If you are in the military, can you deploy overseas while on probation for a misdemeanor case? The answer: yes, but it’s not automatic. Over the past year, we have represented several clients in the reserves who have been called up to deploy to Afghanistan. The biggest concern for each one was whether or not they would be allowed to deploy with their unit overseas if they were on probation. In a few cases we just concluded, we were able to accomplish just this.
Contrary to popular belief, deployment while on probation is possible. If you are on probation, one of the common conditions of the probation is that you remain in your county of residence. However, most jurisdictions will allow you to travel for work, etc., if the probation department issues you a travel permit in order to do so. In some recent cases that we have handled in Comal, Guadalupe and Hays Counties (all Driving While Intoxicated cases), our clients (two in the Army, one in the Marines) were able to get plea bargain agreements that would allow them to have travel permits to deploy to Afghanistan while on probation.
The first caveat, though, is that all of the counties involved, before offering such a plea bargain, wanted the client’s commanding officer to verify that the CO would also permit the client to deploy while on probation. All of the counties involved also wanted the clients to get their probation stuff completed (fines, community service, classes) before they left. If you are in the military and facing a misdemeanor probation, it’s a good idea to get your CO involved in the process as early as possible so that you know what you can and cannot agree to, as well as how any deal you strike will affect your ability to deploy in the future.