or would it automatically get a lawyer on general principal?
People lawyer up over slip and fall incidents; hot coffee at McD resulted in a lengthy lawsuit. Here we are talking about a man who is publicly accused of desertion, of aid to the enemy, and of causing death of other soldiers who were sent to look for him. If he is not entirely brain dead (a good possibility in his case,) he or his family would get a lawyer before he even steps on US soil.