A. Domestic Service of Process

• Library: Military Issues in Family Law 2017

A. Domestic Service of Process

If the servicemember is not living on a military base, the procedure to get them served is no different than serving a civilian. If the servicemember lives on a military installation, counsel will need to contact the sheriff’s civil division in the county where the installation lies. The sheriffs in counties that have military installations usually have established relationships with the military police or security forces, and standard operating procedures are followed to coordinate service of process on the servicemember in an orderly fashion. Typically a deputy will call their counterpart or a liaison on the military installation, who will then contact the servicemember’s unit to deliver them to the deputy, who will then serve them with the petition or motion.

When filing the initial pleading in a case in which the non-movant will be served on a military installation, counsel should send a cover letter along with the summons to the sheriff or special process server that informs them of how counsel would like service to be accomplished, as well as any information that would assist them in accomplishing service of process, such as the servicemember’s Social Security number, rank, unit, immediate supervisor if known (e.g., first sergeant, petty officer, commanding officer), or what job the servicemember has in the military (e.g., infantry, finance officer, cook). If the servicemember is deployed to a combat zone, counsel should not waste time...