JAG

A Day in the 

Life of a Carrier 

Strike Group Staff 

Judge Advocate

New Leadership Takes the Helm of 

the Judge Advocate General’s Corps

Volume III 2009

Magazine of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps 
5 New Leadership Takes Helm of Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps

6 Privileged to Lead : Profile of VADM MacDonald

8 RLSO Midwest Gets Million-Dollar Results With Lean Six Sigma

9 Operation Willing Spirit

10 The Thrill of Sea Duty

11 A Conversation with LNCM Stephen DiStefano & LNCM Christopher Browning

14 Operation Iraqi Freedom

15 Electronic Legal Research for Legalmen

16 A Carrier Strike Group Staff Judge Advocate

18 Marine National Monuments

20 Student Loan Relief

21 Part Four of a User’s Guide to E-Mail

22 Government Ethics: 

Meet a few reserve judge advocates that happen to be subject matter experts

Features 

20

INSIDE JAG

10

5

11
JAG

On the Front Cover

Regular Columns

Fleet News ............................................................................................24

Shipmate Spotlight ..............................................................................31 

Book Review: The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial ........................32 

JAG Corps 2020 ...................................................................................34

JAG Corps Civilians ...........................................................................36

JAG Corps Alumni .............................................................................37

Milestones ............................................................................................38

Photos from the Fleet ..........................................................................39

CDR Jon Peppetti 

aboard USS Enterprise 

(CVN 65). Find out 

what CDR Peppetti 

believes to be the best 

job in the JAG Corps 

on page 16.

Region Liaisons

Naval Justice School 

Capt Jon Nelson, USMC

Naval Legal Service Office North Central

Region Legal Service Office NDW

LT Paul Jenkins

Naval Legal Service Office EURSWA

LCDR Vaughn Spencer

Region Legal Service Office EURSWA

LT Janelle Kuroda

Naval Legal Service Office

Region Legal Service Office pacific yokosuka

LCDR Vaughn Spencer

Region Legal Service Office Hawaii

LN1 James Hills

Naval Legal Service Office Central

LT Jason Ayeroff

Region Legal Service Office Midwest

LCDR Paul Kapfer

Naval Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic

LTJG Kristen Anastos

Region Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic

LTJG Chris Fletcher

NAVAL LEGAL SERVICE OFFICE Northwest

LT Nick DeHollan

Region Legal Service Office Northwest

LT Darcy Utter

Naval Legal Service Office Southwest

LN1 Abigail Allen

Region Legal Service Office Southeast

LN1 Lourdie Powell

Naval Legal Service Office southwest

LT Andrea Leahy

Region Legal Service Office Southwest

LTJG Jennifer Myers

The JAG Magazine is an authorized publication for members 

of the Department of Defense. Comments are not necessarily 

endorsed by the U.S. Government, DOD, or U.S. Navy. This 

magazine is prepared by the Public Affairs staff of the Office 

of the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. 

Address changes and submissions may be sent by e-mail 

to Ms. Natalie Morehouse at natalie.morehouse@navy.mil 

or by mail to: Office of the Judge Advocate General of the 

Navy; 1322 Patterson Avenue, SE, Building 33, Suite 3000; 

Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5066. Telephone inquiries 

should be made to (202) 685-5394.

Judge Advocate General

Vice Admiral James W. Houck 

Deputy Judge Advocate General,

Commander, Naval Legal Service Command

Rear Admiral Nanette M. DeRenzi

Deputy Judge Advocate General,

Reserve affairs & Operations

Deputy Commander, Naval Legal service command

Rear Admiral Steven M. Talson

Command Master Chief,

Office of The judge advocate general,

Naval Legal Service Command

Master Chief Christopher Browning

Reserve Command Master Chief, 

Office of The judge advocate general,

Naval Legal Service Command

Master Chief Jeffrey N. Luthi

Editorial Board

LCDR Marc Brewen 

LCDR Anne Marks 

LCDR Kim McCann

LT Heather Cassidy

LT Sarah Harris

LT David Fink 

LT Dave Lee 

LT Greg Manz 

LT Dave Shull

Public Affairs Officer

Ms. Jen Zeldis

Deputy Public Affairs Officer

Ms. Natalie Morehouse
4

JAMES W. HOUCK

Vice Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy

The Judge Advocate General

Deputy Judge Advocate General for Reserve Affairs and Operations

I

n my first opportunity to address readers of this magazine, I would like to 

start by thanking all of you for the hard 

work and sacrifice that you put forth daily 

to ensure mission accomplishment. I said 

it in my assumption of office statement, 

and it is one of my guiding principles; it is 

truly an honor and a privilege to serve with you. Thank 

you, and thanks to your families, for everything you do in 

support of our Navy and our country. 

As you may know, our total force transition continues, 

and following a series of Town Hall meetings with active 

and reserve units around the country, we have completed a 

draft of JAG Instruction 1001 (Reserve Component Judge 

Advocate Force Structure). This instruction sets forth 

the details of our new three-pillar construct for Reserve 

judge advocates, provides instruction on implementation, 

and gives guidance on all aspects of career management 

including recruiting, retention, promotion, and career progression. The details were presented at the Military Law 

Training Symposiums. Ultimately, the end product will be 

a total force that provides responsive operational support 

to the Navy, while also maintaining the ability to provide 

strategic augmentation.

STEVEN M. TALSON

Rear Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy

This is also an excellent forum to introduce two of our 

new key personnel. After six years of superior service 

as our law program manager, CAPT Joe Twining retired, 

and CAPT Janet Donovan assumed duty as our new law 

program manager, including serving as operational support officer and staff judge advocate to Commander Navy 

Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC) at the new headquarters in Norfolk. Our LN community also has new leadership in LNCM Jeffery Luthi, who relieved LNCM Tim 

Ayoub in January. Both CAPT Donovan and LNCM Luthi 

bring valuable experience and expertise to their jobs.

We have exciting and challenging work ahead of us in 

the coming years. In a knowledge-based community such 

as ours, it will always be the quality of the people and of 

the leadership that determines our success in meeting challenges. I am confident that we will succeed – we have good 

people, and we have a sound strategy to provide superior 

legal service to the Navy. That said, it is time to execute 

our plan, and that will be our focus over the next several 

years. 

Welcome to another edition of the JAGMAG. I have 

enjoyed watching this magazine grow and improve 

over the past three years and I look forward to many more 

outstanding issues in the days ahead. As I begin my tenure 

as the Judge Advocate General, I congratulate Jen Zeldis and 

Natalie Morehouse, as well as everyone else who works so 

hard to make this a success. 

On August 14, 2009, we said goodbye to a phenomenal 

judge advocate and leader in VADM Bruce MacDonald. We 

also welcomed RADM Nan DeRenzi to the ranks of our 

Corps’ senior leadership. Given this transition, it’s fitting 

that this edition of the JAGMAG features both officers. 

We offer a retrospective on the career and service of Bruce 

MacDonald, followed by an article from Nan DeRenzi 

giving her insider’s view of the rescue of three contractors 

during her recent tour as the staff judge advocate for U.S. 

Southern Command. 

In our cover story, CDR Jon Peppetti shares why he 

believes that being the staff judge advocate for a Carrier 

Strike Group is the best job in the Navy JAG Corps. 

Lieutenants Paige Ormiston and Candice Albright also 

describe their adventures at sea and in Iraq.

LCDR Tanya Cruz writes about student loan relief programs currently available to judge advocates. A majority of 

judge advocates enter the service 

with substantial student loan debt 

and we must continue to pursue 

ways to help. 

I would like to end by thanking 

all of you for the hard work and 

sacrifice that you put forth daily to 

ensure mission accomplishment. 

Our mission is clear, simple, and 

straightforward: to provide superb 

legal solutions to our clients, wherever and whenever they need us in the core areas they require 

– accountability, operations, Sailor legal readiness and Navy 

legal administration. You are doing this splendidly every 

day, all around the world. You have met and answered every 

call and you represent the very best our nation has to offer. 

Thank you for all you do. 
5

New Leadership Takes Helm of Navy 

Judge Advocate General’s Corps

Above: VADM Bruce MacDonald, RADM Nanette DeRenzi, and VADM 

James W. Houck at the swearing-in and promotion ceremony. 

Below: Secretary of the Navy, the Hon. Ray Mabus took a moment before 

the swearing-in and promotion ceremony to speak with VADM Houck and 

RADM DeRenzi.

By Navy Judge Advocate General Public Affairs

The U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps 

held a change of office ceremony on Aug. 14, at the 

Washington Navy Yard.

During the traditional change of office ceremony, presided 

over by the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus, 

VADM Bruce MacDonald retired and was relieved by VADM 

James Houck who became the 41st Judge Advocate General 

of the Navy. RADM Nanette DeRenzi became Deputy Judge 

Advocate General and Commander, Naval Legal Service 

Command. ADM Gary Roughead, 

the Chief of Naval Operations, also 

participated in the ceremony.

Secretary Mabus thanked VADM 

MacDonald for his service and his 

leadership.

“Admiral MacDonald has 

ensured an enduring legacy of 

greatness for the next generation. 

By spearheading JAG Corps 

2020, Admiral MacDonald has 

put the JAG Corps on the right 

trajectory to best meet the 

needs of naval, joint, and 

combined forces far into 

the future,” said Secretary 

Mabus. “He set the tone 

of our legal community 

while deftly managing a 

diverse and challenging 

portfolio of complex legal 

questions and innovating 

to ensure the Navy’s legal 

needs will be met for the 

next generation.”

VADM MacDonald was 

the first Judge Advocate 

General of the Navy to serve as 

a three-star admiral. The 2008 

National Defense Authorization 

Act elevated the Judge Advocates General of the Navy, Army, 

and Air Force to the rank of Vice Admiral or Lieutenant General. 

During his speech, VADM MacDonald addressed the men and 

women of the JAG Corps. 

“In so many ways and in so many different places around 

the world, you have played a key role in ensuring the advance 

of freedom and democracy grounded in the rule of law,” said 

VADM MacDonald. “All of you, active and reserve, military 

and civilian, played a part and I am immensely proud of you for 

having done so.”

During his speech, VADM Houck reaffirmed the JAG Corps’ 

commitment to finding solutions through the legal process to the 

challenges presented to the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint forces 

wherever and whenever required.

“Our Navy and our Nation have given us a great trust and 

a great privilege,” said VADM Houck. “We will exhaust our 

imagination and our energy to find every possible way for you 

[the military client] to find the legal and 

ethical way to do what you must 

do to defend our country.”

RADM DeRenzi was promoted prior to the ceremony to 

the rank of Rear Admiral (Upper 

Half). 

“As we move forward 

together, let us strive each day to 

make a difference. Let us always 

remember why we are here, and 

let us never forget whom we 

serve,” said RADM DeRenzi. 

“Where we are needed is 

where we will go - doing whatever it takes to provide superb 

legal solutions to our commanders; to make our forces 

legally ready; to be a resource 

for their families whenever 

they need us; and to maintain 

a second-to-none military justice system.”

The Judge Advocate 

General of the Navy provides 

legal and policy advice to the 

Secretary of the Navy and 

the Chief of Naval Operations 

on legal matters in the areas of 

military justice, administrative 

law, environmental law, ethics, 

claims, admiralty, operational and 

international law, national security litigation and intelligence 

law, general litigation, and legal assistance. The Judge Advocate 

General also directs a worldwide organization of 778 judge 

advocate officers, 18 limited duty officers (law), 434 enlisted 

legalmen, 431 civilian personnel, and 689 Naval Reserve Law 

Program officer and enlisted personnel.
6

Privileged to Lead

By Natalie Morehouse

Public Affairs Officer

8 Principles of Leadership

(1) To know your character. If I follow you will I know who you really are? Will you 

deal with me with integrity?

(2) That you’ll take the time to explain your vision. What’s the future and where do 

I fit? Is there a place for me or will you simply “use” me?

(3) To never be left in isolation. Will you be there for me? Will you care for me? 

Will you care about my needs?

(4) To be heard. To whom will you listen? When you’re busy and overloaded will I 

still be heard, taken seriously and appreciated?

(5) To be trusted. Can I take initiative without fear? Will my ideas be rewarded and 

encouraged or will I be regarded with suspicion and distanced?

(6) To be given an opportunity to grow. Will I be encouraged to be a lifelong 

learner? Will my gifts be increasingly identified and expressed? Will I be developed?

(7) To be held accountable. Will I be fairly evaluated for my performance? Will I be 

held to the highest standards for my life? Will you show me how to do it better and be 

patient while I learn and self-correct?

(8) To be the object of grace. Will I be forgiven even in the face of shortcomings, 

inadequacies and failure? Will I be led with kindness?

As he reached into a full but amazingly neat black 

leather organizer, VADM Bruce MacDonald took 

out a laminated, small, white card featuring his 

“eight principles” of leadership. 

Without even looking at the words on the card, VADM 

MacDonald began to rattle off first one, then another and another 

of the principles he lives and leads by. Each and every 

“principle” he recited was delivered 

with the same amount of reverence 

and sincerity. 

“Being a leader isn’t about you -- 

it is all about the people you lead,” 

said VADM MacDonald in a recent 

interview prior to his retirement. “A 

leader should never lose sight of the 

privilege. Understand that at the end 

of the day it’s about the relationships 

you build with people. The moment 

it becomes about you, you have lost.” 

As a junior lieutenant, VADM 

MacDonald learned an important 

leadership lesson that has stayed with him through his entire 

career. His first ship was the USS Hepburn (FF 1055), where 

he served as the main propulsion assistant and navigator under 

the mentorship of commanding officer CAPT Pete Soveral. To 

VADM MacDonald, CAPT Soveral was the quintessential sea 

captain. Standing over six feet tall and with full beard, CAPT 

Soveral looked the part. VADM MacDonald fondly remembers 

CAPT Soveral as the best shiphandler he had ever seen, better 

than any pilot that came aboard. 

As navigator, one of VADM MacDonald’s duties was to chart 

the course for the ship. This track was then approved by the 

commanding officer. During one evening’s routine, VADM 

MacDonald modified the track after it was approved by CAPT 

Soveral. An unexpected turn during the night awoke CAPT 

Soveral and he knew the course had been changed. VADM 

MacDonald was summoned to the bridge. With a fatherly tone, 

CAPT Soveral explained the danger of the course deviation. 

“That evening, he taught me what it meant to lead with grace 

and patience,” recalled VADM MacDonald. “He showed me 

that people make mistakes and it’s important to point those mistakes out and help them learn from them. CAPT Pete Soveral 

was the finest leader I’ve ever known. He was a man of unbelievable character and competence.” 

As the JAG, VADM MacDonald practiced “covenant leadership,” a phrase often used by former Chief of Naval Operations 

ADM Vern Clark. VADM MacDonald made it a personal goal 

to always have an open dialogue with the entire community -- 

officers and enlisted, reserve and active duty, civilians, retirees 

and family members. 

Changes of a career

The Navy VADM MacDonald now leaves behind is a very 

different institution than the one he joined in the late 1970s. Over 

the past thirty years, VADM MacDonald observed a renewed 

culture of pride and professionalism. The JAG Corps has also 

undergone tremendous changes during his career. According 

to VADM MacDonald, the JAG 

practice is becoming increasingly 

diverse and legal expertise is more 

valued than ever before.

Without question, the greatest 

highlight from VADM MacDonald’s three year tenure was the publication and execution of the JAG 

Corps’ strategic plan, JAG Corps 

2020. But the publication of that 

document was just the beginning. 

The initiatives JAG Corps 2020 

launched are now benefiting judge 

advocates and military commanders and Sailors around the world, 

through improved legal services. 

What really makes VADM MacDonald proud about the 

impact of JAG Corps 2020 is that, “Our people believe that we 

are serious about the future. We have already accomplished several milestones in the transformation process and there are many 

more to come” VADM MacDonald explained.

Some of the most publicized changes during VADM MacDonald’s tenure were the creation of new opportunities in education and training for members of the legal community. These 

included college credits for legalman training, increased opportunities for postgraduate education for judge advocates, and 

publication of a JAG instruction on Civilian Education, Training, and Career Development.

 “It is vital for service to the Navy and the Nation that we 

invest in education and training opportunities for our entire community, provide planned career development, and ensure that all 

are afforded the opportunity to acquire the career-field expertise,” said VADM MacDonald. 

JAG Corps deployments

VADM MacDonald served as the JAG during a time when 

our Nation has been fighting two wars and judge advocates and 

legalmen have been called upon to serve in overseas contingency 

operations. VADM MacDonald is no stranger to conflict. When 

Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait during Operation Desert 

Shield in 1990, VADM MacDonald was the USS Independence

(CV 62) Command Judge Advocate. The Independence was the 
7

Former Navy Judge Advocate General VADM Bruce MacDonald testified with Defense Department General Counsel 

Jeh Johnson (C) and Assistant Attorney General David Kris of the Justice Department’s National Security Division 

before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. The full committee met to hear testimony on military commissions and the trial of detainees for violations of the law of war. (Photo by Win McNamee/

Getty Images) 

first carrier to enter the Arabian Gulf 

since 1974. When the ship’s crew 

received the announcement that 

Iraq had invaded Kuwait and they 

would be moving into the Gulf, the 

mood onboard the carrier changed 

and every Sailor felt the gravity of 

the situation. 

