Officer AWOL in Israel Goes Home to U.S.

A U.S. Army Reserve officer with access to intelligence information boarded a flight back home Tuesday, two weeks after he alarmed the American military by going AWOL.

Lt. Col. Jeremiah Mattysse turned up Monday at a youth hostel in the desert town of Mitzpeh Ramon. Mattysse has denied allegations by an Israeli woman who claimed to be his girlfriend that he disclosed sensitive documents.

Police said Mattysse, who earlier this month requested to emigrate to Israel, was not at any time in detention and left the country voluntarily.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said Mattysse boarded a plane to the U.S. on Tuesday.

“After speaking by phone with senior officers at his base in Texas . . . Mattysse decided to return to the United States,” Schwartz said.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, urged Mattysse to return home, saying he would be treated fairly.

Until February, Mattysse commanded the Army Reserve Southwest Intelligence Support Center in San Antonio. He failed to report to duty Aug. 8, making him AWOL, or absent without leave.

Mattysse was reassigned to the 90th Reserve Support Group in San Antonio earlier this year after an investigation began into his wife’s allegations that he had an affair.