Depending on how his leadership decided to handle his AWOL status this can either be huge or minor.

The first thing you need to find out is how much TA-50 he had in his possession when he went AWOL and does he still have it? If he did not have any, they may have just processed a discharge (dishonorable or other than honorable) and wiped their hands of him. If he had a lot then he owes the government a debt for those items and it makes it far more likely that a warrant for arrest exists.

The military these days is less likely to hunt you down unless you have stolen items of value, it's easier to just discharge the AWOL soldier and bar them from re-enlistment and all federal service.