Several weeks later, onboard 

Independence, VADM MacDonald 

received a video from his wife and 

daughter in a care package. The 

video showed his family at the beach 

enjoying a picnic with a group of 

friends. While watching the fun and 

laughter, he realized that this was 

what his mission was all about. He 

was in a combat zone so his family 

and friends could remain safe. At 

home, his family and the American 

public could go on with their lives 

without fear because of the men and 

women on the front lines. 

With this memory in mind, 

VADM MacDonald feels great 

responsibility and never forgets 

those deployed members of the JAG 

Corps. With more than 150 members of the JAG Corps deployed at 

any one time, VADM MacDonald 

knows the strain on the families and 

the Corps. They are in his mind 

every day.

Full circle

VADM MacDonald began his tenure as JAG on Friday, 

July 28, 2006. The following Wednesday he was called 

to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the 

United States’ authority to prosecute terrorists. With the 

support of many members of the JAG Corps, and the other 

service JAGs, this congressional testimony set the tone in 

2006 for the next three years. In perfect symmetry, in his last 

few weeks as the JAG he again testified before the Senate 

and the House Armed Service Committees about military 

commissions. 

Now that his tenure as JAG has ended, VADM MacDonald 

has one last piece of advice for his beloved JAG Corps. 

“Your clients depend upon you more every day for advice 

and guidance,” said VADM MacDonald. “Your relationships 

with the people you serve should be your highest concern. 

That’s the most important thing, and you should never, ever 

lose sight of that. Never forget that behind every piece of 

paper that we as lawyers, paralegals, and civilians touch, is a 

human face and family. It will motivate you to do your best 

every day.” 

As for where the JAG Corps is heading, VADM 

MacDonald could not be happier with VADM Jim Houck and 

RADM Nan DeRenzi taking the helm, and he is confident that 

transformation will continue. 

“Their passion, their vision, their dedication to you is without 

equal,” said VADM MacDonald. “Our JAG Corps is blessed 

to have these exceptional officers serving in critical leadership 

positions. They are committed to the many transformation 

initiatives already underway in our community.”

Seattle sunset

After khakis are no longer the uniform of the day, VADM 

MacDonald and his wife plan to return to Seattle where they 

have a home. VADM MacDonald is thankful and honored by 

the support from his wife Karen and daughter Erin and what 

they did without so he could serve. He also believes that 

military families should be recognized in their own right for 

supporting their Navy and our Nation.

“I do not believe a service member can be successful 

without the support and sacrifice of the family,” said VADM 

MacDonald. “I have always believed the American people may 

not truly understand what the families give up.” 

The JAG Corps wishes the entire MacDonald family, “fair 

winds and following seas.”
8

The Region Legal Service Office Midwest (RLSO) 

Lean Six Sigma (L6S) project began in February 

2008 and has continued to pay dividends. At the 

urging of CAPT Tammy Tideswell, commanding officer, 

RLSO Midwest, the RLSO decided to try to speed up the 

process of administrative separations (ADSEPs) at Recruit 

Training Command (RTC). Process improvement at RTC 

was important for two reasons. First, faster ADSEPs could 

save the Navy $150 every day by eliminating the cost of 

feeding and housing each separating recruit. Second, with 

recruits spending less time in the separation process, the 

RTC separations barracks known as USS Mason would be 

less crowded and prone to disciplinary problems, parental 

complaints, congressional 

inquiries, and the like. 

RLSO Midwest created 

a team and mapped the 

process, in preparation for a 

visit from Mr. Bill Whitacre, 

OJAG’s L6S expert Black 

Belt. 

Three days later, the L6S 

team had a plan. “Essentially, 

we addressed the biggest delay in the process, which 

happens when a recruit has been removed from training 

and transferred to the USS Mason because of a medical 

problem,” says LCDR Paul Kapfer, RLSO Midwest’s 

executive officer and, at the time, the RTC legal department 

head. The solution was a “Just-Do-It Improvement” in L6S 

parlance, because it was based on an inefficiency found in 

the initial Value Stream (process) Map. No further study or 

metrics were needed. 

The legal department asked RTC to assign a USS Mason 

staff member as an ADSEP liaison, in order to improve 

the transfer of medical paperwork to the legal department. 

Paperwork would be retrieved from medical by hand if 

necessary, allowing legal to start the ADSEP process the 

same day a recruit was transferred out of training. Recruit 

medical history documents would be sought only if the 

legalman assigned to the case recommended processing 

for fraudulent, rather than erroneous, enlistment. These 

changes shaved 1.3 days off of the average time it takes to 

complete an ADSEP. 

When LCDR John Clady arrived as RTC department 

head, he put L6S to work as well. Using the same Value 

Stream Map, LCDR Clady 

implemented a “just in time” 

method for assigning cases to 

the department’s team of crack 

legalmen. Because each legalman 

conducts a live, classroom briefing in 

which the recruits complete their ADSEP 

notification documents, typically 25-30 cases would start 

the process at once. According to LCDR Clady, “If we 

had 15 cases come in, we would hold those 15 until we had 

enough to assign 25-30 cases to the legalman. Sometimes, 

this caused a backup on the front end of the process.” 

All told, RLSO Midwest L6S improvements have 

reduced average ADSEP processing times by 1.75 days 

per recruit. “It is very safe to say that RLSO Midwest is 

saving the Navy over a million dollars a year using this new 

ADSEP process at RTC,” said LCDR Kapfer. The local 

PSD, which used to issue 

no more than 25 DD-214 

discharge forms per day, is 

now committed to handling 

as many cases as possible. 

“If we have 60 cases to send 

to PSD, we send them, and 

PSD separates them that 

day or as soon as it can,” 

said LCDR Clady. 

LCDR Clady also held a meeting with ADSEP process 

stakeholders from RTC’s Military Training Department, 

Medical, Mental Health, and PSD. This discussion 

convinced RTC to make its recently-staffed ADSEP liaison 

position permanent, ensuring that on the same day a recruit 

checked into USS Mason, his or her file was transferred to 

legal. The discussion impressed upon all stakeholders the 

importance of their respective roles in keeping processing 

times down. 

Further efficiency gains will be possible if CMTIS 2.0 

can link to the mail-merge and spreadsheet capabilities that 

are critical to tracking and generating ADSEP paperwork. 

“Currently,” said LN1 Amanda Whaley, the ADSEPs 

local processing official (LPO) who drafted the initial 

Value Stream Map, “we have to maintain a case tracker 

using a spreadsheet program, then enter every recruit’s 

information into [Microsoft] Access to generate the 

Letters of Notification and Letters of Transmittal.” If both 

functions could be linked from CMTIS, current LPO LN1 

Tiffany Zandstra thinks she could cut ADSEP processing 

times by another 10-20 percent. OJAG CMTIS gurus are 

hard at work on just these kinds of improvements. 

RLSO Midwest Gets Million-Dollar 

Results With Lean Six Sigma

“It is very safe to say that RLSO 

Midwest is saving the Navy over a 

million dollars a year using this new 

ADSEP process at RTC.” 

By Natalie Morehouse

Deputy Public Affairs Officer
9

Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes 

were Northrop-Grumman contractors working for 

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). They 

were part of a team of pilots, spotters, and communicators who 

flew across Colombia to find coca fields, the primary source 

of revenue for the narco-terrorist group, Fuerzas Armadas 

Revolucionarias de Colombia, more commonly known as 

the FARC. The FARC is engaged in Latin America’s largest 

insurgency and has waged war on the Colombian government 

for over 40 years, funding themselves with the narcotics 

trafficking trade. Their tactics include bombings, murder, 

mortar attacks, kidnapping, extortion, and hijacking, as well as 

guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian 

political, military, and economic targets. Since the late 1990s, 

the U.S. has stood with the democratically elected government 

of Colombia against the FARC. Most U.S. aid came under a 

program called “Plan Colombia,” which over a 10-year period 

sent $6 billion and maintained about 600 advisors to help train 

the Colombian military. At its peak, the FARC counted 20,000+ 

men and women under arms. Today, the FARC numbers about 

8,000 and holds over 700 hostages. 

On February 13, 2003, Marc, Keith, and Tom were on a 

routine mission when their plane experienced engine failure 

and crash-landed. FARC members executed the U.S. pilot, Tom 

Janis, and the Colombian rider, Sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, 

near the crash site; Marc, Keith, and Tom began what would 

become over five years of captivity deep in the dense jungles 

of Colombia. They, along with Colombian military members 

and political figures, were deemed “high value” prisoners and 

the FARC command gave orders to the guards to murder Marc, 

Keith, and Tom at the first sign of a rescue attempt. And so 

began “Operation Willing Spirit.” 

For the next five and a half years, finding these three men 

was a top priority for SOUTHCOM. We expended over $250 

million, 17,000 flight hours, 3,600 air sorties, and undertook 

countless operations searching for them in the triple-canopy 

jungle. Dozens of military and civilian attorneys were deeply 

involved in planning and execution. The FARC provided a 

“proof of life” video in 2003, and late in 2007 a videotape seized 

from FARC operatives showed our U.S. hostages alive. A team 

from SOUTHCOM and the U.S. Embassy in Colombia worked 

to expand coordination, integration, and cooperation with our 

interagency partners. Finally, in January 2008, we located Marc, 

Keith, Tom and other high value prisoners and tracked their 

movements for several weeks. Working with the Colombians, 

we formulated a plan designed to maximize the chance for a successful rescue, but we lost the trail in March. On July 2, 2008, 

the Colombian military staged a brilliant rescue. Exploiting the 

FARC’s communications system, they convinced the FARC to 

turn Marc, Keith, and Tom and several high-value Colombian 

hostages over to a group of Colombian military disguised as 

members of an international organization. Not a single shot was 

fired. We monitored the operation and I will never forget the 

relief, joy, and tears that flooded our watch center when word 

was passed that our three hostages were among those rescued.

Marc, Keith, and Tom, along with some family members, 

came to Miami on March 12 to receive the Defense of Freedom 

Medal, given to civilians to recognize their sacrifices in the line 

of duty - equivalent to the Purple Heart for active duty military. 

I will never know a happier day from a career standpoint. They 

gave a revealing presentation to a packed house, met at length 

with our planning team that worked so hard last year, and signed 

countless copies of their book, “Out of Captivity”. Finally, after 

a wonderful and very moving morning, we enjoyed a picnic in 

the Miami sunshine, complete with burgers, beer, and SOUTHCOM’s rock band, “Southern Sounds.” It was incredible to see 

Marc, Keith, and Tom laughing and crying with us, trading stories, posing for pictures, and simply having a blast. Frankly, I 

just could not stop looking at them. It was hard to believe they 

were actually home and that exactly one year earlier we were so 

thoroughly dejected after finally locating them and then failing 

to get them back. In many ways their survival and rescue was a 

miracle, and LtCol Dan Kazmier and I were lucky enough to be 

the attorneys on deck for the most intense periods of Operation 

Willing Spirit and the emotional reunion with our three shipmates. 

I’ll always keep my picture with Marc, Keith, and Tom on 

my desk as a reminder that no matter what job a JAG may hold, 

there’s a person at the other end for whom you are making a 

difference.

Pictured from left are Tom Howes, RADM Nan DeRenzi, Keith Stansell, LtCol Dan Kazmier (Southern Command operational law attorney), and Marc Gonsalves.

Operation Willing Spirit

By RADM Nan DeRenzi

Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Southern Command

June 2007-June 2009
10

We’ve all heard the phrase “Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea.” As a carrier 

JAG, you’ll have the opportunity to see 

exactly why that statement is true.

The title varies from ship to ship, but 

whether called the Mini Judge, the Lego, 

or the Disco, as the Assistant Command 

Judge Advocate (ACJA) onboard a carrier, these attorneys are primarily responsible for managing the discipline program 

onboard the ship. In addition, ACJAs run 

the customs program for the entire Strike 

Group, provide legal assistance for the 

crew, run the tax program, administer the 

liberty risk program during foreign port 

calls, act as legal’s division officer, stand 

watch, and provide support to the Air 

Wing legal officers. ACJAs have more 

one-on-one access to the commanding 

officer and executive officer than almost 

any other junior officer onboard, and the 

leadership relies on the ACJA to give 

timely and accurate advice on a wide 

range of issues. 

I arrived at the right time, just after 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) came 

out of nine months in the shipyard. Workups gave me the opportunity to learn my 

By LT Paige Ormiston

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)

The Thrill of Sea Duty

job and how the ship works while everyone else onboard re-learned their jobs 

and shook off the cobwebs. After flying 

aboard via the Carrier Onboard Delivery 

(COD), which is the coolest way to arrive 

for a first day of work, the legalmen and 

my boss (the Judge) helped me settle in. 

After the first 24 hours, I was thrilled to be 

able to make my way from my stateroom, 

to the head, my office, and the wardroom 

without consulting my written directions. 

Reliably finding anything else onboard 

took a few more days. Our Strike Group 

JAG also welcomed me aboard and gave 

me a tour of the flag spaces. We had a 

port call in Victoria, British Columbia 

about 10 days after I arrived, which was a 

great opportunity to get together with the 

local Canadian JAG. 

The adventure factor of this job is off 

the charts. I’ve flown in the COD, an 

MH-53, and an SH-60 and spent hours 

watching flight operations. I’ve ridden 

on foreign trains, buses, taxis, elephants, 

and camels. I’ve played golf and visited 

temples in Singapore, Dubai, and Thailand. The opportunity to see the world is 

why many of us joined the Navy. Getting off of the ship for a month of fun 

crammed into four days with my closest 

friends is one of the best parts of the job. 

For the first time in my career, the vast 

majority of my friends at the office aren’t 

JAGs, and thanks to them, I’ve received 

a crash course in what the rest of the 

Navy does.

Spotty connectivity while underway 

means that the ability to reach back to a 

Region Legal Service Office and fellow 

Minis is crucial. It was a pleasant surprise to find the network of 11 other 

people doing my job who are willing 

to reach out and help. It doesn’t matter 

if I need a quick sanity check or an in 

depth discussion of law and policy, my 

fellow Minis are ready to jump in with 

their opinions. Visiting other ships and 

meeting the other legal department staffs 

is a great time.

It’s not all fun and games though. On 

the average two year tour, ACJAs will be 

lucky to spend more nights in their own 

bed than on the ship. Carrier deployments 

are now regularly seven months long and 

usually include significant time in the 

Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. 

A carrier tour provides a real understanding of what life in the fleet is actually like. When I came back from a long 

deployment, I felt a mix of emotions. 

Happy to be home, proud to be part of 

the naval tradition, and grateful to have 

had the opportunity to represent the JAG 

Corps in the fleet. 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) 

Legal Staff: CDR Dom Flatt, LCDR 

Dave Peck, ABH3 Bruce Pagan, LN2 

Debra Bazan, LT Paige Ormiston, 

LN1 David Hunt, LN1 Gail Hill, LN1 

Paul Smith, LN1 Stacy Rouse, YNSN 

Brian Snipes, and NCIS Special 

Agent Mike Defamio.
11

JAGMAG: Could you tell us 

a little bit about your education, 

interests, and past work experiences? 

LNCM DiStefano: I was born 

in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (My 

Dad was in the Navy). I grew 

up in Lawrence, Massachusetts 

(a city about 25 miles north of 

Boston). I did pretty well in 

school through 8th grade and then 

my priorities shifted and I lost 

interest in school. I worked very 

hard at the jobs I had and really needed 

a challenge. I had thought about joining the Marine Corps but 

at the time, they weren’t accepting high school drop outs. I 

immediately went to the Navy recruiter after the Marines told 

me no and the rest is history. 

I actually didn’t finish high school. I quit in 9th grade and 

went back for a couple of months two years later and then left 

again. I joined the Navy in 1985 and received my GED in 

1987. As I look back on my career and my life, I realize every 

single day how important education was to me and should be 

to everyone. 

I had pretty good grades in school before I left. At the 

time, I would rather work and make money instead of going to 

school. I try really hard to make my children understand the 

importance of staying in school and working hard to achieve 

academic success through a normal school pattern. I have 

taken that approach with our legalmen as well. 

JAGMAG: What were some of your goals and ambitions as a young Sailor?

LNCM DiStefano: My first goal was to obtain my GED 

and I accomplished that goal within the first 18 months of 

my initial enlistment. College wasn’t on my mind at the 

time and I still regret not engaging in my college education 

early on in my Navy career. The rest of my goals centered 

Master Chief Stephen DiStefano

on advancement. I wanted to put myself in the best situation 

possible for advancement at every paygrade and never passed up 

an opportunity to promote. Whether it was studying obsessively 

before an advancement exam or seeking advice for future duty 

stations to better develop myself, that’s what I did.

JAGMAG: Why did you choose to join the legalman 

rating? 

LNCM DiStefano: I was looking for something different at 

the time – really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I knew I 

wanted something that would be more specialized than yeoman.

JAGMAG: Besides your senior enlisted leadership, did 

you have any officers who helped mold you? 

LNCM DiStefano: I have had an opportunity to work with 

some great officers during the past 24 years. My commanding 

officer onboard USS Kearsarge was probably the most influential leader I have seen in the Navy. To lead a warship with 1,300 

Sailors onboard may be one of the most challenging leadership 

positions in the Navy. I watched his leadership from a very close 

perspective and appreciated the way he let his Sailors do the job. 

