Military can apply for return to service after AWOL through Army+ - Chernohorenko
On Wednesday, December 18, the Army+ application launched a feature that will allow a serviceman to submit a report for reinstatement after an absence without leave (AWOL).
Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko said this during a telethon, Ukrinform reports, Censor.NET reports.
She noted that the corresponding opportunity in "Army+" was launched because a new law was adopted, according to which, if a serviceman returns to military service on his own initiative after going AWOL from the unit, his actions are decriminalized.
According to the law, this soldier does not bear any responsibility and can quickly integrate into military service.
"We have added functionality to Army+, a single mobile application for our servicemen, and we already have half a million verified servicemen in this application, so that a serviceman can initiate a report for return to service after the AWOL and can quickly be reinstated in service, regain his social guarantees, get his salary back, and then return to the military unit he wants to choose, where he wants to serve," the deputy minister said.
According to her, after the report is submitted and processed, the soldier will receive a notification of his arrival at the new military unit of the reserve battalion.
"Within 24 hours, the soldier receives a message that he has to arrive at a new military unit of the reserve battalion, there are 17 of them. These are the places where our soldiers will be quickly reinstated in service. In fact, this is a temporary point from which he can then transfer to the military unit he considers relevant to him, where he trusts the commander, where he trusts his comrades-in-arms and can be motivated. That is, 72 hours to consider the report, 24 hours to arrive at the reserve battalion, and from the reserve unit, he again submits a report for transfer to his target military unit through Army+," the official explained.
In addition, Chernohorenko emphasized that no sanctions will be applied to the serviceman who submitted the report.
"If a person returns from the AWOL for the first time, no sanctions will be applied to him or her. Moreover, all reintegration measures, reinstatement, all social benefits, and so on will be guaranteed and carried out quickly. This is very important for a quick return to service," the deputy minister added.
