Legal Question in Military Law in Missouri

Re: awol for a month from basic and looking to get out

The sooner you return to the place you left, the sooner you can resolve the issue. Everything is taken into consideration, including hospitalization, but you cannot simply "get out" of your contract and no one is ever just "written off." You will have to face disciplinary action and a possible other than honorable discharge. But the service can separate you with an uncharacterized entry level separation if it so chooses, though it is unlikely since you went AWOL. That is a crime that must be handled with disciplinary measures. A service member can be declared a deserter after 30 days absence and that's usually when the warrant for your arrest is issued. Far better to surrender than to be apprehended. If there is any chance of avoiding pretrial detention, it's to surrender to military authorities, but that's never a guarantee against confinement.

Finally, one cannot simply contact the service and work out an arrangement to separate. You have to go back, or it will never be resolved, and they will be on the lookout for you forever.

Re: awol for a month from basic and looking to get out

The military does not work as you suggest. If you were hospitalized the military would be notified (I assume you would expect the military to pay for your hospitalization) and military police would be sent to collect you and transport you to a military facility.

It is sad but true that there is simply no legitimate avenue of recourse but to return to your unit and face the music. Your unit commander is limited in the amount and type of punishment he can impose by law. Even if you were given a field grade Article 15, you would still have limits on what the commander could do. You might face limited incarceration, and you are definitely going to forfeit some portion of your military pay for a few months.

The military does have means to deal with soldiers who do not wish to remain in the military. But keep in mind the decisions you make will affect the course of your life, and might later impact your ability to work for state or federal government agencies, especially law enforcement.

There are no easy answers. You have to suck it up and go back to your unit. If you need transportation you can call your unit commander and they can send the military police locally to pick you up.

Good luck. Whatever you do, don't stay out more than 30 days -- that is desertion. And desertion in the time of war is considered to be a capital offense.

Re: awol for a month from basic and looking to get out

A warrant can be issued as soon as the military has reason to believe that the soldier does not intend to return; the presumption period is 30 days, however, as soon as you contacted your command and tried to negotiate your release from Acitve Duty, they could have issued a warrant. I cannot predict how soon your warrant will be executed and whether police will arrive at your home or not, or whether you will be pulled over for a moving violation and arrested because there is an outstanding warrant.

A suicide attempt will not prompt your release from the military until AFTER the AWOL situation has been dealt with, in fact, it will likely result in your beign apprehended at the hospital when the required police report is filled out and a warrant check is done.

AWOLs that are terminated by "apprehension" are often treated much more harshly than AWOLs who voluntarily return. Your best course of action is to find your nearest military installation (any branch of service) and report to the Staff Duty Officer, informing him or her that you are an AWOL and are voluntarily returning.