Amazing!

JAGMAG: What do you consider to be some of the 

highlights of your time as command master chief?

LNCM DiStefano: Clearly, the three trips to the Middle 

East to see our attorneys and legalmen on the front lines in 

roles we have never been in before is a highlight that I play 

over and over in my head. To perform at a high level in those 

conditions is a true test of where we are as a community today. 

Education: the complete transformation of our Naval 

Justice School in the way we train our legalmen today. We 

have taken a giant step forward in our goal to become highly 

skilled paralegals within the Navy, a status that was never 

envisioned in the past. Most importantly, we are providing 

our Sailors with an opportunity to take professionally related 

college courses in their accession course, making us the only 

school in the Navy to do so.

Another highlight would be the way we have transformed 

our Legalman of the Year and NLSC Sailor of the Year activities 

A Conversation with

LNCM Stephen DiStefano & 

LNCM Christopher Browning

Master Chiefs Stephen DiStefano and Christopher Browning sat down with the JAG Magazine staff to talk 

about their military careers and about the great honor and responsibilities that go along with the position of 

Command Master Chief. 

Command Master Chief continued on page 12
12

Command Master Chief continued from page 11

here at Headquarters. We have made this an event that is 

special to our deserving top performers and to hear their 

positive feedback about their experiences from the week has 

been very rewarding for us as a staff here at OJAG.

JAGMAG: During your time as the Command Master 

Chief, you have traveled all over the world. Why were 

those visits important to you?

LNCM DiStefano: I have been around the world four or 

five times since 2004 and my visits with our legalmen have 

always been special. Time and time again, I am amazed 

at their dedication and professionalism. They are the Sailors who get the work done each and every day; they are the 

Sailors on the front lines taking care of Sailors and Marines 

and their families; they are the Sailors who put other Sailors’ 

needs before their own. 

To be able to sit down with our legalmen and talk to them 

about where the community is headed thanks to their extraordinary efforts is truly rewarding. 

JAGMAG: What are some examples of the way you 

implemented initiatives from JAG Corps 2020?

LNCM DiStefano: The timing couldn’t have been any 

better for the LN community. The JAG Corps leadership 

gave us the opportunity to complete a top-down review of an 

enlisted community on the brink of extinction. A chance to 

look at what we brought to the table and what improvements 

were needed to bring value to the JAG Corps and the Navy. 

What we envisioned was a highly skilled and educated paralegal; able to extend the arm of the JAG Corps in the fleet. 

We also established a lifelong career professional development plan for every legalman in the Navy. To accomplish this, 

we created the LN Learning and Development Roadmap, LN 

PQS, and a standardized training plan. The Roadmap was a 

template used by the Navy for all Navy ratings going forward.

JAG Corps 2020 has come early for the LN community as 

most of the initiatives that we envisioned are already in place in 

just four years. 

JAGMAG: Would you like to offer any advice to people 

wanting to make a career as a Navy Paralegal? 

LNCM DiStefano: The legalman community has an 

extremely bright future going forward. Anyone interested in 

education, professional development and an opportunity to 

immerse themselves in the Navy’s military justice system 

would be best suited for conversion into the legalman rating. 

JAGMAG: What does the future hold for you? Any 

exciting plans? 

LNCM DiStefano: My plans right now will be to re-connect with family first and then seek employment (not sure what 

just yet). I intend on staying involved with the LN community 

and will assume responsibilities as the National Federation of 

Paralegal Association Armed Forces Coordinator when I retire.

away from earning my Associates 

degree in Paralegal Studies. In my 

early Navy days, I was one of those 

Sailors who figured I had a great job 

and didn’t need a college degree. I’ve 

since realized the importance of higher 

education and the role it has played in 

developing me, both personally and 

professionally. 

As far as personal interests, I am 

an avid woodworker and I’m also a 

major sports fan: football, baseball and 

basketball - although mainly the NFL.

JAGMAG: How many years have 

you been in the Navy and how many as a Navy legalman? 

LNCM Browning: I went over 21 years of service in 

December 2008. I’ve been a legalman for 18 years now. I 

graduated with Honors from Naval Justice School in March 

1991. There are only two other people from my class still 

serving on active duty. 

JAGMAG: Why did you choose to become a Navy 

legalman? 

LNCM Browning: I chose to become a legalman for 

two reasons: promotion opportunity and marketable skills. 

Yes, even in 1990 as a 22 year-old I was concerned about 

JAGMAG: Where are you originally from? 

LNCM Browning: I was born in Downey, 

California, which is a suburb of Los Angeles. I 

spent a majority of my childhood growing up in 

Ogden, Utah, which is a town north of Salt Lake 

City. Although I won’t end up back there when 

I retire from the Navy, the skiing is great and it’s 

a fun place to visit.

JAGMAG: Could you tell us a little bit 

about yourself - your education, interests, 

and past work experiences? 

LNCM Browning: Prior to joining the Navy, 

I puttered around with jobs in my hometown. I 

worked for Burger King, I bagged groceries, 

and I delivered dairy products for a local dairy company. I 

desired to do something more with my life; something better. 

I have an uncle who served 22 years in the Navy and retired as 

a senior chief in the mid-1980s. After speaking with him on 

the phone one day, he convinced me that a career in the Navy 

was worth a shot. After enlisting, I intended to serve my four 

years and return to civilian life. Well, during that four years, 

“life happened.” I met and fell in love with my wife, Wendi. 

I knew after that first reenlistment at the four-year point that 

I was a “lifer.” I’ve never once regretted making the Navy 

a career. Regarding education, I’m presently three classes 

Master Chief Christopher Browning 
13

promotion. I worked for a YN2 who got me interested in 

the LN and Intelligence Specialist (IS) ratings. I quickly 

realized that the IS job skills were not very marketable 

in the civilian sector, so I chose LN. I was quickly 

approved for conversion, and chose my first set of orders 

to Naval Legal Service Office Puget Sound (now NLSO 

Northwest) in Bremerton, Washington, where I worked 

in trial, defense, legal assistance, and claims during that 

three-year tour.

JAGMAG: What would you say makes you uniquely 

qualified for your line of work? 

LNCM Browning: I have progressed through the 

enlisted ranks as a legalman from the time I was a junior 

third class petty officer. I have served in every setting a 

legalman can experience, and pride myself in maintaining 

the highest level of subject matter expertise in the military 

paralegal field. Most importantly, I learned the art of 

effective leadership while serving with great officers 

and senior enlisted personnel in JAG Corps and fleet 

commands throughout my career. To those who helped 

me grow and develop as a leader, I am forever grateful. 

Over 10 years of my career have been spent in operational 

or independent duty assignments with USS Nimitz (CVN 

68), USS Sacramento (AOE 1), Fleet Air Reconnaissance 

Squadron ONE (VQ 1) and the Submarine Force at 

NAVSUBSUPPFAC New London. Combining subject 

matter expertise with the fleet experience I’ve gained 

serving in the surface, air, and submarine communities has 

given me a unique perspective on all we do as legalmen 

in the Navy.

JAGMAG: Would you like to offer any advice to 

people wanting to make a career as a Navy legalman? 

LNCM Browning: It’s a great time to be a Navy 

legalman. We continue recruiting the best and brightest 

Sailors available. To date, we have sent 114 new LNs to 

the fleet since beginning the new version of the Legalman 

Accession course. These legalmen represent the finest 

young men and women our country has to offer, and 

they are being well received by our senior LNs and JAG 

officers, who continue to develop them into the competent 

technicians we need in order to support JAG Corps 2020. 

Our manning is quickly approaching healthy levels again 

for the first time in over five years, yet promotions remain 

fairly strong across all paygrades. The education we provide 

our enlisted force is second to no other rating in the Navy. 

We are on the cutting edge of combining higher education 

with military training in order to achieve a force of legal 

professionals like no armed service has ever known. The 

legalman force of the future will 

be unlimited in their ability to 

integrate with JAG attorneys 

and carry out any mission 

required of a certified 

paralegal.

JAGMAG: Besides your senior enlisted 

leadership, did you have any officers who helped 

mold you? 

LNCM Browning: Yes, I did have some great naval officers who influenced me along the way and developed me 

as a leader, including VADM Bruce MacDonald, RADM 

Jamie Kelly, RDML(Ret.) Hank Molinengo, CAPT Mike 

Boock, CAPT Denise Stich and CDR Lisa Sullivan, all of 

whom I served with at various NLSC and fleet commands.

JAGMAG: Can you tell us a little bit about your 

leadership style? 

LNCM Browning: What you see is what you get. I’m 

very focused on communication up and down the chain 

of command. Since I represent our Navy’s legalmen, 

I will do my best to be “full disclosure” about matters 

that impact our community. That said, I expect the same 

in return. I ask our LNs to work on communication, up 

and down the chain of command. I want to empower 

leadership and vision down through our first class petty 

officers to our senior second class petty officers. If they’re 

up to the challenge, I will trust them to lead and verify 

their effectiveness. I will also task my leadership mess 

(all LNCMs and LNCSs, regardless of assignment) to run 

this community and I will consult them on matters which 

affect our progress and morale. Simply put, I view myself 

as the primary voice and supporter of our force, and will 

do everything possible to promote our professionalism 

and team success in every endeavor.

JAGMAG: What do you hope to accomplish during 

your time as Command Master Chief? 

LNCM Browning: During my tenure as the community 

CMC, I plan to get us back to basics on various issues such as 

communication, life balance, and professional excellence 

in all we do. I will build on the strong foundation left by 

LNCM DiStefano to educate our fine force of legalmen. 

Manning and billet structure is of concern to me. Are 

we manned properly in the right locations, and are the 

paralegal assets being properly utilized? That’s a task we 

are already working on. It will benefit productivity and 

geographic stability for all concerned. I have many more 

plans and initiatives I’d like to develop over time, and 

will speak about them soon.

“These legalmen represent the finest young men and women our country has 

to offer, and they are being well received by our senior LNs and JAG officers, 

who continue to develop them into the competent technicians we need in order 

to support JAG Corps 2020.” 
14

By LT Candice Albright

Region Legal Service Office Southeast

Operation Iraqi Freedom

I

am an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veteran! I am proud 

of my Individual Augmentee (IA) experience and for that 

reason, I happily agreed to share my experience. I volunteered with little understanding of the IA process. So, I write for 

those of you who are either admittedly or secretly as clueless as 

I was before I earned my OIF veteran’s cap.

I volunteered for a fiscal year 2008 IA billet at Task Force 

134 (TF-134). My first step in the pre-deployment preparation 

process was to complete the Expeditionary Combat Readiness 

Center (ECRC) checklist. The checklist required a full medical 

screening and immunizations, updated administrative information with PSD, and several NKO trainings. You must start the 

checklist early primarily to clear up any medical issues before 

you deploy. If you wait until the training pipeline begins, you 

run the risk of not having the time to correct any issues that could 

make you undeployable.

Upon entering the training pipeline, my first stop was a designated Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS). NMPS is a 

week-long course, the purpose of which is to ensure that sailors 

are medically and administratively ready to deploy. After clearing NMPS, I arrived at the Navy Individual Augmentee Combat 

Training (NIACT) location. The mission of NIACT is to get sailors combat ready. It is a three-week training session run by the 

Army. NIACT is best summed up as follows: learning to wear 

unbelievably heavy gear in the blazing sun, operating a humvee, 

and shooting an M-16 over and over again. Its ancillary mission: 

eating MREs, marching and standing in formation, and learning 

to be sweaty and dirty all the time like real soldiers. Though this 

may sound difficult or unappealing, I actually found it fun and 

exciting at times. 

“Arrival in theatre” always means the same thing for every IA 

deployer: arrival in Kuwait. Aside from administrative matters, 

the week-long stint in Kuwait puts our NIACT skills to use at the 

Udari Range and acclimatizes our bodies to the desert environment. We were in the desert for three days with no shower and 

ate nothing but MREs, but the training is important. While most 

deployers from our community will never experience anything 

close to combat or indirect-fire attacks, I recommend taking the 

training seriously and appreciating the sacrifice of others who 

keep you from actually having to use it.

Up until this point, the training process was basically the 

same for every IA deployer. But now training was over and 

from Kuwait we were deployed to our designated units within 

Iraq. At the time of my arrival at TF-134, the command needed a 

body at the Magistrate Cell (Mag Cell) located at Camp Cropper 

in Baghdad. Camp Cropper is a small FOB (forward operating 

base) on the western side of Baghdad. The FOB itself houses 

minimal facilities. This may seem unappealing to some, but I 

think the Mag Cell is the best-kept secret of TF-134.

The small size of Camp Cropper was advantageous because 

it made for short walks to and from work. Also, the people 

assigned to the Mag Cell had positive attitudes about deployment, which made it a great place to work. The people assigned 

to the Mag Cell were primarily Air Force and Navy, but Camp 

Cropper also housed some Marine liaisons not assigned to the 

Mag Cell itself. The primary mission of the Mag Cell is the 

review of detainee cases. After a detainee is taken into custody 

by Coalition Forces, the Mag Cell reviews each detainee file and 

ensures there is sufficient evidence for criminal prosecution. If 

not, a release recommendation is made. If there is sufficient evidence, then the detainee is placed in the pipeline for prosecution 

by the Iraqi courts. Other possible jobs at the Mag Cell include 

coordinating the detainee hearings as well as detainee assistance, 

both of which require working with the detainees on a daily 

basis. As you can imagine, that provides some very interesting 

and memorable experiences. 

The daily life of deployment at Camp Cropper is simple and 

enjoyable if one makes the most of it. Our working hours at the 

Mag Cell were usually twelve-hour shifts, one half day off per 

week, and one full day off each month. Despite long working 

hours, the command does a great job of planning social activities almost every week and we frequently ate lunch and dinner 

together. Many of us participated in several races, including halfmarathons, and we even started our own version of “Pain Before 

Breakfast,” much to the chagrin of our Air Force brethren. Quality of life is fairly normal, as PT time is allocated and internet is 

available at work and in the dorms. 

My orders to TF-134 were for 180 days “boots on ground” 

time. I left Iraq for the transition home around the 175-day 

mark. Fortunately, getting home is the easiest part of deployment 

because the Navy runs a very impressive transition program. 

As previously mentioned, every IA deployer flies in and out of 

Kuwait. On the way home, this is called the Warrior Transition 

Program (WTP). The purpose of WTP is mostly administrative, 

but also to ensure that each deployer is mentally and medically 

ready to return home. Of course, I find all of those things very 

important. However, the highlight of my WTP experience was 

returning all of the gear issued to me seven months earlier at 

LT Candice Albright with a Patriot Guard at her welcome home rally.

Operation Iraqi Freedom continued on page 15
15

NIACT. After we spent a few days in 

Kuwait, we departed theatre on the last 

day of our scheduled boots on ground 

time. From the time we left Kuwait to the 

time we arrived back in the U.S., almost 

48 hours had passed, which included little 

sleep and no time for a shower. However, 

I promise that you will not have a care in 

the world about your smelly breath and 

dirty clothes when you arrive home to 

your family’s smiling faces!

Overall, I found my IA deployment to 

be the most rewarding experience of my 

naval career thus far. Not only did I get 

to see a completely different part of the 

world, learn about a different culture, and 

experience the military in a completely 

different light, but I also met great people 

from all branches of the armed forces. 

Most importantly, though, no matter what 

your assigned job is in support of OIF/

OEF, if you deploy on an IA, you should 

take pride in the fact that you served your 

country. At the time I volunteered, I took 

the approach that it was “just my job” 

and I honestly thought the “pride” thing 

was a bit corny. However, after experiencing the appreciation and support of so 

many Americans during and after my 

deployment, I can’t help but feel proud 

because my service meant so much to 

them (who wouldn’t tear up when a 

hard-core biker hugs you and says, “I 

don’t care if you’re a lawyer, I thank 

you for your service and sacrifice.”) 

For all these reasons and many more, 

I highly recommend an IA deployment 

in support of OIF/OEF. I also hope this 

article helped some of you understand 

the IA process better before deciding 

whether to volunteer. 

“...after experiencing the appreciation and support of so many Americans 

during and after my deployment, I can’t help but feel proud because my 

service meant so much to them.”

Legal research is changing rapidly. During the past 

few years, legal publishing titans have merged, whole 

law libraries now fit onto CD-ROMs, and the ease of 

access to all written law and reference materials provided by 

the internet has made a tremendous impact on the practice of 

law. Researching with books from the law library is quickly 

becoming a thing of the past. Electronic legal research 

provides the user with a fast, comprehensive library that is 

accessible 24 hours per day and contains the most up-to-date 

law and references available. 

Many regard the internet as the largest library in the world. 

However, in order to make the internet work for you, you must 

have the ability to find what you are looking for. Conducting 

effective legal research is one of the professional cornerstones 

of a competent paralegal, yet the primary demands placed on 

most legalmen make it challenging to maintain proficiency in 

legal research. 

