FARMINGTON – Two men wanted by the U.S. Army for allegedly deserting their post in Georgia were detained Monday, after they turned themselves into the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Lt. David St. Laurent, both Austin M. Seeley, 19 of Farmington, and Noah Ray Fisher, 18 of Boise, Idaho, turned themselves into the FCSO office Monday afternoon. Both men are alleged to have left their duty station at Fort Benning in Georgia without permission and driven to Maine.
St. Laurent said that fugitive from justice warrants had been issued a few weeks ago. St. Laurent said that Seeley’s father, himself a veteran, had realized that warrants had been issued for Seeley and Fisher, convinced them to turn themselves in and driven them to the FCSO office.
Both men will be held without bail at Franklin County Detention Center, pending the military filing for extradition, St. Laurent said.
this article is completley false information first and foremost they were not in georgia they were at ft campbell ky second the warrant was just issued this past thursday and yes i have first hand knowledge since i am the dad
Anthony –> I am pretty sure this isn’t COMPLETLY false.. just some of the details were inaccurate. Hope the military comes down easy on them.
Does the press even check their facts anymore? Or do they just make it up as they go? Whatever sounds the best for reporting purposes right? First of all they are not deserters, they were AWOL. The kids went for a visit home without permission, that is all, they didn’t run away from any deployment or war, or intend to leave permanently. There were extenuating circumstances in which they felt they needed to go. Second, their duty station is in Kentucky not Georgia and the warrant wasn’t issued “a few weeks ago”, more like a few days ago. They made a mistake and their intentions were good although perhaps misguided. When they found out about the warrant, they turned themselves in and will be returned to their unit to answer as to why they went on leave without permission. They joined the army because they are honorable people and wanted to serve their country. Their feelings for that hasn’t changed, they were just put in what they thought was an impossible situation and made a choice in which they are taking full responsibility for by turning themselves in.
actually yes the details are completly false and as you can see in the article that i spoke of the very specific ones that were in fact incorrect also the way the article was written made it seem like they have been on the run for a long time and this just wasnt the case at all and unless you have first hand knowledge as i do you should refrain from commenting about stuff you dont know.
I agree with Anthony. Anybody who doesn’t know them personally, shouldn’t be commenting anything..Yes this is a public article and everyone/anyone has the right to comment but if you’re going to comment, make sure before posting your comment that you aren’t saying that any of this isn’t true. You don’t know the whole story, you don’t know them, you probably don’t know Anthony who is the freaking father of one of these guys, therefore you probably don’t have any facts about this all, only things you prob have for information is from whispers on the streets that is coming from once again, people that don’t know these 2 guys or Anthony. Or from the articles on the news which seem to continuously get the story’s wrong. They write the articles the way they wanna write them. And this is nobody but the 2 guys and Anthony’s business. So don’t go ahead and assuming things or believing the articles 100% because I’ve seen multiple news articles that have twisted up the story’s of the way things have happened.
isnt AWOL and deserting the same thing…my brother did the same thing many yrs ago..he left his base and came to maine..he got a discharge after he turned himself..yes a dishonorable one!
They don’t keep you in jail unless you break the law. Consequences for your actions
the media inflating stories for their benefit and withholding stories to protect others is nothing new. when was the last time a child of a publisher got into trouble?
I never said that they didn’t break the law.
And they’re taking their consequences very well. They knew this would probably happen. Everyone keeps acting like they’re fighting their consequences when they aren’t.
Doesn’t matter if they came home for a little while or not they still had a job to do and they left it. If they didn’t want to do the job they should have stayed home not go a-wall
Angel… Actually it is business of everyone who pays their taxes business! I sure there is a VERY good reason, there always is!
@Still wrong
A ton of people who want to enter the military don’t know how truly screwed up the military is until they experience it. And then when they do is when they usually go awol, more than half the people in at least the Army a year go awol or deserter.
So it isn’t just these few people who are having personal issues that want to leave/do leave.
That many people going awol or deserter proves that it’s not just some of the soldiers, they usually have reasons as to why they’re leaving.
And @ Jeremy Lambert, it’s 2 freaking people you just were talking ab that have to do with you paying your taxes. 2 people won’t make a gigantic change in your taxes.
