Soliciting advice about returning

[jchamp]

Good day, all,

I've been mostly lurking here for years, taking in the voices of experience, and think that you guys could help me determine how to handle this off-field situation:

I've umpired one season in SW Ohio, called football for two years in Central NY, and now I live in Nevada, where I was able to call one basketball scrimmage in 2009 before I had to bug out for a while. A combination of deployments and military moves has kept me from being able to fully participate in officiating, but my former partners and assignors have encouraged me to keep at it.
I was looking like I would be able to do this upcoming softball and baseball season, and I was just notified that I would have to attend a class starting in February in Alabama that will keep me there for the end of the classes and a couple weeks into the start of the season.
From the perspective of the assignors, instructors, and committee members, what recommendations can you give on how best to proceed? I really don't want to sit out ANOTHER season (this will be the 5th baseball season I've missed), especially when there are resources in both areas. Is there a mechanism in place to allow someone to split their class attendance, maybe even transferring test information to the home state, if required?

I appreciate any advice you folks could offer.