To assist in meeting the goal of community-wide proficiency 

in legal research, the Judge Advocate General has directed 

the creation of an advanced training program in electronic 

legal research. Partnering with the Lexis/Nexis Corporation, 

the Naval Justice School (NJS) is working to develop a legal 

research training continuum for all legalmen, regardless of 

billet or duty assignment. What does this mean to you as a 

legalman in the fleet? Whether you are assigned to a busy 

Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) or an aircraft carrier at 

sea, maintaining and honing your legal research skills is vital. 

Preserving the skills and competence to conduct quality and 

Electronic Legal Research

By LNC Renate Williams

Naval Education and Training Command

comprehensive legal research is necessary in each and 

every job we do as legalmen. Legal research skills are 

integral to conducting sound legal analysis, and to spotting 

the relevant issues. In litigation shops, when conducting 

legal research, legalmen should be searching for relevant 

cases and shepardizing them, in order to prepare motions for 

supervising judge advocates. Whether you are supporting 

a Naval Legal Service Office, Region Legal Service Office, 

or operational commander, you are expected to be able 

to dig into the heart of the issues at hand, analyze them, 

and provide a concise recommendation on how to apply a 

certain instruction, regulation, or statute. 

Electronic legal research for legalmen is an indispensable 

part of our job as paralegals within the JAG Corps. Our 

ability to research effectively and efficiently is also 

essential to the attorneys and commanding officers we 

support regardless of duty assignment. Electronic legal 

research fundamentals are at the core of what we do as Navy 

paralegals. The Legal Research Training Continuum, will 

ensure that legalmen throughout the fleet are trained and 

updated on the newest and most efficient ways to conduct 

legal research. 

The Legal Research Training Continuum is at the 

“tip of the spear” when it comes to training, and it will 

enhance our relevancy and the skill-sets we bring to the 

fleet. Our enhanced research abilities will also forge a 

stronger working dynamic between legalmen and judge 

advocates. The end result of our investment in training will 

be a smarter, more effective JAG Corps with legalmen who 

are more capable and marketable during their active duty 

service and beyond. 

Operation Iraqi Freedom continued from page 14
16

I

f you asked a group of senior judge advocates to name the 

best job they ever had in the Navy, chances are the answer 

you would hear most often is a Carrier Strike Group 

Staff Judge Advocate (SJA). After nearly two years as the 

Carrier Strike Group TWELVE SJA, I have to agree. What is 

it about this job that makes it so memorable and enjoyable? 

Plenty of SJA positions afford the opportunity to deal with 

sensitive and high visibility incidents, investigations, and 

personnel matters. Many SJAs advise flag officers. Some 

SJAs have the chance to deploy aboard a ship. But very 

few SJA jobs combine all of these aspects, and also require 

a judge advocate to play an operational role at the tactical 

level in a maritime environment. A Carrier Strike Group 

SJA must assume all of these duties and responsibilities, 

and therefore, in my opinion, the job is as professionally 

A Carrier Strike Group Staff Judge Advocate . . . 

The Best Job in the Navy JAG Corps

challenging and rewarding for a naval officer and attorney 

as any position the JAG Corps has to offer.

Unless you have prior military experience, being an 

operational judge advocate at the tactical level requires 

you to perform in situations never imaginable in law 

school. When I was in law school, I could easily see myself 

representing a client in court, but I never imagined that one 

day my client would be a Strike Group Commander facing 

a potentially hostile adversary in the Arabian Gulf. Serving 

alongside your client in an operational context puts you in 

the middle of the action with a central role to play in the 

outcome of events. The rules of engagement (ROE) may be 

drafted by higher authorities, but you never fully understand 

the intricacies of ROE until you are involved with their 

application in an operational environment. At the tactical 

level, the Carrier Strike Group SJA is in the “hot seat” 

advising warfighters who must make split-second decisions. 

Even though you may never sit in the cockpit of an F/A-18 

By CDR Jon Peppetti

Office of Legislative Affairs
17

Hornet and launch off the deck of an aircraft carrier, or man 

a crew-served weapon on a surface combatant, the training 

and guidance you provide to those who do could make the 

difference between life and death. The stakes could not be 

higher.

In 2007, I deployed for six months with Carrier Strike 

Group TWELVE aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65). There 

are not enough pages in this magazine for me to fully 

describe my experiences on deployment. As Strike Group 

SJAs everywhere will attest, deployment is a whirlwind 

of activity from start to finish, and you are constantly 

reacting to emergent situations while trying to anticipate 

what could possibly happen next in a dynamic and everchanging environment. There is some structure and order 

in the form of a daily “battle rhythm” schedule filled with 

briefings (given and received), planning meetings, standing 

watch in the Tactical Flag Command Center, and advising 

the Commander and subordinate COs on every possible 

legal topic. Eating, exercising, 

and sleeping are squeezed in 

whenever possible!

While on deployment, I 

quickly realized that to be a 

valued advisor to my client 

required much more than simply 

a firm grasp of the fundamental 

principles of international and 

domestic law that govern U.S. 

naval operations at sea. Rather, 

my practice required every bit 

of training, knowledge, and 

experience gathered over the 

course of my career to that point 

– law of the sea, law of armed 

conflict, military justice, ethics, 

legal assistance – I did it all. 

One of the greatest challenges 

for a Carrier Strike Group SJA 

on deployment is to avoid becoming carrier and air wing 

centric. Although you live and work on the aircraft carrier 

and watch flight operations on a daily basis, the Strike Group 

is a disaggregated force, often dispersed throughout one or 

more fleet areas of responsibility. For instance, our Strike 

Group had units simultaneously flying in the North Arabian 

Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, conducting 

maritime security patrols in the Central Arabian Gulf, 

monitoring pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, and one 

destroyer circumnavigating Africa! All of these operations 

involved significant legal issues, and as the SJA, I had to 

stay plugged into everything. 

Shortly after returning from deployment, the Commander, 

Carrier Strike Group TWELVE and his Staff disembarked 

Enterprise and the ship entered the Northrop-Grumman 

Naval Shipyard for an extended non-availability period. 

At the time, I reflected on my days underway and thought 

the operational phase of my Strike Group tour was behind 

me. I was wrong. Over the past year, I have deployed 

twice more to work in coalition environments – first in 

support of BALTOPS 08 in the Baltic Sea with NATO 

and Partnership for Peace allies, and then in support of 

PANAMAX 08 in El Salvador with U.S. Army South and 

our South and Central American partners. Additionally, I 

participated in Commander, Second Fleet’s joint task force 

certification exercise, and the Enterprise Strike Group 

joined the Eisenhower Strike Group in a joint synthetic 

training exercise. Finally, the Commander, Carrier Strike 

Group TWELVE and his Staff conducted 

Fleet Week Port Everglades, and we 

prepared to assume duties as the Combined 

Force Maritime Component Commander 

(CFMCC) for Defense Support to Civil 

Authorities (DSCA) operations as needed. 

Looking ahead, we are planning to execute 

Fleet Week Port Everglades, Fleet Week 

New York, and BALTOPS in 2009. 

As the Carrier Strike Group TWELVE 

SJA, I played a central role in the execution 

of all these exercises, events, and missions, 

and the experience shed a new light on the 

broad scope of a Carrier Strike Group SJA’s 

duties and responsibilities. Certainly, a 

Carrier Strike Group SJA is not the only 

operational job in the Navy JAG Corps; 

however, in my opinion, no other judge 

advocate job places you so squarely in the 

middle of what we do as a sea service. In 

retrospect, being a Carrier Strike Group SJA has provided 

me with many of the defining moments of my career; 

the job has pushed me to my limits and positioned me 

on scene for world events – not simply as an observer, 

but as a participant. I now know why so many former 

Carrier Strike Group SJAs cite this tour as the highlight 

of their careers. And so on behalf of Carrier Strike Group 

SJAs everywhere, if you are looking for the quintessential 

operational tour and the best job in the Navy JAG Corps, 

this is it!

“...if you are looking for the quintessential operational tour 

and the best job in the Navy JAG Corps, this is it!”
18

On Jan. 6, President George W. Bush created three 

new marine national monuments: the Marianas 

Trench Marine National Monument, the Pacific 

Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and the Rose 

Atoll Marine National Monument. The Marianas Islands 

are the southern part of a submerged mountain range that 

extends 1,565 miles from Guam toward Japan. The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument consists of three 

components. The first component is the waters and submerged lands encompassing the coral reef ecosystem of 

the three northernmost islands of the Marianas chain. The 

second component is the Marianas Trench, and the third 

component is a series of active undersea volcanoes and 

thermal vents, primarily located west of the trench. 

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 

includes coral reef ecosystems around Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Johnston Atoll, and Howland, Baker, Jarvis, and 

Wake Islands. The Rose 

Atoll Marine National 

Monument protects the 

coral reef ecosystem 

around a remote part of 

American Samoa.

These monument 

designations protect 

roughly 340,000 square 

miles of the Pacific 

Ocean, an area larger 

than California, Oregon and Washington combined. Navy 

judge advocates played an important role in the designation 

process, not only in ensuring national security imperatives 

were considered to maintain the Navy’s operational 

equities, but also in shaping the text of the designations 

themselves.

The President designated these marine national monuments using his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 

(16 U.S.C. §§ 431-433), a law which until 2006 had only 

been used to designate terrestrial national monuments. In 

June of 2006, however, President Bush used the Antiquities Act to create the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 

National Monument (renamed “Papahanaumokuakea 

Marine National Monument” in 2007). 

The Act was originally signed into law by President 

Theodore Roosevelt. It gave the President the authority 

to restrict the use of designated land owned by the federal government through executive order. This allowed 

the President to protect certain lands from excavation and 

destruction without undertaking a lengthy Congressional 

process to create a national park. 

Interpreting the Act to permit the designation of a 

marine national monument is an expansion on a century 

of executive action that had historically covered only terrestrial territory. The Act gives the President the authority to “declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, 

historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of 

historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the 

lands owned or controlled by the Government of the 

United States to be national monuments.” The Act also 

requires that the monument “in all cases shall be confined 

to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and 

management of the objects to be protected.” Yet, the 

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is vast, 

protecting a predominantly ocean area of 140,000 square 

miles, making it the largest environmentally protected 

area in the world (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is second 

measuring 133,000 square miles).

Given the location of the three new monuments, the 

Department of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the U.S. 

Navy in particular, 

were deeply immersed 

in the drafting of that 

executive order. These 

efforts ensured the 

inclusion of language 

protective of navigation and military activities. 

When the President 

designated the three new 

monuments, he issued a statement addressing military activities in the protected areas: “I confirm that the policy of the 

United States shall be to continue measures established 

in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument 

to protect the training, readiness, and global mobility 

of U.S. armed forces, and ensure protection of navigation rights and high seas freedoms under the law of the 

sea.” Each proclamation also contains a section entitled 

“Armed Forces Actions,” specifically excluding all activities of the Armed Forces from the prohibitions in each 

proclamation. With this language, the President ensured 

that all military activities within the monuments were 

protected. This is particularly important in the Marianas 

Trench Marine National Monument, which is located near 

the Navy’s Mariana Islands Range Complex (MIRC).

Further, the proclamations establishing the three monuments contain language protective of navigation rights 

and freedoms: “The United States continues to act in 

accordance with the balance of interests relating to tradiMarine National Monuments

By CDR Christopher Corvo & LT Michael Melocowsky

International Law (Code 10)

-

“The Navy has a large interest in the 

Pacific Ocean, and the designation 

of these areas as marine national 

monuments will, in one way or another, 

have an impact on the fleet.” 

-
19

tional uses of the oceans recognizing 

freedom of navigation and overflight 

and other internationally recognized 

lawful uses of the sea.” 

Navy judge advocates, particularly 

those in international and environmental law billets in the Office of 

the Judge Advocate General (OJAG), 

the Navy Staff, the Navy Secretariat, 

affected Fleets, and the Joint Staff, 

worked assiduously to ensure that this 

language, so critical for Navy operations, was inserted into the President’s 

statement and in each proclamation. 

Balancing environmental concerns 

with Navy operations is not a new 

problem, as the judge advocates who 

worked on the recent sonar litigation 

can attest. And, it is a concern that 

will not go away anytime soon. 

With regard to these new monuments, the need for vigilance has not 

passed. The executive order designating the monuments states that the 

Secretaries of Commerce and Interior shall manage the monuments, 

in consultation with the Secretary of 

Defense. To do this, a management 

plan and implementing regulations, 

supported by a full-scale environmental impact statement (EIS), will 

be promulgated through the administrative law process, affording the 

opportunity for public notice and 

comment. This provides further 

opportunities for judge advocates to 

play an important role in safeguarding the operational capabilities of the 

Navy. While the monument proclamations include exemptions for military activities, the management plans 

or EIS’s could potentially include 

language limiting that exemption. It 

is the judge advocate’s responsibility 

to diligently review these documents 

to ensure that Navy equities continue 

to be adequately protected. 

Each proclamation places some 

responsibility on the military, of which 

commanders must be aware. Each 

proclamation states, “the armed forces 

shall ensure, by appropriate measures 

not impairing operations or operational 

capabilities, that its vessels and aircraft 

act in a manner that is consistent, so far 

as is reasonable and practicable” with 

the proclamations. If a Department 

of Defense (DoD) component causes 

damage to a monument living marine 

resource from an incident such 

as a spill or grounding, that DoD 

component is required to coordinate 

efforts with the Departments of the 

Interior or Commerce to mitigate the 

damage and, if possible, restore the 

monument to its original state. 

Notwithstanding the military exemptions, operational commanders may find 

it necessary to justify why an activity is 

necessary for operations or operational 

readiness and may have to demonstrate 

why moving those activities to an area 

outside the monument would be “unreasonable.” These are questions that commands should be prepared to answer, 

and it is the judge advocate’s responsibility to help answer them.

The Navy has an important interest 

in the Pacific Ocean and the designation of these areas as marine national 

monuments will, in one way or another, 

have an impact on the fleet. By understanding the designations and what they 

mean, Navy judge advocates can help 

commanders train and operate while 

safeguarding these National Marine 

Monuments. 
20

By LCDR Tanya Cruz

Administrative Law (Code 13)

Student Loan Relief

The majority of judge advocates 

enter the service with substantial 

student loan debt. There are a 

number of programs currently available 

to judge advocates that are designed to 

provide student loan relief. 

Student Loan Forgiveness

The College Cost Reduction and 

Access Act (CCRAA) of 2007 significantly expanded federal student loan 

forgiveness by establishing the Public 

Service Loan Forgiveness Program 

which applies to a broad category of 

public service employees, including 

military members. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program discharges any remaining student loan 

debt (principal and accrued interest) 

after a borrower makes 120 qualifying 

monthly payments on Federal Direct 

or Federal Direct Consolidation loans 

while employed full-time in a qualifying public service. The CCRAA 

also established a new Income Based 

Repayment (IBR), one of the “qualifying” payment types for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which provides 

for affordable monthly payments that are 

no more than 15% of a borrower’s discretionary income. The Public Service Loan 

Forgiveness Program took effect in October 2007 and the IBR will take effect in 

July 2009.

In addition, judge advocates may qualify for Perkins loan forgiveness. The 

Perkins Loan Forgiveness Program 

applies to certain public service positions, including members serving as 

full time “law enforcement officers” 

(applies to prosecution billets) and 

members serving in areas of hostilities.

Loan Deferment

Student loan deferment for military 

members is available for all types 

of federal student loans. Prior to 

the CCRAA, military deferment for 

federal student loans was limited to 

3 years. The CCRAA expanded the 

military deferment by eliminating the 

3-year time limit. However, a borrower 

should carefully consider the option 

to defer federal student loans that 

may be eligible for the Public Service 

Loan Forgiveness and IBR because 

deferring such student loans will only 

delay the period to make the 120 

qualifying payments required for loan 

forgiveness. Furthermore, for purposes 

of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness 

and IBR, borrowers are encouraged to 

begin making IBR payments early on 

while income is lower.

The CCRAA also enhanced 

benefits for mobilized reservists 

by extending the time period 

covered by military service 

deferments. The deferment 

period for borrowers 

whose qualifying active 

duty service begins on 

or after October 1, 

2007 is extended 

for an additional 180 

days following the date 

the borrower is demobilized from that active duty 

service. The additional 180-

day deferment period 

is available each time 

a borrower is demobilized at the conclusion of an eligible 

active duty service that supports the 

military deferment.

Deferment may also be available for 

private student loans depending on the 

lending institution. Judge advocates are 

encouraged to consult with their private 

lenders regarding the types of student 

loan deferments that may be available.

Student Loan Interest

The Higher Education Opportunity 

Act (HEOA) provides for reduced 

student loan interest rates for military 

members. Pursuant to the HEOA, the 

interest rate limitations (6%) under 

the Service member’s Civil Relief Act 

(SCRA) apply to Federal Family Education Loans. Note, the SCRA interest 

rate limitation is also available for private student loans entered into prior to 

active service. In addition, pursuant to 

the HEOA, interest does not accrue for 

up to 5 years on Federal Direct Loans 

disbursed on or after October 1, 2008 

for borrowers serving on active duty 

during a war or other military operation or national emergency, in areas of 

hostility. 

Judge Advocate Continuation Pay

Judge Advocate Continuation 

Pay (JACP) is an incentive 

pay available to judge 

advocates. JACP is 

intended to alleviate 

the financial burden 

of student loan debt on 

judge advocates. JACP 

totals $60,000 and is paid 

in three phases over an eligible judge advocate’s 

career. An officer who 

accepts JACP also 

accepts a service obligation with each payment. 

