Camp Mabry Military Lawyer
Camp Mabry sits at the heart of Texas military operations, serving as the headquarters of the Texas Military Department and home to National Guard and Reserve units whose members face the same career-defining legal challenges as their active duty counterparts. Soldiers, airmen, and officers stationed at or connected to Camp Mabry can find themselves navigating military administrative proceedings, medical evaluation boards, or separation actions with little institutional support and no clear roadmap. A Camp Mabry military lawyer who has worn the uniform, served in JAG roles, and understands the Reserve Component from the inside is a fundamentally different resource than a civilian attorney working from a textbook.
The legal issues that arise at installations like Camp Mabry carry stakes that civilians rarely encounter. An unfavorable MEB outcome can strip a soldier of disability benefits they earned through years of service. An officer facing an administrative action can lose a career, a retirement, and a security clearance in a single proceeding. These are not abstract risks. They happen to real soldiers with real families, and the window to respond is often shorter than people expect.
Citizen Soldier Law was built specifically for this population. The firm was founded in 2013 to fill a gap: Guard and Reserve members going through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System with nobody in their corner who actually understood how those proceedings work. A decade-plus of practice later, the firm continues to serve servicemembers and veterans across Texas and the rest of the country in the cases that matter most to their military careers and their financial futures.
What Camp Mabry Servicemembers Are Actually Dealing With
- Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) Representation: When a soldier at Camp Mabry receives a referral into the IDES process, the MEB is the first formal step, and the findings made there follow the case through every subsequent proceeding. Having representation before the narrative is set is critical, not after.
- Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) Advocacy: Informal and formal PEB proceedings are where disability ratings are assigned and separation or retention decisions are made. Texas National Guard and Reserve soldiers go through Title 10 PEB proceedings the same as active component soldiers, and the same detailed advocacy applies.
- National Guard Enlisted Administrative Actions: Bar to reenlistment actions, adverse administrative separations, and non-judicial punishment proceedings can end a Guard member’s career without the procedural protections that active duty soldiers sometimes assume are universal.
- National Guard Officer Administrative Actions: Officers face show-cause proceedings, removal from promotion lists, and elimination actions that require immediate legal attention. A Texas Army National Guard officer facing a board at Camp Mabry is in a high-stakes situation where the outcome depends heavily on how the response is constructed.
- Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Claims: Veterans who separate from service with combat-related disabilities may be entitled to CRSC, a tax-free benefit that runs parallel to VA disability compensation. Getting the documentation right is where most claims succeed or fall short.
- Criminal Defense in Military Contexts: Servicemembers connected to Camp Mabry who face civilian criminal charges, courts-martial referrals, or dual-track proceedings need counsel who understands how civilian charges interact with military administrative consequences, including security clearance implications.
- Discharge Upgrades and Military Records Corrections: Veterans who left service with a characterization of discharge that does not reflect their actual record can pursue corrections through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. These cases require a clear narrative and thorough documentary support.
Why Citizen Soldier Law Handles These Cases Differently
Citizen Soldier Law is veteran-owned and veteran-operated. Attorney Thomas Roughneen is a retired, part-time JAG lawyer with a background that includes both active duty and Reserve Component JAG service. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law and later completed a master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. That combination of formal legal education and real military service is not common in the legal market, and it matters in ways that are concrete, not abstract.
The firm’s staff collectively brings over one hundred years of combined military service, including veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The team includes retired Army National Guard human resources NCOs who understand how personnel actions actually move through the system, a board-certified physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who can engage directly with the medical components of MEB and PEB proceedings, and attorneys with hands-on trial experience in both military and civilian courts. For a soldier at Camp Mabry whose case involves contested medical findings, that physician on staff is not a luxury. It is a direct advantage in building the record.
The firm has been representing servicemembers in IDES proceedings across all branches, active and Reserve Component, since it was founded. Those proceedings are processed in Title 10, active duty settings regardless of whether the soldier is Guard or Reserve. That is a detail that matters, and it is one the firm understood from the beginning. Clients searching for a military attorney serving the Camp Mabry area will find a practice that has specifically oriented itself around the National Guard and Reserve experience, not a firm that dabbles in military cases between civilian matters.