Apparently these days everybody somehow makes everything about taxes.
Its sad to hear people bash these two kids who did the right thing by turning themselves in because they know they did wrong. They answered the call of the country to protect and serve which is more than most of you would do and yet some of you become keyboard warriors and blame them. What would you have done if you were them? Would you have tried to stick it out and make the best which Im sure they tried or would you have done the same. The boys are owning up to their mistakes and not hiding from them, which is more than i can say for most people. Id say until you know the whole truth or know the people involved some might think it wise to not bash them.
Don’t agree with what they did but FAKE NEWS has finally come to the Bulldog.
AWOL and deserting are not the same thing.
Desertion is the abandonment of a duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of NOT returning.
In contrast, unauthorized absence (U.A.) or absence without leave (AWOL) refers to a temporary absence, generally under 30 days, with the intent to return and face the consequences of their UA or AWOL.
This AWOL charge would be the same charge if they had left base to go to Pizza Hut with out a proper pass and got caught doing so, albeit they went much further than their local Pizza Hut. Folks, please keep in mind that most of these men and women that join our armed forces are fresh out of high school and may still be slightly in high school mode. Going into the armed forces and being away from everything they know is difficult for some and easy for others. There are instances where the pressure is to much and sometimes people break or worse.
For those that are freaking out about tax money… please…
Just ONE A F-35A Joint Strike Fighter costs approximately $100 million. Just ONE carrier-borne F-35C Joint Strike Fighter is approximately $131 million. Just ONE F-22 Raptor cost approximately $250 million. The first of the Gerald R. Ford class (or CVN-21 class) aircraft carriers the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was $10.44 Billion with a Program cost of $36.30 billion (in 2015) they have 2 more currently being built now and plan on having 10 of them in total. That price does not include the 75+ aircraft it can carry.
Besides much, much more of your taxes go towards black budget projects that never have to explain what they used that money for.
I’m pretty sure we should always support our troops even if they rarely make a mistake in judgement where no one gets hurt. Good job gentlemen for turning yourselves in.
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Kind
Actually Angel the military reports that the awol/desertion rate at less than 1%, not more than half as you stated, do some actual research before you try to quote “facts”.I have to agree with Jeremy we have a right to know and comment about this since our taxes completely fund the military. Just saying
*more than half the people in at least the Army go awol or deserter.
Your statement is ignorant at best. If you want to defend these young men please stick to facts. People will not be willing to hear the “truth” otherwise. With that said..
I am truly sorry if those young men are uneducated in the resources available to them that they felt this was the answer. My hubby retired after 20 years of honorable service, he had crap leadership, awesome leadership, and everything in between. Taught him who he wanted to be and how he wanted to lead. Not saying it wasn’t tough or frustrating but if they fell into the crap leadership category this was definitely not the answer
No, AWOL and Desertion are not the same thing. AWOL is when someone is “Absent With Out Leave” up to 30 days, After that it is considered Desertion.
Angel, Anyone who works for the fed, state, or local government and private business that contract with those entities are all paid with taxes that come from all our pockets. Welfare, state paid insurance are the same thing…if people are expected to provide you with a paycheck they have a right to say what they want.
Just for the record, I don’t care what they did or didn’t do.
They were gone longer than a “few days” from their command or else a warrant for desertion wouldn’t have been issued. AWOL is by NJP and doesn’t get a warrant
It all boils down to this….Are we a nation of laws…or are we not ?
As a veteran I want to know that when I am in combat the men who I depend my life with are going to be there when it counts. When Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan he showed total disregard for the Oath he swore to uphold before God and Country. If a person cannot hold to that standard they, he or she, should not join the armed forces of the United States of America. These two young men may be fine people but they should reevaluate their honor and dedication to themselves, their family, and their fellow soldiers.
Generally a deserter is when a soldier is gone more than 30 days, so no not really the same. And I’m sorry you feel cheated Jeremy Lambert, taxpayer or not you don’t own anyone, their life is still their own. I’ll be more than happy to pay you your 0.02 cents back you’ve ever paid towards the entire army’s salary. Also, I don’t believe anyone ever said what they did wasn’t wrong, just that there’s more to the story and obviously this reporter got alot facts wrong in his attempt to make this a news worthy story.