Ongoing Initiatives

While the above programs 

provide substantial benefits in 

the area of student loan relief, 

reform is in order. The JAG 

Corps is working with the other 

Services and has briefed the American 

Bar Association (ABA) Military Law 

Committed on matters involving student loan relief initiatives and areas for 

reform. 

Student Loan Forgiveness (CCRAA 

IBR)

As previously discussed, the CCRAA 

IBR limits student loan monthly payments to no more than 15% of a borrower’s discretionary income. The 

IBR formula calculates monthly payments factoring adjusted gross income, 
21

household size and poverty guidelines. Therefore, when 

two married individuals both have student loan debt and 

file joint tax returns, they will be required to pay up to 

double the monthly loan payment of two unmarried borrowers in otherwise identical situations. Currently, the 

law authorizes married borrowers to file taxes separately 

for purposes of the CCRAA. However, this is not ideal. 

Further reform is necessary to enable married borrowers to take advantage of the CCRAA IBR payments (and 

Public Service Loan Forgiveness) without foregoing valuable tax benefits of filing joint tax returns. 

Student Loan Repayment 

Student loan repayment programs, as distinguished 

from student loan forgiveness programs, allow agencies 

(or organizations) to repay all or a portion of incurred 

educational loan obligations. Student loan repayment 

programs fall under the authority of the agency (or organization) responsible for the loan repayment program. In 

addition, student loan repayment programs may apply to 

federal and/or private student loans. Finally, student loan 

repayment may occur while the borrower is in school or 

while the borrower is employed by the agency; however, 

a borrower must agree to remain serving with the agency 

for a specified period of time. 

Within the Department of Defense, the authority for 

student loan repayment for officer programs in specified 

military specialties falls under 10 U.S.C. § 2171. Student 

loan repayment for officers is subject to implementation 

by each military department. The Navy has not implemented a student loan repayment program for any officer 

program under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2171. A student loan repayment program for judge advocates pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2171 is currently under 

consideration.

In addition, many law schools offer student loan repayment programs for graduates who wish to pursue careers 

in public service. Judge advocates are encouraged to 

consult with their law school financial aid offices regarding available student loan repayment programs. A list of 

law schools with student loan repayment programs can 

be found at: http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/node/447.

In order to maximize the benefits of student loan relief 

programs (e.g., CCRAA Public Service Loan Forgiveness 

Program), a change to the structure of JACP is currently 

under consideration that would work most effectively 

with student loan relief programs. 

This article only provides a general description of 

various student loan relief programs available to judge 

advocates. Further information is also posted on the JAG 

careers website. JAG Corps leadership will continue to 

pursue key areas for reform in order to improve overall 

access and availability of such programs to the widest 

audience of judge advocates and prospective judge 

advocates.

Heavy e-mail users might expect everyone to 

check their own e-mail constantly. This, in 

turn, can lead to an expectation that messages 

will be answered instantly, regardless of the recipient’s 

work load or relative position in the organization. If 

you request input from someone by e-mail, you need to 

allow a reasonable amount of time for them to provide 

it – especially if they are senior to you. On more than 

one occasion, I’ve had a junior officer request edits on 

a project. I provided the edits in what I considered a 

timely fashion, only to find that the officer had moved 

on without waiting for my suggestions. That the projects 

went forward without benefit of my “wisdom” didn’t 

bother me, but I was not pleased that I had wasted time 

preparing edits that could not be used. If you receive an 

e-mail without a specific “reply by” date, one business 

day is standard. If you plan to take longer, it is best to 

send an e-mail giving an estimated date for your in-depth 

reply.

Many people set their e-mail options to provide a gentle 

aural reminder when a message has arrived. Unlike a 

telephone, however, the reminder does not continue to 

jangle, driving us out of our wits, until it is answered. 

E-mails, especially those asking difficult questions, can 

be oh-so-easy to ignore. As is usually the case, the easy 

answer is not the right one.

Everyone who sends a legitimate e-mail deserves a 

response. In the military, most people expect to receive 

at least an acknowledgement of an e-mail by the end 

of the next work day. Even someone who is extremely 

busy can usually manage a quick “Got it” message to 

acknowledge and assure that, at some future date, they 

plan to answer the message.

For good or bad, e-mail is here to stay. It’s incumbent 

on all of us to learn to use it appropriately. There are 

many benefits, but many pitfalls, as well. Responsible 

recipients are just as important to the health of the e-mail 

system as good senders.

A User’s Guide 

to E-Mail 

The fourth and final installment of the 

e-mail series that provides some rules for 

communicating through e-mail

By Col Gary Brown, USAF

Senior Legal Advisor, Air Force Inspector General
22

J

udge advocates regularly find themselves immersed in legal 

work unique to military practice: courts-martial, Manual 

of the Judge Advocate General (JAGMAN) investigations, 

staff judge advocate recommendations, and administrative separation boards. It is work that seems far removed from the legal 

work performed by civilian attorneys. As a result, current judge 

advocates may be concerned that the legal skill set that they have 

developed will not be relevant in the civilian sector following 

their naval careers. This concern is unfounded; the legal skill 

set acquired through military practice is readily transferable to 

civilian legal practice and, thus, holds considerable value. Some 

military legal skills, in fact, have direct applicability to civilian 

legal fields. Government ethics work is one such field. This 

article examines the practice of three reserve judge advocates 

currently serving in the field of government ethics, and discusses 

how active duty judge advocates can better utilize their subject 

matter expertise.

Every branch of the federal government, and each 

administrative agency within the executive branch, employs 

ethics attorneys. The overall mission of an ethics program is to 

increase the level of trust the public has in their elected officials. 

Ethics attorneys carry out this mission by concentrating on three 

main tasks: ethics training, ethics advice, and (yawn) review of 

financial disclosure reports. In larger agencies, senior ethics 

attorneys routinely provide training to Cabinet and sub-Cabinetlevel officials, advise senior members of the administration, 

and assist in the nomination and confirmation of Presidential 

appointees. More junior ethics attorneys advise and train career 

employees and review financial disclosure reports. In smaller 

agencies, ethics attorneys may perform a combination of these 

functions. 

These days, it takes little more than a cursory reading of the 

front page of a Washington, D.C. newspaper to see increased 

public attention to the field of government ethics. Recent highlevel prosecutions and Inspector General investigations into 

violations of federal ethics regulations and criminal conflicts-ofinterest statutes have made the work of ethics attorneys even more 

relevant and pressing. Moreover, the Obama administration 

is putting a priority on government ethics. Executive Order 

13490, signed on Jan. 21, placed additional gift and revolving 

door restrictions on Presidential appointees requiring Senate 

By LCDR Paul Ehrman

NR RLSO Naval District Washington

confirmation, noncareer Senior Executive Service (SES) 

appointees, and “Schedule C” employees. 

I am currently a full-time ethics attorney with the United 

States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency 

of the Department of Homeland Security. I was introduced 

to government ethics as a judge advocate when I became the 

Assistant Force Judge Advocate for Commander, Naval Air 

Forces. In that assignment, I regularly provided ethics advice 

to staff and tenant commands. These experiences laid the 

foundation for my future employment with ICE. 

The ICE Ethics Office is located within the Office of the 

Principal Legal Advisor. The office consists of four attorneys and 

a program analyst. This small staff is responsible for advising 

and training an agency work force of approximately 16,000 

employees serving throughout the United States and around 

the world as embassy attachés. The workload, though heavy, 

is diverse in subject-matter, fast-paced, and is very rewarding. 

In addition to “bread-and-butter” ethics issues, there are many 

issues unique to working in a federal law-enforcement agency. 

For instance, what are the responsibilities of a federal agent who 

learns that a company in which he holds stock is connected to a 

pending investigation, either as a subject of the investigation, a 

victim, or otherwise? Or, can a federal agent participate in her 

personal capacity in a government-sponsored public auction of 

property that was seized by the federal government? 

ICE’s leadership has made ethics a priority. As a testament to 

this commitment, ICE’s conference planning directive requires 

that all conferences and training it hosts must include an ethics 

segment. With over 80 conferences annually, ICE ethics 

attorneys are often on the road training the agency’s work force. 

The ICE Ethics Office also serves as the agency’s Professional 

Responsibility Advisory Office, where attorneys can seek advice 

and request formal opinions on all matters pertaining to their 

professional responsibility obligations. With over 800 attorneys, 

many of whom actively litigate cases in federal and immigration 

court, this is a major component of the mission of the ICE Ethics 

Office.

Like me, numerous Navy Reserve judge advocates are federal 

attorneys working in the administrative law field; of these, many 

work at least part-time in government ethics. Some, however, 

do even more. In the paragraphs below, I will introduce you to 

two reserve judge advocates who serve as full-time ethics attorneys in their civilian capacity. They serve as excellent examples 

of how to convert Navy JAG experiences into a successful civilGovernment Ethics:

Meet a few reserve judge advocates who 

happen to be subject-matter experts
23

ian practice, and they reinforce that the Navy JAG Corps has 

subject matter experts on-call in the Reserves. 

CAPT Brian Howell is an ethics attorney at the Army Office 

of General Counsel (Ethics and Fiscal), where he serves as an 

ethics advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the Secretariat 

Staff. He began his ethics career in 1993 and has worked for 

the Department of the Navy, Office of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG) and the Department of the Navy, Office of General Counsel in various ethics and procurement positions. He 

has also worked for The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, 

where he was the Chief of the Standards of Conduct Branch, and 

the Office of Counsel, U.S. Army Materiel Command, where 

he was the Senior Ethics Counsel. CAPT Howell has provided 

ethics advice to the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the 

Army, and the U.S. Army Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff 

on all aspects of Standards of Conduct, conflicts of interest and 

procurement integrity. He was a founding member of the team 

that developed the Financial Disclosure Management (FDM) 

System, a web-based program to file and review Public Financial Disclosure (SF-278) and Confidential Financial Disclosure 

(OGE-450) forms. CAPT Howell has trained thousands of 

Army and federal government employees and Ethics Counselors in Standards of Conduct matters. He serves as an instructor 

at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and 

School for the Ethics Counselor Course. In his Reserve capacity, CAPT Howell is the Commanding Officer, Navy Reserve 

Regional Legal Service Office (RLSO) Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, 

Va. 

CAPT Mike Edwards is deputy director of the Office of 

Ethics at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

and a proud alumnus of the Ethics and Standards of Conduct 

Branch of OJAG, Administrative Law Division (Code 13). 

He has served a four-month detail working government ethics 

issues at the Office of the Counsel to the President. 

USDA is the only federal department with an independent 

Office of Ethics that is not a part of an Office of General Counsel or Solicitor’s Office. The office employs 30 full-time ethics 

specialists and assistants and has four branches (which divide up 

USDA’s 17 agencies) and a headquarters element. With approximately 100,000 employees in the department, you might expect 

some unusual questions. The more humorous include: (1) “Do 

sexual favors from prohibited sources count as a gift under the 

gift rules?”; (2) “Do I need to file a financial disclosure form if 

my supervisor never takes my recommendations?”; and, (3) “If I 

am ethically required to disqualify myself from the duties of my 

position, do I still have to show up for work?” 

CAPT Edwards tries to reserve his weekends and evenings 

for his duties as the commanding officer of Navy Reserve 

RLSO, Naval District Washington (NDW). He points out that 

working with RLSO NDW has been a great partnership in ethics 

matters. He recently stated, “RLSO NDW has already passed 

us a significant workload of ethics issues and post-government 

employment advice and we are working toward ethics training 

for judge advocates, legalmen, and civilians in the region. It has 

been a great partnership”.

Reservists with significant government ethics experience are 

available to assist active duty staff judge advocates and command services attorneys. Whether drafting a post-government 

employment letter or providing training, we can best serve our 

Navy clients and exemplify the Active duty/Reserve Total Force 

concept if we work together and use our subject-matter experts 

in the Reserves.

LCDR Paul Ehrman and CAPT Mike Edwards meet with former Navy judge advocate and U.S. Department of Agriculture Ethics Official, Ray Sheehan (far right).
24 Fleet News

Region Legal Service Office Southwest (RLSO SW) hosted its first Advanced Immigration Symposium 

on March 18-19, at the Admiral Kidd Conference Center, 

onboard Naval Base Point Loma. The symposium provided basic training to over 100 legal service providers 

and command citizenship representatives regarding the 

impact of immigration laws on military service members. 

Attendees included representatives from Navy Region 

Northwest, Navy Region Midwest, Navy Region Southwest, Army and Marine Corps units from the southwestern 

United States, RLSO SW, and its detachments in Ventura 

County, Calif., Lemoore, Calif., and Fallon, Nev.

RLSO SW hosted the event in an effort to ensure that 

the maximum number of eligible service members are 

able to become U.S. citizens. Since December 1999, 

Navy Region Southwest and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have partnered in a unique program that has resulted in over 12,000 service members in 

Navy Region Southwest becoming U.S. citizens. The program is made possible through streamlined U.S. citizenship processing for service members. RLSO SW hopes to 

inspire other regions and commands to implement similar 

programs to help service members obtain the benefits of 

citizenship. 

Commander, Navy Region Southwest, RADM Leendert Hering, Sr. delivered the welcoming remarks at the 

symposium and the Commanding Officer of RLSO SW, 

First Annual Advanced Immigration Symposium

By Vicki Alba and DC3 Ana O’Dea

Region Legal Service Office Southwest

CAPT Kirk Foster introduced the guests. 

The Advanced Immigration Symposium lecture began with 

a basic overview of the immigration system by CDR Matthew 

Lee, executive officer of the Naval Justice School’s Reserve 

unit. CDR Lee also instructed the participants on the Navy’s 

naturalization program and the changes imposed by the National 

Defense Authorization Acts of 2004 and 2008. LtCol Margaret 

Stock, JAGC, U.S. Army, gave training on the American Immigration Lawyers Association Military Assistance Program and 

the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal 

Assistance for Military Personnel. 

Other speakers included Mr. Paul Pierre, a USCIS District 

Director, Mr. John Ramirez, a Community Relations Officer for 

USCIS, CDR Eric Roper, Command Services Attorney, RLSO 

SW, Ms. Kathrin S. Mautino, Attorney and Certified Specialist 

in Immigration and Nationality Law, Ms. Emi Fujimoto, Adjudication Manager for the U.S. Passport Agency in Los Angeles, and CDR Bill Boland, Navy Medicine West. The speakers 

instructed attendees on everything from the Child Citizenship 

Act of 2000 and family citizenship issues, to applying for a U.S. 

passport, to the Civil Surgeon Program which allows eligible 

service members and family members to obtain free immigration 

physicals from military physicians at military medical clinics. 

Hard work by many members of from RLSO SW made the 

symposium a great success. CAPT Ted Yamada and CDR Matthew Lee, both Reserve judge advocates, supported the immigration symposium immensely with their subject matter expertise. 

RLSO SW hopes to continue providing training on immigration 

issues in the future. 

Ten Sailors came aboard Naval Air Station (NAS)

Lemoore as citizens of other countries. “But you 

will leave today as American citizens,” CAPT Kirk 

Foster, commanding officer, Region Legal Service 

Office Southwest (RLSO SW) told the group during 

his keynote speech during the first naturalization ceremony at NAS Lemoore held in January.

Sailors from China, Chad, Nigeria and the Philippines completed the naturalization process after they 

recited an oath of allegiance to “support and defend 

the Constitution and laws of the United States of 

America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 

CAPT James Knapp, NAS Lemoore’s commanding officer, noted the similarities between the oath 

of allegiance and the military’s oath of enlistment. 

“There are not many nations on this planet that have 

these types of oaths. Our oath of allegiance and oath 

of enlistment are what make us special. Welcome 

NAS Lemoore hosts its first Naturalization Ceremony

By Melinda Larson

Public Affairs Officer NAS Lemoore to becoming a co-equal share of the greatest nation in the 

world,” said Knapp. 

Aviation Structural Mechanic Equipment Airman Jude 

Osezua Epken, who won a green-card lottery through the 

U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program in his home country of Nigeria, said he wants to repay a debt to America and 

that is why he joined the Navy. “I feel I owe this country a 

lot,” said Epken who is attending classes at the Center for 

Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit at NAS Lemoore. 

The naturalization ceremony was made possible through 

the hard work of many people. CAPT Foster made the trip 

from San Diego to support the event. Ms. Annette Monroe, 

a legal assistance paralegal at RLSO SW Lemoore, worked 

with USCIS and new citizens to organize and prepare for the 

ceremony. Ms. Vicki Alba, a supervisory paralegal specialist 

at RLSO SW in San Diego, also assisted with the naturalization ceremonies. Ms. Monroe commented that the ceremony 

was very rewarding, “I was very busy for about three weeks 

organizing the ceremony, but the outcome was awesome. 

The smiling faces of the new citizens made it all worth it.”
2525 Fleet News

Seven-year-old at Yokosuka is first child to get 

citizenship under new rule

By Erik Slavin 

Stars and Stripes Pacific edition

Each year the Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP) 

selects recipients of the LAMP Distinguished 

Service Awards. Awardees are individuals and 

units who are the standard bearers for military legal 

assistance. 

