14 AMERICAN BLUES THEATER In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. In contrast, unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL) refers to a temporary absence. In the United States Army, military personnel will become "AWOL" if absent from their post without a valid pass, liberty or leave. The United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard generally refer to this as "unauthorized absence" or "UA". Personnel are dropped from their unit rolls after thirty days and then listed as deserters; however, as a matter of U.S. military law, desertion is not measured by time away from the unit, but rather:  by leaving or remaining absent from their unit, organization, or place of duty, where there has been a determined intent to not return;  if that intent is determined to be to avoid hazardous duty or shirk contractual obligation;  if they enlist or accept an appointment in the same or another branch of service without disclosing the fact that they have not been properly separated from current service. People who are away for more than thirty days but return voluntarily or indicate a credible intent to return may still be considered AWOL. Those who are away for fewer than thirty days but can credibly be shown to have no intent to return (for example, by joining the armed forces of another country) may nevertheless be tried ABOUT VIETNAM DESERTERS A character in The Spitfire Grill is revealed to have been a Vietnam deserter. Below is more information about the difference between desertion and absence without leave, and about President Ford’s conditional amnesty for Vietnam deserters. Soldiers in Vietnam in 1970.