Is this FAKE NEWS? Where two soldiers AWOL and did they turn themselves in to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office? That is what was reported and no one has disputed that.
@Captain Oblivious
Clearly you’re not the smartest because I think we’d know how long they were gone for and it WAS NOT a few weeks. You aren’t family of theirs, you aren’t friends of theirs, you don’t know ANYTHING That happened so keep your mouth shut and stop making yourself look stupid.
Please stop calling them “boys” or “kids”. These are men. Honorable citizens with full Constitutional rights. Babyboomers and GenXers need to stop babying newer generations in general. We already have enough entitled, whiney, nanny state type people in the world. These MEN entered a mans world and are dealing with it like men. Wake up!
But I am done commenting now so you guys can keep having your opinions or what you think is “facts”.
Angel
Let the nay sayers and everyone else have their say. Your best bet is to stay silent even though it is killing you to defend them. No one knows the whole story, the true story other than those close to the boys. Let everyone condemn them because god forbid people with internet access have any moral compass anymore. Yes they did wrong, are they paying for what they did, yes. Did they step up and take responsibility for their actions YES… yes its public knowledge but honestly people if it was your kids, would you want to stand by and let other people you dont even know pick them apart. I highly doubt it.. Support the boys for facing what they did wrong because I know a lot wouldnt do it.
I am learning in my old age just how wise my Dad was. I remember (more than once) making a bad decision and my father saying “it’s never too late to do the right thing. That being said, perhaps we could remember an older saying. “ Let he,without sin, cast the first stone”. Can we as a society,PLEASE start treating each other with a little compassion ?
Well said ⌃⌃ Mike ⌃⌃
Listen you can’t leave just because you don’t like it, grow a set, forfill your obligations, or fail to train. Don’t just run away that’s ridiculous.
@Steve in Wilton
“anthony seeley
March 21, 2018 • 1:37 pm
this article is completley false information first and foremost they were not in georgia they were at ft campbell ky second the warrant was just issued this past thursday and yes i have first hand knowledge since i am the dad”
“anthony seeley
March 21, 2018 • 4:10 pm
actually yes the details are completly false and as you can see in the article that i spoke of the very specific ones that were in fact incorrect also the way the article was written made it seem like they have been on the run for a long time and this just wasnt the case at all and unless you have first hand knowledge as i do you should refrain from commenting about stuff you dont know.”
Jeanne, if it happens here it could happen during combat, and it has, this country negotiated with terrorists to get Bowe back and this was at the cost of other American lives. No one has cast stones this is America where we all get to speak.and awol is not tolerated I wish you folks could understand the grave danger this poses, they will never earn the trust of there peers again and if it was just wiped away they could do what Bowe did or encourage others to by the lack of punishment
I served my combat time honorably.
But I learned something,
Words are cheap… Especially on here.
Some of these “Grow a pair” hardasses in here just might be less than heroes if the bullets were flying in combat.
If you’ve ever been there,,, you remember them as the ones “lurking back there”,,, and they always had the most to “say”.
So I’m wondering if these same ones would have the guys to turn themselves in like these guys did? Doubt it.
Only God knows.
Shut your traps and stop sounding like a fool or a politician.
Let the military justice system sort it out.
Semper fi
To Old Maniac
I never disputed that they had errors in some of the details but my questions was whether or not it is true that two soldiers were AWOL, in the Farmington area and if they turned themselves into the FCSO.
You called the article FAKE NEWS. I guess this means that these two soldiers were not AWOL , not in the Farmington area , and by default, could not have turned themselves in because they were never here.
My point is that when someone brandishes the term FAKE NEWS in a general way, they are themselves spreading fake news. If you had said “Parts of the story about their base assignment and the date the warrants were issued are FAKE NEWS”, then fine, I agree. I might have said mistaken or inaccurate reporting. You made an inaccurate comment just like the Bulldog…something about people in glass houses comes to mind. Regardless, none of this refutes or changes the key elements of the story.
Ultimately, we should all wish for the best for these young men.