For the individual award, the Committee selected 

Mr. George Sabga, a volunteer from 

Naval Legal Service Office Southwest 

(NLSO SW). Naval Legal Service 

Office Pacific (NLSO Pacific) won the 

unit-level 2008 LAMP Distinguished 

Service Award.

 Mr. Sabga has been providing 

exceptional service as a volunteer 

at NLSO SW since February 2006. 

A retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant, 

member of the California Bar, and former employee of the 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Mr. 

Sabga sought out the opportunity to continue a lifetime of 

public service at NLSO SW. 

For its part, NLSO Pacific made significant innovations 

to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Electronic Filing 

(VITA/ELF) program. Building off the traditional VITA/

ralized in 2004 and is now stationed 

on USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) at 

Sasebo Naval Base after previous 

tours at Yokosuka.

The boy is among a growing number 

of military family members seeking 

citizenship, said Kenneth Sherman, 

field director of the U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 

Seoul, which oversees South Korea 

and Japan.

More than 30 family members were 

naturalized overseas during the last 

fiscal year, said Sherman, who thinks 

that figure might triple or even quadruple this year.

Ms. Naoko Takamura of the Naval 

Legal Service Office Pacific (NLSO 

PAC) Branch Office Sasebo assisted 

the Ulsano family with processing the 

application and logistics. “Ms. Takamura liaised with the USCIS direcNavy JAG Winners of the 2008 ABA Lamp Awards

ELF program, NLSO Pacific added a self-service component, allowing service members with simple tax situations 

to do their own taxes on site. This greatly diminished the 

number of trained tax preparers necessary to support the 

tax assistance program while providing Sailors with a lifetime skill. This innovation permitted the NLSO to continue 

offering robust tax preparation services despite personnel 

shortages due to current operational demands. 

Martin Ulsano poses with service members and 

spouses who received their certificates of naturalization. 

The most noticeable of the 72 people with hands raised for the 

U.S. oath of citizenship stood barely 

higher than the pews at a ceremony 

held in Yokosuka’s Chapel of Hope.

Martin Miles Ulsano, age seven, 

became the first child to take the oath 

since the 2008 Defense Authorization Act allowed family members of 

service members to become citizens 

overseas, according to officials.

Ulsano was born on Yokosuka Naval 

Base and already had the right to citizenship, said his father, Petty Officer 

2nd Class Caesar Ulsano. However, 

making it official is important to the 

family, he said.

“He’s been raised in American ways 

his whole life,” said Caesar Ulsano, a 

Filipino-American who became natutor, Mr. Sherman, to ensure that the 

groundbreaking event went off without a hitch and set the precedent for 

this process in the future,” said LT 

James Toohey, NLSO PAC Sasebo 

branch head. 

Those interested in service 

member and military family naturalization can go to www.uscis.gov/

military, or ask their unit’s citizenship representative.
2626 Fleet News

Task Force Life/Work Balance 

Takes Shape and Takes Off!

By CDR Jean Kilker

Navy Reserve 108

While the Navy JAG Corps rapidly transforms to meet emerging challenges facing our Navy and 

our Nation, our people remain the 

foundation of our strength and flexibility. That foundation is rock solid. 

We have attracted top talent and developed an incredible cadre of officers, 

enlisted, and civilians with superior 

legal acumen, leadership skills, and 

experience. Our challenge is to remain 

the employer of choice for talented 

junior personnel, middle managers, 

and senior leadership. One way to do 

this is by offering innovative programs 

responsive to changes in members’ 

personal lives and family obligations.

That is where the Task Force Life/

Work Balance (TFLWB) comes in. 

Chartered by VADM MacDonald on 

May 15, 2008, TFLWB was directed 

to provide “advice and recommendations on initiatives and policies relating to life/work balance 

for the JAGC, including 

but not limited to career 

intermission (sabbaticals), telecommuting, 

child care, and assignments.” 

 As the task force 

moves forward with its 

charter, it is cognizant 

of the different perceptions regarding programs targeted at life/

work balance. Some 

people are skeptical, 

believing these programs create unrealistic expectations 

regarding the inherent sacrifices of 

military life. Others feel “it’s about 

time!” Interestingly, these viewpoints 

appear consistent with generational 

differences in our community. 

“Baby Boomers,” born between 

1946 and 1964, have a more “workcentric” view on life. Their dedication 

to the military and all aspects of our 

society have been transformative. No 

doubt many sacrificed, and continue to 

sacrifice, their personal lives to ensure 

mission accomplishment. “Generation 

X,” born between 1965 and 1979, is 

the first generation of “latchkey kids.” 

Incredibly independent and innovative, 

they approach their work and their families with equal passion. Generation X 

expects a flexible workplace and career 

path, and many are unwilling to sacrifice 

family life and personal goals to climb 

the organizational ladder. Next are 

the millennials, our “everybody gets a 

trophy” generation, born between 1979 

and 1998. They expect the workplace 

to have an element of fun. At the same 

time, they multitask like no other generation, expect to work hard and put a 

major emphasis on familial relationships and life/work balance. JAG Corps 

demographics break out like this: 

If you are interested in learning more 

about differences in generational outlooks and their impact on organizational 

structure and approach, TFLWB recommends two resources. One is an article 

entitled “Military of Millennials” by Art 

Fritzson, Lloyd W. Howell Jr., and Dov 

S. Zakheim found in Strategy+Business

(Winter 2007) and the best-selling 

book, The Starfish and the Spider: 

The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless 

Organizations, by Ori Brafman and Rod 

A. Beckstrom (Portfolio, 2006). Other 

sources can be found on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO), under JAGC 2020, 

then Task Force Life/Work Balance.

Can these seemingly divergent views 

regarding emphasis on family, fun, and 

work be reconciled in the military? The 

task force believes they can. Technological advances enable workplace flexibility. Personnel can be “connected” to 

the workplace from virtually anywhere. 

Career choices widely available in law 

firms and businesses around the globe, 

such as sabbaticals and temporary parttime work programs, are compatible 

with the military if carefully drafted 

and executed. TFLWB is confident that 

these programs will strengthen the JAG 

Corps by retaining our most talented and 

committed members. 

TFLWB was not established to eliminate the stressors inherent 

in Navy life or undermine 

the culture of sacrifice and 

commitment that is the 

fabric of the JAG Corps. 

Instead, by initiating work 

arrangements and career 

paths that offer flexibility 

and professional growth, 

the TFLWB can work to 

alleviate the strain of pressing issues that emerge as 

individuals grow personally and advance professionally. 

The task force has 

been moving full speed ahead since its 

membership was finalized, introducing 

TFLWB at the December 2008 Senior 

Enlisted Leadership Conference in San 

Diego and at the January 2009 Commander’s Training Symposium in Washington, D.C. Presentations sparked 

lively discussion resulting in a list of 
Fleet News

27

For more information Contact: OJAG_ALL_TFLWB@navy.mil

issues impacting the life/work balance of community members. 

It was exactly what the task force needed to chart an effective 

course.

In January, the task force had its first official meeting in Washington, D.C., as well. Candid roundtable discussions were held 

with VADM MacDonald, who underscored his commitment to 

programs that ease the challenges that accompany military life, 

without diminishing the superior level of service the JAG Corps 

provides the fleet. The task force also met with the Special 

Assistant for Transformation (SAT) Team, the Navy’s Office of 

Women’s Policy, the legalman detailer, the senior JAG detailer, 

and Commander Navy Installation Command’s representative 

for Navy Child and Youth Programs. 

When the January meeting concluded, TFLWB solidified 

and organized ideas and proposals, resulting in a comprehensive 

plan of action. 

Child Care

Access to quality child care remains a top priority for many 

service members with children. JAG Corps leaders are equally 

concerned. They understand that people cannot focus on 

professional responsibilities if child care requirements are 

not met. Child care concerns escalate when individuals prepare for Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves. So how 

should the JAG Corps address these concerns?

 TFLWB is proposing a Navy-wide initiative to include 

putting a link to Navy Child and Youth Programs in every 

set of PCS (with dependents) orders. The search for child 

care begins long before orders arrive. With that in mind, and 

with the help of Ms. Donna Sayers, Code 65, Knowledge and 

Information Services Division, the task force is creating an 

interactive computer program, a “Child Care Roadmap,” with 

links to child care information and resources worldwide. A 

Sailor or officer can find his or her new duty station on the 

map, click, and be linked to child care information for that 

area. It is as easy as that. 

Short-term child care availability at temporary duty locations is also a task force focal point. Availability can mean the 

difference between enhanced training and a lost opportunity. 

TFLWB is studying availability and the need for short-term 

care at Navy Child Development Centers (CDCs) in Washington, D.C., Norfolk and Charlottesville Va., Newport, R.I., 

and San Diego, Calif and whether existing programs should 

be extended to all CDCs. 

Assignments

During command visits and leadership seminars, JAG 

Corps leaders have been struck by the impact that PCS moves 

have on continuity of health care for JAG Corps family members, and they understand the immense strain that this issue 

puts on our personnel and family members. TFLWB is working with senior enlisted leadership to determine the scope and 

nature of the problem. 

This summer, senior enlisted leaders will canvass commands to identify individuals who have encountered TRICARE issues associated with PCS moves and a change 

in TRICARE regions. For those who have had problems, a follow-up questionnaire will be distributed to 

gather detailed information. If you have experienced 

challenges, please complete the questionnaire. Be 

honest, be accurate, and be detailed. It is the only way 

the task force can identify matters facing the community 

and evaluate ways to rectify them.

Several officers raised concerns regarding the reduction of co-location opportunities caused by JAG Corps 

restructuring. The task force is working with JAG 

detailers and Code 13, Administrative Law Division, 

comparing available billets under both the old and new 

models, and identifying professional responsibility 

issues related to co-location under the new Naval Legal 

Service Command (NLSC) structure. 

Personnel Policies and Programs

The task force’s proposed Flex Hour Instruction is 

nearly complete. It is the Telecommuting Program’s 

“sister document” and provides members of the JAG 

Corps community, civilians and military personnel 

alike, the opportunity to manage their workspace arrival 

and departure times. Flex hours are comprised of “core 

hours” during which all members of the command must 

be present and “flex hours” which are specific windows 

of time when personnel can choose to arrive and leave 

the workplace. This is another tool offering flexibility 

without compromising high quality services.

A broader initiative currently in the works involves 

part-time work for active duty members. TFLWB partnered with the Navy’s Office of Women’s Policy to 

develop the Extended Active Duty Support (EADS) Program, transitioning active duty members to the Reserve 

component to provide 10 days of support to the active 

component per month. After a maximum of two years, 

participants will transition back onto active duty to continue their career paths. The program design is in its 

infancy, but the task force remains determined to submit 

a well designed, viable program for the fiscal year 2012 

budget approval cycle this summer. Stay tuned. 

Finally, the Career Intermission Pilot Program was 

approved by the National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2009 and is poised to begin. This program 

will provide up to a three-year “off-ramp” for selected 

enlisted and officers. More information is available on 

the task force’s NKO page. 

Future Plans

TFLWB encourages you to get involved. It is investigating different training opportunities, lecture series, and 

discussion groups focusing on life/work balance issues. 

We want your input! Speak up, speak out, get creative, 

and forward us your ideas. The task force looks forward 

to hearing from you!
28Fleet News

Have you ever gone on deployment or left the country on an individual augmentee assignment only to return and 

find that your vehicle was towed and subsequently sold? If 

so, you are not alone and the law is on your side. Under the 

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), servicemembers’ 

vehicles cannot be towed and then sold without a court order.

A local lieutenant had this very thing happen to him. When 

he deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2007, he left his 1991 Acura 

at his condo complex where he owned a unit. Upon returning from deployment, he discovered that his car was missing. 

In June 2007, a local towing company had towed his car and 

obtained a storage lien in accordance with Virginia law. The 

NLSO Mid-Atlantic 

Do you need to host a meeting or training event with personnel across multiple geographic locations? Do you need greater capabilities for a virtual 

meeting than what is offered through basic instant 

messaging and chat room applications? Save money, 

and eliminate hassles associated with travel and video 

teleconferencing. Get connected with Defense Connect OnLine (DCO).

 DCO is now available on classified and unclassified servers, free of charge to the Navy, from the 

Department of Defense Collaboration Services. In 

addition to standard instant messaging and chat 

rooms, this tool has enhanced collaboration capabilities, which are perfect for web conferencing and/

or remote training. 

This web-based application is easy to use and 

allows you to upload files or share your computer 

desktop and applications for your meeting or training session. Files can include documents, PowerPoint, and even videos. Once files are uploaded, 

they can be transferred to your meeting room. 

All plug-ins needed for your meetings are available for downloading to your hard drive. They can 

be installed on NMCI computers without technical 

support or administrative rights. 

The application allows for the use of webcams 

and microphones, eliminating the need for conference calls to support web conferencing. Webcams 

and microphones are provided by your IT department, and provided they are “plug-n-play,” require 

no additional IT support. 

The web-conferencing capabilities allow the host 

to set up virtual conference rooms, public or private, through the use of interactive tools or “pods.” 

Among some of the pods available are the presentation, white board, chat, poll, webcam, and audio 

pods. In the same manner that a facilitator or moderator controls a traditional meeting or training event, 

the host controls the conference room and limits 

or expands participant interaction capabilities as 

needed. For example, the host can limit interaction 

to the use of a chat pod only, requiring participants 

to type in a question or comment; or can allow participants with webcams and/or microphones to interact through visual and audio capabilities. The host 

can also determine which pods will actually be seen 

by the participant. The host can share files that were 

previously uploaded, files from his or her computer’s hard drive, the computer screen and computer 

applications. If needed, the host can relinquish sharing to 

participants. All meetings can be recorded, making them 

available online for personnel who could not attend, or 

for attendee reach-back. 

When creating a conference, the host can invite attendees by sending a conference URL which is generated 

when the conference is created. Attendees can be registered or unregistered users, including those outside the 

Department of Defense. Unregistered users will log on as 

guests. Guests are unable to attend conferences with all 

the capabilities of a registered user. Guests are not able to 

post files to the Slides tab, and they are not able to search 

the user directory to invite other users to the conference.

Visit https://www.dco.dod.mil/ to register for a DCO 

account. Because DCO allows for CAC logon as well as 

UserName and Password logon, it can be used from anywhere. Be advised, however, that password generation follows DoD password requirements and restrictions.

DCO offers on-demand training, which can be downloaded 

or viewed on line. DCO also offers 2-hour live remote basic, 

intermediate and advanced training sessions on a monthly 

basis. The next scheduled training can be found by clicking 

on the “Live Training” link under “User Resources” on the 

login page. You can also search for a previously recorded 

The possible uses for this tool are limited only by your 

imagination!

Get Connected

By Donna Sayers

Knowledge and Information Services (Code 65)
29 Fleet News

29

The Department of Defense (DoD), in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has 

introduced a process designed to expedite the transition from active duty to 

veteran status for service members seriously injured in combat. By waiving the 

standard Disability Evaluation System 

(DES), veterans who were seriously 

injured in combat can receive benefits 

in three to four months. 

“This new policy should allow 

service members and their families 

to focus on the essentials of recovery, 

reintegration, employment and 

independent living, with the combined 

assistance from DoD and VA,” said 

acting Under Secretary of Defense for 

Personnel and Readiness Michael L. 

Dominguez. “The policy supports our 

belief that there must be a distinction for 

those who incur devastating disabilities 

in combat.”

The expedited process applies to 

service members whose conditions are 

designated as “catastrophic” and whose 

injuries were incurred in the line of 

duty as a direct result of armed conflict. 

A catastrophic injury or illness is a 

permanent, severely disabling injury, 

disorder, or disease that compromises a 

person’s ability to carry out the activities 

of daily living to such a degree that a 

service member or veteran requires 

personal or mechanical assistance to 

leave home or bed, or requires constant 

supervision to avoid physical harm to 

self or others.

Unlike other DES processes, the 

new expedited process requires that 

legal counsel be appointed prior to the 

service member electing the expedited 

process. While recent changes to DoD 

DES policy provide an opportunity for 

service members in the DES process to 

seek the advice and assistance of legal 

counsel earlier in the process, there is 

no requirement that the service member 

take advantage of this benefit. This is 

not the case with the expedited DES 

process. It provides that government 

legal counsel “who is familiar with 

the DES process” will be appointed 

to advise the service member or his/

her family or guardian prior to referral 

to the Informal Physical Evaluation 

Board. 

The policy also provides special 

consideration and exceptions for 

members who retire under the expedited DES process to reenter the 

service with a waiver, should they subsequently request reentry to the service after recovery and rehabilitation.

To date, more than 1,000 service 

members have participated in the pilot 

during the last 14 months.

Defense Department Expedited Disability 

Evaluation System Process For Combat Wounded

By Dena Panecaldo

Naval Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic

storage lien allows towing companies to recover their costs 

when a vehicle’s owner refuses to pay for storage fees. The 

towing company can sell the vehicle if it notifies the owner 

and lien holder by certified mail at least 10 days before the 

date of the sale. In July 2007, the towing company sold the 

lieutenant’s car at auction. However, because he was a service 

member, the towing company had violated both federal and 

state law. Under the SCRA and Virginia law, the towing company was required to get a court order to enforce the storage 

lien and sell the car. 

