AWOL soldier
returned to post
Army: Desertion
up 80 percent
since start of
Iraq War
Christian Hill
The Olympian
17 April 2008
A Fort Lewis
soldier who
reportedly
deserted his
unit in July
returned to the
Army post this
week following
his arrest at a
skating rink in
his hometown in
Louisiana.
Pfc. Steven J.
Arceneaux, 28,
is back on duty
with his unit as
his chain of
command decides
whether to
punish him.
Possible
sanctions
include loss of
pay, a demotion,
a dishonorable
discharge or
jail time.
His arrest comes
as the number of
active-duty
soldiers who
have deserted
the Army has
increased 80
percent since
the start of the
Iraq War five
years ago,
according to the
Army. The figure
represents less
than 1 percent
of its
active-duty
force.
Immediately
following his
arrest,
Arceneaux told a
Louisiana
television
reporter that he
had his reasons
for leaving but
could not
discuss them.
"There are
things that
happened that no
one really knows
about, but I'm
just going to
leave it at
that," he said,
according to the
report posted on
the Web site of
KTBS-TV in
Shreveport, La.
Arceneaux was a
noted speed
skater and a
former
Shreveport radio
disc jockey
known as "Scuba
Steve,"
according to
news reports.
He enlisted in
the Army on July
5, 2005, in
Shreveport and
arrived at Fort
Lewis a year
later after
completing
training at Fort
Benning, Ga.,
according to the
Army. He was an
infantryman
trained to fire
mortars and
other large
ordnance.
Arceneaux was
assigned to an
infantry
battalion of the
4th Brigade, 2nd
Infantry
Division
(Stryker Brigade
Combat Team).
Shortly before
the brigade
deployed for a
15-month tour in
Iraq, however,
Arceneaux was
transferred to
the brigade's
rear detachment,
according to the
Army. The
reasons for the
transfer are
unclear. Family
members couldn't
be reached for
comment.
He was reported
absent without
leave on July
10, 2007, and
the Army cut off
his pay and
issued a warrant
for his arrest
the following
month, according
to the Army.
An anonymous tip
led to
Arceneaux's
arrest at the
skating rink in
Bossier City,
La., on April 5.
Desertion is
punishable under
the Uniform Code
of Military
Justice.
"They
(commanders)
have broad
authority to
take a range of
actions, or no
action at all,
but it really
depends on the
circumstances,"
Fort Lewis
spokeswoman
Catherine Caruso
said.
The number of
active-duty
soldiers who has
deserted their
units increased
from 2,610 in
2003 to 4,698 in
2007, Army
statistics show.
That's a tiny
fraction of the
half-million
soldiers serving
in the Army and
well below the
number of
deserters during
the Vietnam War
when the draft
was in effect.
In 1971, for
instance, the
Army reported
33,094
deserters.
At Fort Lewis,
there are 239
open cases of
soldiers who
have abandoned
their units,
Caruso said. The
tally consists
of soldiers
assigned to Fort
Lewis and
soldiers from
the Northwest
region who left
their units
while attending
basic or
advanced
training. Of
those cases, 220
have been absent
for more than 90
days, she said.
Thirteen Fort
Lewis soldiers
who abandoned
their units have
returned to
military control
since Jan. 1,
she added.
The Army post
has deployed
more than 30,000
soldiers since
the United
States invaded
Afghanistan in
October 2001.
In the news
report,
Arceneaux said
he did have
regrets. But
asked if he
would do it over
again, Arceneaux
simply replied,
"Yes."
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/421728.html
Christian Hill
covers Lacey and
the military for
The Olympian. He
can be reached
at 360-754-5427
or at
chill@theolympian.com.