Military Disciplines AWOL Soldier

[Rose Siding]

HOUSTON — An Army National Guard soldier who went AWOL rather than deploy to Iraq after what he called incomplete and inadequate training was disciplined, the soldier and a military spokeswoman say.

Joseph Jacobo, 46, abandoned his Ontario-based unit in January. One of numerous members of the Guard who have raised concerns about training and equipment problems, Jacobo eventually changed his mind. He is stationed at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad.

In a telephone interview, Jacobo said the military lowered his rank from corporal to private. He was also given 45 days of "extra duty," he said.
...
Shortly before Jacobo went AWOL, members of two other National Guard units that prepared for deployment at Ft. Bliss came forward with allegations that they were poorly trained.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-awol28apr28,1,2873586.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[Ernesto]

1. I know of another AWOL that was given

the white house for his trouble

[Az_lefty]

2. I deployed through Ft. Bliss

and the training there was bullshit! You had better have your SOP down before you even arrive. One of the problems we ran into was that much of the training they put you through is basic Infantry type tactics which do not jive with the SOP of a Transportation unit. It caused a gret deal of confusion and we ended up re-training out soldiers before we moved out. Luckily we had time to do this, others are rushed through (like MP's) and don't have this opportunity...