The lieutenant sought legal advice from Naval Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic’s (NLSO Midlant) Legal Assistance 

 Enforces Sailors’ Rights

Department in September 2007, when he returned from 

deployment. After NLSO Midlant attorneys made several attempts to resolve the matter, they referred the case 

to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. 

The Department of Justice got involved because they are 

responsible for enforcing the provisions of the SCRA. 

As a result, the Justice Department filed suit against the 

towing company in December 2008, for violating the 

SCRA.

If you are a service member and your car has been 

towed and subsequently sold, contact your local legal 

assistance department for more information.
30 Fleet News

As a Corps, we are united by each member’s commitment to serve the people of the United States and the 

JAG Corps mission. That 

common thread binds us 

as a team of professionals, excelling at our craft 

and ensuring that the United States Navy and its personnel 

receive superior legal services. We are also individuals. 

Our varying viewpoints, shaped by our unique experiences and backgrounds, intertwine with our threads of 

commonality to create the fabric of the Navy JAG Corps.

That fabric, constantly tested by the challenges facing 

our Corps and our Nation, is created by different demographics, educational and life experiences and resulting 

viewpoints. Strong now, we are determined to make that 

fabric even stronger. 

To achieve that goal, the Judge Advocate General 

appointed the JAG Corps’ Task Force Diversity in May 

2008. The task force’s charter was to foster diversity by 

creating programs and initiatives related to recruiting, 

retention, mentoring and assignments. Led by CAPT 

Lindy Bunn, the Task Force made incredible strides its 

first year. 

Working with Military Personnel Division, Code 

61, the task force identified and consolidated JAG 

Corps recruiting efforts aimed at students from underrepresented groups, evaluated the success of different 

recruiting programs, and worked to increase Navy JAG 

Corps presence on law school campuses. 

One successful recruiting strategy was to reach out 

to affinity groups, or groups of people who have something in common. The task force continually underscores the JAG Corps’ commitment to diversity by 

developing and expanding its ties with the American 

Bar Association (ABA) diversity committees, reaching 

out to different affinity group bar associations and introducing 

the outstanding career path offered by the Navy JAG Corps to 

law school student affinity groups around the nation. The task 

force seeks more opportunities for our senior leaders to address 

these groups, and then VADM Houck spoke to the Coalition of 

Bar Associations of Color (CBAC) leadership in May. 

For the first time, a formalized plan is in place to invite leaders from the civilian legal community to experience, firsthand, the traditions and mission of the Navy JAG Corps. 

During Fleet Week, deans and career placement officers 

from New York law schools were invited to a sunset parade 

onboard USS Iwo Jima. Legal leaders from different affinity 

groups will be invited to visit the Pentagon. There are plans 

to arrange embarkations aboard aircraft carriers for individuals dedicated to promoting career and leadership opportunities 

for underrepresented members of our society. This new, innovative approach to recruiting is designed to educate influential 

members of the legal community about the incredibly exciting and unique experience provided by a career in the Navy 

JAG Corps. Once they see what we do, they’re guaranteed to 

spread the word. 

While working on task force initiatives, our members have 

continued their involvement in different bar associations. CAPT 

Dave Iglesias was a featured speaker at the ABA’s Continuing 

Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) meetings and published 

an article in CLEO’s alumni newsletter describing his most 

memorable experiences as a JAG Corps officer. CAPT Rex 

Guinn participated in the National Native American Association’s Moot Court competition. Other members have dedicated 

countless hours ensuring Task Force Diversity’s success.

The JAG Corps is committed to achieving a Corps of individuals representative of our national diversity. Learn more about 

our mission and how you can get involved by visiting the JAG 

Corps Task Force Diversity NKO website (listed under JAG 

Corps 2020), or contact us at OJAG_TF_Diversity@navy.mil. 

Task Force Diversity

By CDR Jean Kilker

Navy Reserve 108

By Navy Judge Advocate General Public Affairs

Navy JAG Corps Launches New Home Page

The Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps revamped 

its website (www.jag.navy.mil) to provide easily 

accessible and important information to its members, 

clients, and the public.

The site features quick links to various functions. 

Service members and their families can easily link to 

legal service information; lawyers and paralegals can 

find research material and court information; and general visitors can browse the latest news as well as delve 

into the history of the Corps.

“We have a broad range of visitors to our website, 

from students working on a report for school to military family 

members who need help with a will,” said Jennifer Zeldis, the 

JAG Corps’ public affairs officer. “We wanted to make sure 

each visitor was able to find what they were looking for easily 

and quickly as well as provide information about the mission 

of the JAG Corps.”

The website retained, but updated, many of its features. The 

site continues to provide information about the headquarters, 

trial judiciary, Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, 

Naval Legal Service Command offices and careers. It also 

prominently displays links to multimedia features, including 

JAG Corps videos, podcasts and the JAG magazine.
3131

JAG Leaders 

Shipmate Spotlight

From Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Hawaii, LT 

Justin Hawks has made himself 

someone to follow. LT Hawks 

oversaw the creation of a stateof-the-art courtroom staffed 

by well-trained personnel. His 

vigilance and perseverance 

has enabled practitioners in 

Pearl Harbor’s courtroom to 

focus solely on their cases 

and legal arguments, secure 

in the knowledge that they 

are practicing in a safe yet 

publicly accessible space. Much of the courtroom’s success 

is due to LT Hawks, who deflects praise towards others when 

asked about the secrets to his success in fulfilling his security 

officer collateral duty. 

31

LT Mike Layne does more than just assist the commanding officer for Naval Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London in his usual 

day-to-day matters. Instead, LT Layne has 

tackled a myriad of complex and extraordinary 

issues head on. In the past year, LT Layne coordinated with federal and state agencies to provide intergovernmental support for the Federal 

Plum Island Research Center’s safe-haven use 

of base piers, as well as the kenneling of Military Working Dogs for the Connecticut National 

Guard. LT Layne assisted local and headquarters MWR in planning, coordinating and executing a plan to rid the base marina of 

15-20 years worth of abandoned boats. Through his exceptional 

research and diplomacy, he was able to convince State regulators 

to follow Federal rules for declaring the boats “abandoned” and 

thus eligible for new titles after an MWR auction. As a result, LT 

Layne’s reputation on the waterfront has established him as the 

“go-to” attorney for the tenant commands at the SUBASE. LT 

Layne’s enthusiasm, vigor, and dedication set him apart as one of 

the premier future leaders of the JAG Corps.

Would you like to recognize an exceptional shipmate? 

Submit your command’s outstanding member and 

photos to natalie.morehouse@navy.mil

LT Justin Hawks

LT Mike Layne

The International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA) selected the 

careers website of the 

Navy JAG Corps, www.

jag.navy.mil/careers, as 

a recipient of the 2009 

Communicator Award 

of Distinction (Silver 

Award). This is the 

second Silver Award for 

the Navy JAG Corps.

The careers website was revamped in 2008 to 

better inform potential candidates about the Navy 

JAG Corps and to explain the application process. 

The website features career information, a map 

of duty locations, detailed instructions on how to 

apply, as well as many other important features 

useful to potential applicants.

“Our new careers website is one of the most 

utilized and important tools we have in order to 

recruit the most talented, diverse group of legal 

professionals,” said VADM Bruce MacDonald, 

the former Judge Advocate General of the Navy. 

“We are extremely proud of this recognition by 

the International Academy of the Visual Arts.”

The centerpiece for the Navy JAG Corps’ 

career website is the 2008 award-winning awareness video. The awareness video presents personal accounts from new JAG Corps attorneys 

about what drew them to the JAG Corps and highlights the process of becoming a Navy JAG Corps 

officer. 

“We wanted the website to be current, useful, and 

provide information about what the JAG Corps is 

all about. Feedback so far has been incredibly positive,” said LCDR Jennie Goldsmith, the former 

JAG Corps accessions and recruiting detailer. 

Strategic marketing communications and information technology firm Qnexis, Inc. assisted 

the JAG Corps in the development of the 

revamped career website and awareness video.

The Communicator Awards honors creative excellence for communications professionals. This year’s 

competition received more than 7,000 entries from 

across the United States and around the world, making 

it one of the largest and most competitive awards programs of its kind.

For more information on the Navy JAG Corps, 

visit www.jag.navy.mil. 

By Natalie Morehouse

Deputy Public Affairs Officer

JAG Corps Career Website Wins 

2009 Communicator Award
32Book Review

32

By John H. Langbein

Book review provided by LCDR Jason Jones

 Naval Legal Service Office Southeast

The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial

John Langbein’s The Origins of Adversary Criminal 

Trial (Oxford University Press, 

Oxford, 2003) is a succinct and 

fascinating read that answers the 

fundamental question every 1L 

asks him or herself. “Why do we 

do it like that?” Starting in the late 1600’s in London’s Old Bailey courthouse, he tracks the origins 

of the modern adversarial trial from its origins as a 

blatant shouting match between two individuals to 

a lawyer-dominated and judge-refereed evidentiary 

quest for answers. 

Scholarly literature from the 16th century 

expounded the maxim that defense attorneys were 

not necessary for defendants in felony criminal trials, 

though oddly enough they were quite common in misdemeanor cases. The logic, though seemingly absurd 

today, was that a lay person could tell the truth and 

present a case as well as any trained lawyer and therefore no lawyer was necessary. The 16th century trial 

was a contest of amateurs on both sides; there were 

no “prosecutors” in the modern sense and most cases 

were swearing matches between an alleged criminal 

and alleged victim, with virtually no rules of procedure and evidence. There were some modern aspects 

to a 16th century trial, a jury sat and determined guilt 

or innocence, a judge presided over the court and a 

legislature defined some crimes. Yet, the common 

law gave no right to defense counsel at a felony trial. 

However, even at that early stage, judges, lawyers 

and scholars had some qualms about the avenger-led 

“altercation” trial. Allowing private prosecutions 

was dangerous; some trials resembled blood feuds 

rather than a quest for truth and punishment of the 

guilty. Penalties were draconian, the time between 

sentence and execution was extremely short and 

appeals were unlikely. Altercation trials were rapid, 

probably around fifteen to twenty minutes. The jury 

did not retire to deliberate in private and there was 

little, if any, plea bargaining. The defendant spoke 

in virtually all cases, as he had no alternative. The 

lack of the right to remain silent put the defendant in 

an untenable situation. If he spoke, he often incriminated himself. If he remained silent, the accusations 

remained unanswered. Additionally, while the “prosecutor” testified under oath, he could not. While at the time 

this practice was defended so as to prevent perjury, even 

contemporaries admit the real concern was that swearing 

on a Bible gave the defendant a certain level of credibility 

in denying the accusations. 

Contemporaries note some advantages to the accused. 

First, the accused was presumed innocent and, while 

proof beyond a reasonable doubt was a later development, 

doubts were resolved in the accused’s favor. (Ironically, 

this was also a justification for denying counsel.) Second, 

defendants were prosecuted by amateurs who were just as 

unskilled in the law, which is in stark contrast to the pro se 

defendant of today. Third, the judge acted as some form 

of counsel for the accused, forbidding some types of evidence or arguments and preventing the affair from getting 

out of control. Amazingly, the conviction rate was about 

fifty percent. 

The modern trial made its first nascent appearance in 

1696 with the “Treason Trials Act.” After the English Revolution, both sides used the court system to extract vengence and accusations of “treason” abounded, with the 

death penalty swiftly following. (Our Founding Fathers 

took note, treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution, taking the power away from the legislative branches 

to redefine it easily.) After some exceedingly political treason trials and executions, the English Parliament created 

the Treason Trials Act. The Act created a statutory right 

to defense counsel at trial, provided for pre-trial discovery 

of the indictment, noted a presumption of innocence and 

granted the accused the compulsory production of defense 

witnesses. The Act still included several restrictions and 

specifically stated that defense counsel could not appear in 

non-treason cases. 

These new rights were not as magnanimous as they 

first appear. The average English peasant was not being 

charged with treason; it was the lords and peers of Parliament. In practice, the members of Parliament were 

hedging their bets, granting rights to themselves that they 

denied to the average citizen. Contemporaries note that 

Parliament immediately redressed many of the perceived 

defects of altercation trial but did nothing to alter the daily 

court system, showing an astounding lack of care for the 

average citizen’s judicial plight. Nevertheless, the stage 

was set for the creation of the modern trial – government 

counsel, defense counsel, judge, jury, procedural rules and 

burdens of proof. 
Book Review

As any new prosecutor can tell 

you, give the defense an inch and 

they will take a mile. Once the absolute ban was lifted for one class of 

cases, defendants began clamoring 

for attorneys at other types of trials, 

and the courts began to allow it as a 

judicial reaction to the increasingly 

modern world. The first defense 

counsel began to appear regularly 

in non-treason cases. The appearance was a response to the Government’s hiring of private attorneys to 

prosecute cases in which the Government was the victim. Theft of the 

mail, counterfeiting, illegal minting 

and failure to pay taxes created a 

problem for the Government, which 

sought to enforce the laws but had no 

private person to act as the aggrieved 

party. So, the Government began to 

hire private attorneys to prosecute 

on the Government’s behalf, the first 

modern prosecutors. 

The appearance of Government counsel created a dilemma for 

judges, who were unaccustomed to 

counsel appearing at all in criminal 

trials. Judges traditionally were referees but were also pseudo defensecounsel, interjecting at times and 

questioning witnesses for the defense 

when necessary. Prosecution counsel forced the court to alter its stance: 

either become actual defense counsel 

or allow the scales of justice to be 

tipped heavily in favor of the Government. To avoid what could have 

been the virtual dismantling of the 

system, courts began to ease the prohibition on defense counsel, attempting to balance the system by having 

counsel on both sides. Courts did 

not appoint counsel, but they began 

to allow hired counsel to appear with 

some regularity by the mid 1700’s. 

The regular appearance of defense 

counsel did not create the modern trial 

overnight. Initially defense counsel 

were only allowed to cross-examine 

witnesses and were forbidden to 

summarize evidence in arguments 

to the jury. The accused was still 

forced to speak in his defense, plea 

33

Read any good 

books lately? Tell 

us about it!

Submit a book review to 

natalie.morehouse@navy.mil.

bargaining was rare and punishments remained draconian. The 

rules of evidence were primitive 

and pre-trial discovery remained 

non-existent. The appearance 

of defense counsel was still rare 

enough that the impact on the 

trial process was small, but it 

began to happen. 

Over time, lawyers on both 

sides began to change what was an 

“altercation” type trial with lawyers 

in the wings, into a modern, lawyerdominated trial. As trials for crimes 

against the Government grew more 

complex, judges began to allow both 

sides to summarize evidence via 

arguments. As defense counsel were 

allowed to cross-examine witnesses, 

some defendants began to take the 

risk of remaining silent, transforming the case from a swearing match 

of two sides to its more modern version where most defendants do not 

testify on their own behalf. Counsel 

on both sides, usually to try to defeat 

the other side verses an actual quest 

for truth, began to argue against 

allowing certain types of evidence, 

such as hearsay, character evidence 

and coerced confessions. As lawyers argued theories of admissibility, 

and burdens of proof and persuasion, 

common law judges reacted by creating judicial rules. Parliament rarely 

entered the common law fray to legislate rules or procedures. 

By the latter 18th century, the 

modern trial had replaced the altercation trial. It also immigrated to 

America. The Founding Fathers, 

many of them lawyers and criminal 

defense attorneys, wanted no return 

to the altercation trial and imbedded in the Constitution many of the 

common law judicially-created rules. 

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, 

the right to trial by jury, the right to 

counsel and the prohibition of cruel 

or unusual punishment all originated 

during the creation of the modern 

trial. The Founding Fathers defined 

treason in the Constitution, making it 

virtually impossible for later generations to alter the definition; no serious attempt has ever been made. 

The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial is a fascinating look at the 

extremely complex development of 

how society judges and punishes 

its own. A quick study on how 

personal greed, fear of corruption, 

money, and technology shaped the 

law, the book’s lessons show that 

the law is an ever-changing social 

contract. While the modern trial’s 

structure has remained static for 

some time, it continues to ebb and 

flow. Although the Treason Trials 

Act created the first right to defense 

counsel at felony trial, it was not 

universally accepted for hundreds 

of years. As late as 1942 in Betts 

v. Brady, the U.S. Supreme Court 

rejected the idea that the Constitution gave an accused an absolute 

right to counsel, affirming the conviction of a pro se defendant who 

requested an attorney before his 

felony trial. Only in 1963, two 

hundred and sixty seven years after 

the first defense counsel were created by the Treason Trials Act, 

did the Supreme Court alter the 

common law and its own precedent by holding that an indigent 

accused at felony trial has a right to 

free representation. The Origins of 

Adversary Criminal Trial is hard to 

put down once started and answers 

fundamental questions regarding 

the creation of our system. It is 

highly recommended for even the 

most die-hard Operational Law 

attorney who shivers with dread at 

the very thought of appearing in a 

court again. 
3434 JAG Corps 2020

Two and a half years have passed since the JAG Corps published 

its strategic plan, JAGC 2020. Our 

community’s transformation is a journey, not a single event. Fortunately, 

there are clear milestones along the 

way. Looking back on the past year, 

our community’s accomplishments 

reveal real and continuous progress 

toward our JAGC 2020 goals.