How These Cases Actually Unfold, and Where People Go Wrong
The most consistent mistake servicemembers make in administrative and disability proceedings is waiting. An MEB referral comes with timelines that begin moving whether or not the soldier has engaged an attorney. Rebuttals have deadlines. PEB election decisions have windows. Missing those windows does not just create procedural complications; it can foreclose options entirely.
For Camp Mabry soldiers going through the Texas Military Department chain while simultaneously engaging the federal IDES process, the dual-track nature of the proceeding is a source of genuine confusion. The federal disability evaluation runs through Title 10 regardless of branch component, but the administrative and personnel actions associated with the Texas Army National Guard have their own procedures and their own chain of command. An attorney who has only handled one track of that process cannot give comprehensive advice.
Documentation is the other area where cases are won or lost before anyone ever appears before a board. Medical records, deployment histories, line of duty determinations, and commander statements all feed into the MEB narrative. Gaps in that record will be treated as gaps in the case. Gathering that material systematically, early, and with an eye toward how each piece will be used at the PEB stage is a discipline that experienced military legal practitioners bring and that most servicemembers trying to navigate the process alone cannot replicate.
For Texas National Guard officers facing administrative actions at Camp Mabry, the response to a show-cause action or elimination proceeding is often the only opportunity to shape the outcome. These are not situations where the army presents a case and the officer defends afterward. The response itself is the proceeding in most instances. A poorly organized or incomplete response can effectively concede the result. An attorney who has drafted these responses before, who knows the standards the reviewing authority applies, and who can work with the officer to develop a complete record is providing something that makes a real difference in outcomes.
Servicemembers with pending criminal charges in Travis County or elsewhere in Texas face an additional layer of complexity. Civilian courts and military administrative processes run simultaneously. A plea in civilian court can trigger administrative consequences the servicemember did not anticipate. A military administrative action can affect the posture of a civilian criminal defense. These cases require someone who can look at both tracks at once and give advice that accounts for all of the moving pieces.
Questions Camp Mabry Soldiers Ask Before Hiring a Military Attorney
Do I need a lawyer for an MEB, or can I go through it on my own?
You can go through an MEB without a private attorney. The military also assigns a Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officer (PEBLO) to assist you. But the PEBLO is not your advocate and is not giving you legal advice. If you believe your conditions are being underrated, if line of duty findings are being contested, or if you want someone who will systematically build your record and challenge findings that do not reflect your actual medical situation, a private attorney serving that role is a different category of help.
Does Citizen Soldier Law handle cases for all branches, or only Army National Guard?
The firm handles IDES, MEB, and PEB matters for all branches, both active and Reserve Component. All IDES proceedings are processed in Title 10, active duty settings regardless of branch or component, so the legal framework applies across the board. The firm also handles officer and enlisted administrative actions specifically for National Guard members.
I am a Reserve Component soldier in Texas. Does the IDES process work the same for me as it does for active duty?
The federal disability evaluation process runs through Title 10 for both active and Reserve Component soldiers, so the formal structure is the same. Where Reserve Component soldiers experience differences is in the administrative actions that run alongside it, the interaction with state National Guard chains of command, and the eligibility thresholds for certain benefits that can depend on how and when the injury occurred relative to service status. These distinctions are important and are exactly the kind of detail that experienced Reserve Component representation addresses.
What is CRSC and how do I know if I qualify?
Combat-Related Special Compensation is a tax-free benefit for retired veterans whose disability is determined to be combat-related. It runs parallel to VA disability compensation and allows veterans who previously had their retirement pay offset by VA compensation to receive both. Eligibility depends on the nature and cause of the disability, the retirement status, and the documentation supporting the combat-related determination. Many veterans who qualify do not receive it because the application process requires connecting the disability to a specific qualifying event, and that connection is not always self-evident from existing records.
My officer evaluation reports contain inaccurate information. Can I have those corrected?
