Since 2004, more than 534 soldiers have deserted the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), with close to 150 absconding this year alone for various reasons.
Chief-of-Staff of the GDF, Commodore Gary Best said his depleted army will soon go after the missing servicemen, especially those who have been Absent Without Leave (AWOL) to bring them back into the fold. Guyana’s military strength is under 3,000.
According to the Defence Act every person subject to military law under this act who absents himself without leave; or persuades or procures any person subject to service law to absent himself without leave shall on conviction by court-martial, be liable to imprisonment for two years or any less punishment provided by the act. Stabroek News was told that absentee soldiers below the rank of substantive corporal returning to the fold are usually tried departmentally and would receive various sentences most times not exceeding one year. After the sentencing the soldier’s status (rank) would be reduced.
Best told a press conference recently that the military was working on revamping the unit that went after the errant soldiers. He said the unit would be in place very soon, putting those soldiers who are AWOL on notice that they have but a short time to get back into the army fold. There are several AWOL soldiers living on the East Coast Demerara and in other parts of the country.
Defence experts believe that an exercise to bring back missing soldiers was useless; the fact that the servicemen left the military meant they had no interest in it. One expert said that while the law provides for any such person to be arrested by the military and taken back into the organization it was futile to force someone to be part of something he has no interest in. The expert who asked not to be named said that unless the army could properly find out why the soldier deserted the force and attempt to address his/her need it would be useless to try to persuade him/her to return. Previously, when the GDF went after missing soldiers, there were sometimes violent clashes with the absentees.
Criminal activities
Concerns have been raised about the number of absentee soldiers on the streets, since over the years several of them have been involved in criminal activities. There is one theory that some of the men who enlist in the GDF do so to get the military training so as to be equipped to conduct armed criminal activities. A retired senior army officer agreed with this, saying that the criminal underworld today requires men with sound military training to carry out its work and it would not be na
