The number of Canadian soldiers who have gone absent without leave has doubled in the last six years, Sun Media has learned.
Records obtained through access to information show 708 troops were convicted of going AWL in 2005 -- more than two times the 340 who were convicted of the offence in 2000. Numbers show a sharp rise after 2001, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks propelled Canada's military into a more dangerous, combative role abroad.
But the Department of National Defence insists the increase is not related.
Spokesman Lieut. Desmond James said brass are not concerned with the rise in AWL convictions because the numbers correlate to a general increase in new recruits, and the "vast majority" are for those cutting out early or reporting late for duty, charges considered relatively minor.
But Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute, a left-leaning Ottawa lobby group, called the numbers "astounding.
"The fact that it's increasing dramatically along the lines of the escalation of our involvement in Afghanistan makes sense in terms of the evolving role there -- where we've moved away from traditional peacekeeping operations to real combat."
PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2006.07.13
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN HARRIS
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