Military records corrections, including officer evaluation report corrections, go through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records or the equivalent board for other branches. These proceedings require a clear demonstration of material error or injustice. The standard is not that you disagreed with a rating; it is that the record contains something demonstrably inaccurate or unfair that caused you harm. Building that case requires documentation, often including statements from contemporaneous witnesses and supporting records, and a well-organized legal argument presenting it.
If I accept the informal PEB findings, can I still challenge my rating later?
Accepting informal PEB findings generally forecloses your right to a formal PEB hearing on those findings. It does not necessarily prevent all future challenges, but the options narrow considerably once the formal election window closes. This is one reason why having representation before you make the election decision, not after, is so important. Understanding what you are giving up by accepting informal findings requires someone who has worked through that analysis before.
My separation paperwork lists a reason for discharge that is not accurate. What can I do?
Discharge characterizations and separation reasons can be challenged through the Army Discharge Review Board for more recent separations or through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records for older ones. The appropriate board and the available remedies depend on the specific circumstances and timing of the discharge. These are administrative proceedings that require a documented submission making a legal argument for correction. Success rates vary significantly based on the quality of the record submitted.
A criminal charge in Travis County is affecting my security clearance. How do I handle both at once?
Criminal charges, even pending ones, can trigger security clearance concerns through the continuous evaluation process. How you handle the civilian case has direct implications for the clearance. Certain dispositions, diversionary programs, or outcomes are more favorable from a clearance standpoint than others. A lawyer who understands both the civilian criminal process in Texas and the security clearance implications can advise on strategy that accounts for both, rather than optimizing for one track while creating a problem on the other.
Can the firm help with a case that is already partway through the MEB process?
Yes. Representation at any stage is better than no representation. Ideally, a Camp Mabry military attorney is involved from the moment an MEB referral is made, but cases are regularly picked up mid-stream. The earlier in the process you engage, the more options remain open, but there are meaningful contributions an attorney can make even when the MEB narrative has already been written and the case is moving toward the PEB.
Does the firm handle National Guard officer show-cause proceedings in Texas?
Yes. National Guard officer administrative actions, including show-cause proceedings and elimination boards, are specifically within the firm’s practice area. These proceedings are among the highest-stakes administrative actions a Texas National Guard officer can face, and the response period is typically the critical window for shaping the outcome.
Texas Military Community Members Served by Citizen Soldier Law
Citizen Soldier Law serves servicemembers, veterans, and Reserve Component personnel connected to Camp Mabry and the broader Texas military community from across the state and across the country. In the Austin metropolitan area, the firm assists soldiers and veterans in Austin proper, as well as those in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Kyle, Buda, and Manor. Central Texas servicemembers in Killeen, Temple, Waco, and the surrounding communities in Bell and McLennan counties are also within the firm’s reach, as are soldiers and veterans in the San Antonio area, including New Braunfels, Seguin, and Schertz. In North Texas, the firm serves clients in Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, Frisco, McKinney, and Garland. Houston-area veterans and Guard members in Harris County, as well as those in Sugar Land, Pearland, The Woodlands, Baytown, and Pasadena, are also served. Across West Texas and beyond, including Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, El Paso, and Amarillo, servicemembers can contact Citizen Soldier Law for representation in IDES, MEB, PEB, and administrative proceedings. Because military legal proceedings under Title 10 are federal in nature and administrative actions follow federal and state military department frameworks, the firm’s representation is national in scope, serving Guard and Reserve members in any state for all military and disability matters.
Speak with a Camp Mabry Military Attorney About Your Case
The decisions made in military administrative and disability proceedings follow servicemembers for the rest of their lives. A lower disability rating means lower monthly compensation for decades. An administrative separation with the wrong characterization closes doors that are very difficult to reopen. A missed rebuttal deadline can lock in findings that do not reflect the truth of a soldier’s medical condition or service record. A Camp Mabry military attorney at Citizen Soldier Law has been through these proceedings, understands what they require, and is prepared to give the kind of practical, direct representation that makes a real difference in outcomes. The firm’s consultations are available by phone, and the team is accessible beyond standard business hours because legal needs do not follow the calendar. Call Citizen Soldier Law today to talk through your situation with someone who has stood where you are standing.
