GI faces charges in alleged 2006 desertion

[unhappycamper]

GI faces charges in alleged 2006 desertion
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 31, 2008 6:53:56 EDT

WELLINGTON, Fla. — A 24-year-old Wellington woman is accused of deserting the Army eight months after joining.

Kristen Westerberg joined the Army in October 2005. Her family said she was promised she would never see war duty; she deserted after being told she might be sent to Iraq.

But soldiers shouldn’t be surprised if they are sent to war, said Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman.

“You don’t have to be a news junkie to know there were two wars going on,” Edgecomb told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Our recruiters are professional. I don’t know why a recruiter would tell someone at this time in our country’s history that they won’t see war.”

Westerberg was in training at Fort Eustis, Va., when she left and did not return, officials said. She has been considered AWOL since June 2006. She was arrested March 11 in Royal Palm Beach and returned to Fort Knox, Ky., on March 22 to face the administrative charge of military desertion.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_awol_033008/