The people I know that would take such an action to avoid fighting in an immoral war are also the exact same people I'd want next to me if we truly were attacked without provocation in this country.

I think it's an easy assumption to believe that deserters that take an action like going to Canada are taking the easy way out but remember that the decision will adversely affect that person's entire life where choosing to finish out their term of service might just be a temporary setback. In your example below you talk about the guy being put into chains and hauled off to the brig. Because he used the "legal" form of protest, the military was able to intimidate those around him with their brutal tactics. They can not only show the futility of the fight but also humiliate the offender in a very public way.

Now my experience in the military was not in wartime so I don't have the experience of that specter but I can tell you that, when someone finally got their fill and simply left, there was a great amount of envy and respect from many around them. Although the repercussions were the same or worse in the long term for the deserter, it was like viewing that picture of the mouse flipping off the eagle as they swooped down to carry it off or that image of the man in front of the tank in China.

I will not argue with you at all that an effective and deadly military requires that acts of defiance not be tolerated but let's look at this in another way. Maybe, were the defiance and the standing up for principles the norm worldwide, we would have no need for a disciplined fighting force. Perhaps it's this blind acceptance of our roles as citizen soldiers that keeps mankind from evolving past this absurdity. Despite thousands of men that stole off to Canada during the Vietnam conflict, even that defiant act was not enough to ensure our country would never again get into such an action. It did keep us out of them for awhile though. Perhaps, had the entire military force just quit in mass, the awakening could've been permanent.

ER, desertion is a political act, not a crime. If you look into as far as a Constitutional act (and I know the UCMJ supercedes the Constitution), it boils down to no more than a breach of contract. I know that a few use the act with true cowardice but I contend that many also are braver than the ones remaining.

Art