40 Louisiana Guardsmen Go AWOL

FT. HOOD, Tex. —  Forty members of a Louisiana National Guard unit upset with regular Army training are absent without leave and an undetermined number of them have returned to their homes, the Army said today.

The guardsmen are from the 1st Battalion, 156th Armor, 256th Infantry Brigade, headquartered at Shreveport, La. The soldiers apparently began leaving the central Texas Army post Tuesday night, the Army said.

Some of the soldiers aired their complaints to KTBS-TV in Shreveport, saying morale was low among the troops, training was inadequate and the Army had broken promises to them about time off.

“We’re just stressed out, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Morale is real low,” said one soldier who asked that his name not be revealed.

Another said the guardsmen got together to “do what we think is right. We were tired of being promised something and it not being given us.”

Bill Kelly, a Shreveport judge and reservist, said the men could be prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and imprisoned, but the military has a broad latitude in handling AWOL cases.

“Some leave time probably is important, but this training is on an intense schedule and we don’t know how much time there is,” he said.