desk officer
- n a military officer who is not assigned to active duty
deserter
- n a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
- n a person who abandons their duty (as on a military post)
desertification
- n the gradual transformation of habitable land into desert; is usually caused by climate change or by destructive use of the land
the dust storms in Korea are the result of rapid desertification in China