CAMP PENDLETON -- When authorities arrested Lance Cpl. Lance Hering on Nov. 16 in Washington state, they cleared one of 888 cases of desertions listed by the U.S. Marine Corps, including five dating back to World War II.

Hering disappeared in September 2006, when he quietly slipped away from his family while on leave in Boulder, Colo. It was later revealed that he suffered from a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder from his combat in Iraq. As a result, he was sentenced Dec. 19 to time served since his arrest and discharged from the Marine Corps.

Although no statistics are readily available, the Marine Corps routinely is confronted with troops who go "UA," the military's term for unauthorized absences of 30 days or less.

Failure to report for duty for more than 30 days moves a missing Marine from unauthorized absence to deserter status.

The 888 troops listed by the Marine Corps as deserters include 220 whose cases are at least two decades old. Five men from the World War II period of 1943-49 are still listed as deserters, as are 12 from the Korean War era.

An additional 143 deserters are still on the books from the Vietnam era of 1960-79, and 60 more are listed between 1980-86.

Camp Pendleton serves as the "collection point" for desertion cases arising from every Marine Corps base west of the Mississippi River. Troops arrested as deserters are taken to the base, where the legal process begins.

As of Oct. 1, the Marine Corps said less than 1 percent of its total active-duty force was listed as deserters.

'Serious violations of military discipline'

Military officials say that most troops return to their posts and their units within days of being placed on unauthorized absence. The wayward troops often cite relationship difficulties or family problems as reasons for failing to report for duty.

"With short UAs, a real effort is made to find a process that will serve as a deterrent and get the guy back to duty," said David Brahms, a retired Marine Corps general who practices military law and has an office in Carlsbad.

"Unit commanders, especially if the Marine is young, will bend over backward to make the point that they are going to have to whack you upside the head but don't want to destroy you."

Unauthorized absences are dealt with by unit commanders, who have a variety of options, including restricting a violator to base and withholding privileges.

But when a Marine such as Hering goes missing for more than 30 days, it becomes a felony and a warrant is issued. That information is fed into local and national crime databases, and a check of those records during a simple traffic stop can result in an arrest.

"Unauthorized absence and desertion constitute serious violations of military discipline by reducing military effectiveness and war-fighting capabilities," the headquarters of the Marine Corps at the Pentagon said in a written statement. "A hallmark of the Marine Corps is that fellow Marines are not left behind or abandoned in time of need.

"This ethos has sustained fighting units over the last two centuries and is critical in maintaining unit cohesion required for effective war-fighting."

Maj. Kristen Lasica, a Camp Pendleton spokeswoman, said there are five types of unauthorized absences:

- A general failure to report for assigned duty;

- Failing to report to duty for not more than three days;

- Failing to report for duty for more than three days but less than 30;

- Failing to report for duty for more than 30 days;

- Failing to report for duty for more than 30 days and being arrested.

The Marine Corps says it resolves each case individually.

Brahms said the flexibility offered commanders in handling unauthorized absences is one of the strengths of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the laws that govern members of the military accused of felonies and misdemeanors.

Unauthorized absences of fewer than three days are the easiest, he said.

"There's such a wide variety of reasons it happens, including in many cases plain immaturity," he said. "In the end, it's often much better to mete out some discipline and keep people around. Commanders aren't stupid; they recognize how much effort goes into recruiting and that you can't easily replace someone who has experience. It's much better to keep someone around who may have a very temporary problem."

A mother's worry

When a Marine goes missing, families are often racked with worry.

In Red Oak, Texas, a Marine mom panicked in November after getting a phone call from Camp Pendleton telling her that her son had left the base and was considered on unauthorized absence.

Missy Mitchell said her son, Pvt. Douglas Flower, 18, had graduated from boot camp in San Diego and she believed things were going well for her oldest son.

And then she got the call that he was missing.

"It was very shocking and very worrisome," Mitchell said during a recent telephone conversation. "We wound up hearing stories that he was with this person or that person."

Mitchell filed a missing-person report with Oceanside police and checked area hospitals, to no avail.

"I was very distraught," she said. "I was worried he was with the wrong people or the wrong girl and gotten knocked on the side of the head."

In the end, her son returned to base on Dec. 7 and faced administrative punishment, the precise nature of which was not available.

For his mom, his return was all that mattered.

"He was confused, but he came back to the base within a week," she said.

'Motivation suspect'

Desertion is a much more serious matter.

Military history is replete with stories of deserters being shot for the offense, particularly during wartime. Deserters these days aren't shot, but many, such as Hering, are drummed out of the service.

The majority of deserters who are turned over to Marine Corps authorities are apprehended by civilian police agencies investigating other matters, Pentagon officials said.

A small percentage of deserters eventually turn themselves in. An even smaller number are turned in by friends, family or personal enemies, the Pentagon officials said.

Most, such as Hering, wind up doing some time behind bars and receiving an administrative discharge under less than honorable circumstances. (Marine Corps officials have declined to characterize the specific nature of Hering's discharge.)

"The argument of the armed forces is that they need to maintain the integrity of the honorable discharge," Brahms said.

Commanders have several other options for punishing deserters, including ordering them back to duty, a less frequent result, officials say.

"By separating them from the service, the Marine Corps is basically saying, 'You need to go home now because by your behavior, you have clearly indicated a lack of interest in continuing to serve and therefore your motivation is forever suspect,' " Brahms said.

Hering's case was decided by a Marine captain, who expressed regret that the Marine Corps failed to treat Hering for post-traumatic stress when he first sought help in spring 2006 before coming home from Iraq.

Hering, 23, wandered the country for nearly two years and said he was preparing to turn himself in when arrested. During his court-martial last month, he spoke of a "long and difficult" journey while on the lam.

"It is a journey that has left me with the desire to help others similarly situated, to live, love and continue to heal," he said.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.