No total control

The US army paid some soldiers after they deserted, apparently due to a lack of coordination between the responsible departments.
I cannot make up my mind whether this pacifist imperfection is comforting, in the light of total control scenarios, or rather threatening, in case it works against you.
Interesting figures to note along the way: US-army desertion rates were 0.9% in 2002 and 0.3% in 2005.