The Japanese will be happy
Well, the court martial lasted all of two days or so. And it went down pretty much as predicted. In a plea bargain agreement, Jenkins got a light sentence for pleading guilty to desertion and aiding the enemey. You can get more information here - U.S. Deserter Sentenced and Army Sends Deserter Jenkins to Prison
In a nutshell, he got 30 days jail and a reduction to E1 with a dishonorable discharge. The article reports that the jail time may be suspended.
I wrote an article a while back about my feelings about Jenkins - The deserter to NK should be in US custody right now. I'm glad that he finally surrendered himself to the US Army and faced the consequences of his actions. I think it would have been a mistake to just let him go without some form of punishment. I think that the sentence was very light, but at least it wasn't just let go. Historically speaking, desertion cases have been lightly punished for decades, so something is better than nothing.
I wonder what happens next, though. Originally, the Japanese government (and people) tried to get the US government to let this go so Jenkins could live peacefully in Japan with his wife and children. Will this remain the plan? Will he remain in Japan? Or will he return to North Carolina to his family there? That's what they wanted. They petitioned the president to pardon Jenkins before he was even tried. How can you pardon someone for a crime they haven't been convicted of? Of course, they never believed that he deserted. They maintained that he must have been kidnapped and that the US Army set Jenkins up. So, they asked that he be pardoned of a crime they claim he never committed. Any port in a storm, I guess. Will there be a book deal? Will this be an ABC movie of the week? I sure hope not, but I won't place any bets.