I think it should be decided on a case by case situation. You have to understand the reasons behind the Awol to begin with, the situations that arise to cause it, the mental stability of the person who decides to go Awol. Believe it or not, even though they have voluntarily signed up to fight in this war, Some people just can't handle the amount of death, destruction and violence that they witness once they are face to face with it. The vast majority of those who are going Awol are young kids. 19 or 20 year old kids who, when they originally signed up were sincere in their desire to fight for the rights of the rest of us to post crap about whether or not they are strong or weak for the decisions they make. Until you have walked a mile or two in their shoes, don't judge them unless you understand all of the facts that surround the decisions they make.