recruits and America's withdrawal from Iraq.

 

With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1,061 soldiers had been dropped from the Army's rolls because of desertion. That was a decline of more than a third from the total for 2010.

A Pentagon official, Army Lt. Col. Steve Warren, said there is a link “between increased combat and increased desertion,” but he said he knows of no current studies that explain why.

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Fear of getting killed is probably the primary motivator for desertion.  As combat drops, desertion also tends to drop.  I suspect the military is also beginning to do a reduction in force which gives those who want out a better alternative to desertion.