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Both CBS and NBC had their Pentagon correspondents look into army desertions. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski conceded that some soldiers go missing on antiwar principle, although most leave because of "personal or financial problems back home," according to brass. Not that the war has nothing to do with it: the rate "is accelerating in a pattern that tracks almost exactly with the extension of tours in Iraq from 12 to 15 months," CBS' David Martin asserted. To put the problem in perspective, Martin contrasted the 5% desertion rate from the drafted army during the Vietnam War with the current volunteer force's 1%. NBC's Miklaszewski at first called army brass "deeply concerned" but then pointed out that after conviction at court martial most deserters were given no greater punishment than a dishonorable discharge.
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