Introduction to the Military Law Edition, 0720 ALBJ, Vol. 81 No. 4 Pg. 268 (July, 2020)
| Author | Col. Charles A. Langley |
| Position | Vol. 81 4 Pg. 268 |
Col. Charles A. Langley
I write to express my appreciation to the staff of The Alabama Lawyer, on behalf of the Alabama Military Law Committee of the Alabama State Bar, for dedicating an edition of this publication to focus on the unique aspects of military law. I hope the following articles provide each of you a valuable reference tool that will help prepare you should you encounter issues involving military personnel. The topics selected–the Service members Civil Relief Act (formerly the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act), the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Honoring American Veteran’s in Extreme Need (HAVEN Act), and military members’ family support, child custody, and paternity obligations–discuss legal issues that are likely to be implicated during almost any attorney’s career, but especially those in general civil or family law practices
The use of the description “military law issue” is a bit of a misnomer. To use a military idiom, the appropriateness of the description depends on the view from your foxhole. Most of the articles in this issue are meant to familiarize civilian practitioners with federal laws enacted to make service to our country less burdensome on those who join the military. For example, employment and economic protections were provided to protect service members ordered to leave their homes, and their loved ones, to deploy to a foreign land. Violations of many of these laws carry criminal or civil sanctions, enforceable by federal agencies. On the other hand, military regulations were promulgated to protect the children and dependents of service members from being financially abandoned by a parent or spouse (who might be serving in a foreign county with no readily ascertainable address). A failure to meet these familial support obligations can carry criminal or civil sanctions for the service member.
So, just as the laws discussed in this issue provide protections to, or place obligations on, members of the military, they likewise provide protections to, or place legal obligations on, civilian individuals and businesses. It is for this reason these topics are timely and relevant for members of our organization, even those who have never been affiliated with the military
In addition to these substantive articles, we...
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