Deserter is jailed after refusing second tour in Afghanistan

A soldier who deserted rather than serve a second tour in Afghanistan was jailed for nine months today.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who was also reduced to the rank of private, was sentenced at a military court in Colchester, Essex, after admitting going absent without leave.

The court martial heard that Glenton, 27, who later campaigned against the conflict, was discovered to be absent in June 2007, when he was due to return to Dalton Barracks in Oxfordshire, and remained absent for 737 days before handing himself in.

Prosecutor Group Captain Tim Backer said Glenton, who joined the Army in 2004, had performed a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006, serving with the Royal Logistic Corps.

When Glenton returned he was ordered to go back to the conflict zone after nine months, despite military guidelines suggesting soldiers should not be deployed again within 18 months. Mitigating, Nick Wrack, told the court that Glenton had suffered post-traumatic stress.