Big rise in deserters 'fuelled by Iraq war'

There are a number of factors mooted as being responsible for the doubling of awol's since the Iraq conflict; the conflict is likely to be the biggest but it is also interesting to look at the others. One of them appears to be that the kind of upbringing and expectations that recruits enter with are not very compatible. Bullying is also cited and seems likely given the kind of culture an armed force has to try to build to overcome 'natural' objections to killing people you don't have any particular personal grudge against. Reading between the lines, though, it seems that moral/political objections to this particular conflict are foremost. Perhaps the moral education aboutillegal orders and the like is having its effect? Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Big rise in deserters 'fuelled by Iraq war'