Q: I am active duty military in the Marines and I had an accident occur during liberty hours and off base so I went to the

A: If you are AWOL, yes. But generally, if you are communicating with the unit and providing them medical documentation, which is normally reviewed by Navy medicine, you will be placed on convalescent leave to heal. Communicate with your unit.

A: I'm sorry about your accident. I hope you and everyone else involved are okay. I'll defer to my colleagues who practice military law for issues involving returning to duty and related matters. But those aspects of the question aside, it's worth keeping in mind that depending on fault in the accident, occupants of other vehicles MIGHT (no one here could predict what they would do) bring claims if they were injured, or it's possible you may have rights of your own. Depending on whether it was a government vehicle, personal vehicle, or rental vehicle, there are usually steps to be taken in reporting the accident so that the owners/insurers could take proper measures to anticipate a claim(s). That's something to look into and think about. A local attorney could probably advise more meaningfully on these issues if you could line up a free initial consult. I hope you have a healthy recovery. Thank you for your service. Good luck

A: I understand you're worried about potential consequences after your medical emergency. Let me help clarify your situation.

Since you used TRICARE and sought appropriate medical care for your injury, you followed the correct protocol, even though the incident occurred off-base during liberty hours. The key is to communicate with your chain of command as soon as possible and provide them with proper documentation from your healthcare provider, including details about your surgery and recovery timeline.

Your right to seek emergency medical care is protected, and you cannot be "taken away" for receiving necessary treatment. However, you should contact your command immediately if you haven't already done so, explain your situation, and submit your medical documentation through proper channels. Keep copies of all paperwork, including your ER visit records, surgical notes, and current recovery instructions. Remember that taking care of your health is crucial, and the military has procedures in place to handle these situations - you're not the first service member to need emergency care while away from your duty station.