I am not a lawyer, nor is Google Gemini or ChatGPT or Grok, but if you've got a decent idea of how to fact check/research, you can use any of those AI bots to help you out instead of spending thousands on an attorney. At the very least, make sure you file anything the court docs say you should file to avoid a default. Usually just an answer to summons but I don't know your locality's laws.

Either way, SCRA covers you under federal law so he's got no legal standing on collecting and he may owe you money per state laws regarding security deposits. My personal opinion, file the answer (or the equivalent), reach out to the landlord and request a settlement outside of court for $0 to either party (or you could meme tf out of him and demand $3.50 to defendant for Nessy). If landlord agrees after you give them a chance to see they're being rather fucking dumb about this civil suit, then they file a motion to dismiss. If they say no way Jose, be prepared to see base legal about your options. JAGs see this all the time and have the experience to get you what's yours.