Legal Question in Military Law in Indiana

My relative went AWOL

My relative went AWOL - deserted now over 30 days -- from his post --bored waiting to be deployed next year to Afghanistan and went to work for as a mercenary for a firm in another country -- can he ever come back to the US? He thinks he can change his name and come back and no one will know. He was an us army airborne paratrooper working in the office - deleted many of his files off the computer before planning his escape. Will I ever see this relative again? Could he go to prison? Will another country extradite him? SOUTH AMERICA unknown location


Asked on 7/08/08, 1:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neal Puckett The Law Firm of Puckett and Faraj, PC

Re: My relative went AWOL

He apparently has committed the military crime of desertion. If he is discovered by any law enforcement agency and his name or SSN are run through a computer, they will arrest him and return him to armed forces control where he will be prosecuted. He will go to prison, at least for a while. But the sooner he returns and surrenders, the less severe the punishment will be. It is unlikely that he will be able to elude authorities forever. Many have tried and failed.

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Answered on 7/08/08, 8:03 am


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