WHY 2,276 AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATION WERE ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE, DESERTED, OR MISBEHAVED BEFORE THE ENEMY
MORSE P. MANSON AGD1, and
HARRY M. GRAYSON AGD1
1 Psychologists, MTOUSA Disciplinary Training Center
Analyses were made of the reasons given by 2276 general prisoners for their commission of the three most frequently committed military offenses: AWOL, desertion, and misbehavior before the enemy. Large percentages of the AWOL groups and nearly all of the desertion and misbehavior cases had been combat troops. White and negro prisoner groups were compared.
Thirty-five types of reasons given by the prisoners, were condensed into five major categories: neuropsychiatric, hedonistic, physical, military, and miscellaneous.
Table IV presents the reasons given in rank order and by percentage, for the three offenses examined.
Statistical treatment revealed that significant differences existed between the white and negro groups explaining AWOLs on neuropsychiatric and military reasons. Significant differences also were found in the misbehavior group for neuropsychiatric and miscellaneous reasons.
Neuropsychiatric factors predominate in the prisoners' explanations of their offenses.