Thanks to metrics from hundreds 

of members of our community, the 

Chief of Naval Personnel has authorized 53 new judge advocate billets 

and 32 new legalman billets in the 

fiscal year 2010 budget. By recording hours in daily work diaries, judge 

advocates, legalmen, and civilians 

supplied the productivity metrics that 

substantiated our increased workload 

and our need for increased manpower. The Navy’s financial investment in the growth of the JAG Corps 

in these times of belt-tightening and 

draw-down reflects the Navy’s view 

of the value that judge advocates 

bring to the origination. 

Performance management and 

metrics will continue to yield dividends for our community, but we 

cannot sacrifice efficiency when collecting data. CMTIS, our primary 

data collection tool, continued to 

evolve in 2008. Version 2.0, launched 

in October 2008, enabled us to capture efficiency and timeliness data on 

command services and administrative boards as well as courts-martial. 

Like any new system, CMTIS 2.0 

came with growing pains and lessons 

learned. New in 2008 was a cadre 

of CMTIS Coordinators from every 

Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) 

and Naval Legal Service Office 

(NLSO). These coordinators were 

prepared to train their commands on 

the new features of CMTIS and collect 

feedback. In March 2009, the CMTIS 

Coordinators returned to Washington, 

D.C., with lessons learned and recommended improvements to the new 

modules in CMTIS 2.0. Not only 

will future versions of CMTIS benefit 

from increased input from the field, 

but all users can rest assured that their 

interests are represented in the continuing design and development of 

CMTIS.

The JAG Corps introduced a new 

survey in 2008 to ensure that we do 

not overlook our most importance 

performance goal: quality. Military 

judges conducted their first quarterly 

assessment of litigation performance 

at the RLSOs and NLSOs. Results 

of this assessment provide quality 

metrics to balance metrics on timeliness and efficiency.

Initiatives in personnel policy, specifically recruiting and retention, also 

yielded impressive numbers in 2008. 

A new recruiting video and website 

came online in the spring of 2008. 

This new electronic outreach, along 

with more proactive recruiting efforts 

at law schools and student bar association events, have paid off in the form 

of record numbers of applicants to the 

JAG Corps. From fiscal year 2007 to 

fiscal year 2008, overall applications 

to the JAG Corps increased 54%, and 

applications from diverse candidates 

more than doubled. While the current 

state of the economy has undoubtedly 

contributed to the number of applicants, our JAG Corps recruiters in the 

field deserve much of the credit for the 

talent and diversity of experience they 

have attracted to the JAG Corps. 

Recruiting accomplishments in 

2008 and 2009 will not guarantee our 

success in 2020 without equal emphasis on retention. The JAG Corps has 

begun sending an exit survey to officers, enlisted, and civilians who submit 

requests to resign or retire. The second 

Pulse of the JAG Corps Survey opened 

in November to identify any new leading indicators of retention issues as 

well as changes during 2008. Results 

were published on Navy Knowledge 

Online (NKO) in early March 2009. 

The results showed improvement in 

perceptions of our leaders’ management of change, numbers of personnel 

who felt they had a mentor in our community, and belief that the JAG Corps 

legal community values diversity of 

personnel. Nevertheless, there is still 

room for improvement in these areas. 

The results of the Pulse survey also 

reinforced the critical importance of 

personal career development and life/

work balance. Cognizant of the importance of life/work balance and diversity to the retention of our personnel 

and the success of our community, the 

JAG Corps created Task Force Diversity and Task Force Life/Work Balance in 2008. In late summer 2008, 

the phased rollout of the telecommuting initiative began at the Office of the 

Judge Advocate General and RLSOs 

and NLSOs Mid-Atlantic and Southwest. Currently, 113 members of our 

community telecommute.

Our community’s commitment to 

the education and professional development of Sailors is unprecedented 

and unparalleled in the Navy. The JAG 

Corps enthusiastically welcomed 71 

new legalmen (LNs) over the past year. 

Every new LN graduated from Naval 

Justice School’s accession course with 

10 college credits toward a Paralegal 

Studies degree. The number of LNs 

enrolled in Roger Williams University 

(RWU) Paralegal Studies courses has 

Transformation

Year in Review, by the Numbers
3535 JAG Corps 2020

Special Assistant for Transformation (SAT) Staff

CDR Michael Jaeger

(202) 685-7255 

michael.j.jaeger@navy.mil

CAPT Dawn Tompkins

(202) 685-7701

dawn.tompkins@navy.mil

LCDR Kimberley McCann

(202) 685-5185

kimberley.mccann@navy.mil

LT Dave Fink

(202) 685-5462 

david.w.fink@navy.mil

grown to 91. Legalmen completed 

over 300 courses in 2008 and are currently registered for 169 courses at 

RWU alone. The American Bar Association approved RWU’s Associates 

Degree in Paralegal Studies in 2008 

and has approved individual paralegal 

ethics courses now offered at Naval 

Justice School detachments in Norfolk 

and San Diego. Expanded educational 

opportunities are only part of the new 

Legalman Learning Development 

Roadmap, completed in 2008 and used 

as a model for other communities.

Professional development and educational opportunities are not limited to 

legalmen. A Civilian Education/Training instruction has been issued. The 

number of judge advocate quotas for 

LLM degrees at civilian law schools 

has grown to 16, and the number of 

quotas for the Army JAG School’s 

LLM program has grown to six. As 

more judge advocates earn their LLMs 

in international law and environmental 

law, the quality of our legal support of 

Navy operations only improves.

The cadre of experienced Navy 

JAG Corps litigators has also grown in 

the past year, improving the quality 

of our support of accountability in the fleet. The Military 

Justice Litigation Career 

Track Selection Board has 

named 19 Military Justice 

Experts and 18 Specialists. 

Many of these Experts 

and Specialists currently 

serve as RLSO or NLSO 

executive officers, senior 

defense counsel, senior 

trial counsel, or military 

judges, and more are slated 

to fill those positions this 

year.

Other examples of the JAG 

Corps’ direct support of our Sailors involve initiatives for Sailor legal 

readiness. Code 16, our legal assistance division, and legal assistance 

attorneys throughout Naval Legal 

Service Command updated and standardized powers of attorney and intake 

forms to ensure quality and consistency among our legal assistance 

offices. Our personnel have begun 

venturing into Navy medical centers 

to address the legal needs of wounded, 

ill, and injured Sailors in the Navy’s 

Safe Harbor Program. Eleven Reserve 

judge advocates have mobilized to 

provide wounded, ill, and injured Sailors advice on the Physical Evaluation 

Board process.

Whether delivering legal services to 

Sailors in our medical centers or helping to fill the new requirement for judge 

advocates and legalmen at the Office 

of Military Commissions, our Reserve 

Component augments our active-duty 

JAG Corps more seamlessly than ever. 

All Reserve units and billets are newly 

aligned with active-duty units for optimal active reserve integration. 

Harnessing the wealth of legal 

expertise available to the JAG Corps is 

one of the primary goals of our knowledge management and technology

initiatives. In 2008, electronic Communities of Practice (COPs) came 

online for every area of our practice. The JAG Corps and the Navy’s 

Office of General Counsel have collaborated in building online COPs 

for Ethics and Standards of Conduct 

and Environmental Law.

The JAG Corps’ technological advances are not limited to the 

internet but also appear in our new 

brick and mortar facilities. RLSO 

Midwest has a new, state-of-theart courtroom in Great Lakes. The 

building housing our claims personnel in Norfolk is newly renovated. 

Finally, the Navy-Marine Corps 

Appellate Center has opened in 

newly-renovated Building 58 on the 

Washington Navy Yard. 

Whether it is a new building, a new 

billet, or new initiative, each milestone brings us closer to our goals for 

JAGC 2020. Our journey is a shared 

one, and each of you can follow our 

progress throughout the year. Log 

onto the JAGC 2020 page on NKO 

anytime to read the latest update of 

the Strategic Transformation Execution Plan, or STEP. 

There are also opportunities to 

share your ideas and insight into our 

transformation journey. Anyone can 

post a message on the JAGC 2020 

discussion board on NKO, and the 

Special Assistant for Transformation’s 

(SAT) Team will ensure the message 

reaches the right people. Additionally, 

a new JAG Corps Board of Advisors 

(JAGC BOA), comprised of senior 

officer, enlisted, and civilian leaders, 

convened in March 2009. The JAGC 

BOA will help keep our community 

informed of our transformation objectives and achievements and help carry 

feedback and ideas from our community to our leadership. You may see 

your idea or project on these pages 

next year.

12 Transformation Focus Areas

Operations

Accountability

Sailor Legal Readiness

Navy Legal Readiness

Navy JAG Corps Organization

Active Reserve Integration

Personnel Policy

Professional Development

Knowledge Management and Information Technology

Facilities

Performance Management and Metrics

Efficiency
36 JAG Corps Civilians

By Amy Stevens

Fiscal and Resource Management (Code 64)

For more information or to ask a question about civilian 

training opportunities, contact Amy Stevens at (202) 685-5286 or 

at amy.stevens@navy.mil

36

Within the federal government, 

all agencies have a voluntary Employee Assistance Program 

(EAP) available to support personnel 

through free, short-term, confidential counseling and referral services. 

EAPs are organized to provide counseling and support for employees 

experiencing stressful life situations 

that may adversely affect employee 

performance and emotional health to 

include substance abuse, grief, family 

problems, divorce, financial struggles, 

and psychological disorders. EAP 

is staffed by professional counselors who are committed to assisting 

employees facing problems. Recent 

evaluations of EAPs conducted by 

the Office of Personnel Management 

(OPM) show that the programs and 

services are highly successful in helping employees cope with personal 

troubles. 

The basic services of an EAP 

include:

• Confidential, free, short-term 

counseling to identify and assess 

problem(s) and to help employees 

in problem-solving

• Referral, where appropriate, to 

a community service or professional resource that provides 

treatment and/or rehabilitation 

• Follow-up services to help an 

employee readjust to his or her 

job during and after treatment, 

Federal Employee 

Assistance Program

e.g., back-to-work conferences 

• Training sessions for 

managers and supervisors on handling workrelated problems that may 

be related to substance 

abuse or other personal or 

health-related problems 

• Orientation and educational 

programs to promote the services of the EAP 

• Briefings to educate management and union officials on the 

role of EAPs 

Management can benefit from 

EAP services by:

• Preventing and intervening in incidents of workplace violence

• Consulting with a supervisor who 

suspects an employee is experiencing difficulties and may benefit 

from EAP 

• Delivering critical incident stress 

debriefings

• Providing assistance to management and employees during agency 

restructuring or other major organizational transitions or developments

EAP appointments are generally 

scheduled via telephone and are as 

flexible as possible to accommodate 

employees before, during, or after their 

normal workday. Employers may grant 

excused absences or leave for those 

employees who are utilizing EAP services. Employee information of those 

who utilize EAP services is subject to 

confidentiality requirements. Exceptions are rare and usually directly relate 

to issues of safety of the employee or 

others. 

For additional information regarding Employee Assistance Programs 

and services, please visit http://www.

opm.gov/Employment_and_Benefits/

worklife/healthwellness/EAP/. 
37JAG Corps Alumni

37

Find out what they are doing now! Alumni of the JAG Corps 

describe their current positions and what they did in the JAG Corps.

Spotlight On

Except for his short time as an appellate attorney with the 

Maryland Attorney General’s Office, CAPT Larson’s postJAG Corps career has been entirely with the Office of the General Counsel in the FBI. Currently CAPT Larson is the Deputy 

General Counsel for the FBI. He is one of four deputies in an 

office of about 250 personnel and the head of the branch that 

provides general law advice and counsel.

“The FBI is a great home for former JAGs, because it is mission-oriented just like the Navy. Like the Navy, the career is 

not about making money or about ‘you;’ it is about serving a 

greater and very rewarding cause,” said CAPT Larson 

CAPT Larson retired in October 1995 after serving more 

than 29 years in the U.S. Navy. CAPT Larson has been an 

attorney giving legal advice on criminal procedures, investigative jurisdiction, and the use of investigative techniques. 

He has also been in leadership positions as the director of a 

unit that provides criminal law advice, and one which provides advice on protection of privacy and civil liberties.

CAPT Larson received his undergraduate degree from 

the University of Washington in 1965, his Juris Doctor from 

Santa Clara University in 1975 and his Master of Laws degree 

from George Washington University in 1983.

Looking back over his naval career, CAPT Larson found 

that his most professionally satisfying billets were as the Commanding Officer of Naval Legal Service Office Subic Bay, 

Philippines (1990-92) and as the Chief Judge of the NavyMarine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (1992-95). 

For current judge advocates, CAPT Larson offers some 

advice. “Don’t spend too much time worrying about career 

progression or lining up the right billets for promotion. While 

every judge advocate and legalman should seek billets that 

will make him/her well rounded, the primary goal should be 

to seek assignments that are professionally and personally satisfying for you. Make the most of each one without undue 

concern over what comes next. I didn’t always get what I 

wanted or asked for – but each one turned out to be the right 

job for me,” said CAPT Larson. 

“Remember each day that it is an honor to serve your country and your shipmates; most lawyers don’t get that opportunity. You should consider yourself blessed to be in such good 

company, regardless of whether it is for one tour or a career,” 

said CAPT Larson. 

RDML(Ret.) David Hardy is currently the Chief of the Record/Information Dissemination Section at the FBI 

where he is responsible for the FBI’s Freedom of Information/Privacy Act, document declassification, and prepublication review programs. 

RDML Hardy retired in July 2002 after 25 years as a 

Navy JAG (plus five years as a Surface Warfare Officer). 

RDML Hardy became a JAG through the Law Education 

Program.

In 1972, RDML Hardy earned his undergraduate degree 

from the University of Texas, his Juris Doctor from the 

University of Texas Law School in 1980 and his Master of 

Laws degree from the University of Virginia Law School 

in 1986.

While his career gravitated toward international and 

operational law positions, he was fortunate to experience 

a rich variety of jobs. “Each was sufficiently distinct so as 

to present new challenges and fresh perspectives. I thoroughly enjoyed my work as a trial counsel, learning the 

inter-agency process and international negotiations while 

in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and at Naval 

Forces Europe, and command of a Naval Legal Service 

Office and OJAG Civil Law division,” said RDML Hardy. 

RDML Hardy felt that his time on the E-Ring was challenging and the equivalent of graduate school in learning 

how government really works. “I have found that the 

bumps and bruises of the E-Ring were superb preparation 

for my current position as a senior executive in a civilian 

agency,” said RDML Hardy. 

RDML Hardy worked for many incredible senior line 

commanders and tried to emulate their strengths in both 

his personal and professional life. “I have always thought 

that every JAG should serve at sea at some point in their 

career. Otherwise, I don’t believe you can really understand the Navy,” said RDML Hardy.

“As a staff judge advocate you’ll want to satisfy the 

requests of your commander, yet you must say no when 

it is appropriate. In those instances, always seek advice of 

more senior judge advocates, always. If no is the correct 

answer, then stay the course even if your Chief of Staff 

gets upset with you. In the end, you will earn true respect 

and trust from your commander.” 

CAPT (Ret.) David Larson RDML(Ret.) David Hardy
3838 Milestones

See your name in print! Submit your command awards and photos 

to natalie.morehouse@navy.mil

The finalists for the 2008 JAG Outstanding Legalman of the Year and 

Naval Legal Service Command Sailor 

of the Year were in Washington D.C. 

from Mar. 8-12 for the final round of the 

competition.

JAG Outstanding Legalman of the 

Year Finalists: 

• LN2 Amy Alexander, Naval 

Mobile Construction Battalion 

ONE

• LN1 Shawn Sargent, Commander, 

Carrier Strike Group FIVE 

• WINNER: LN1 Veda May, 

Commander, Carrier Strike Group 

TWELVE

Naval Legal Service Command Sailor 

of the Year Finalists:

• LN1Christopher Lehman, Region 

Legal Service Office Southwest

• LN1 Christie Richardson, Region 

Legal Service Office Midwest

• WINNER: LN1 Andrea Navarro, 

Region Legal Service Office Southeast Det. Fort Worth, Texas.

LT Christopher Mora Region 

Legal Service Office Southeast was 

selected to the New Orleans City Business 2009 Leadership in Law (i.e., the 

top 50 lawyers in the 10-parish Greater 

New Orleans Region (GNO)). LCDR 

Mora is a reservist who is on a threeyear recall to serve as the SJA for New 

Orleans. He is the only active duty 

military lawyer and Native American attorney to be listed in this annual 

ranking. The annual lawyer ranking 

looks at lawyers in both the private and 

public sector and is based on the quality of legal services, and impact on the 

GNO Region.

CDR Shelby Hladon, Executive 

Officer, Region Legal Service Office 

Northwest, had the pleasure of reenlisting LN1 Annette Walters, RLSO 

NW Branch Office Whidbey Island. 

The two were dropped off on top of 

a snowy mountain peak in the Cascade Mountains in a MH-60S (NAS 

Whidbey Island’s Search and Rescue 

helicopter). 

RADM K. M. Quinn, Commander, 

Naval Surface Force Atlantic, presented the Meritorious Service Medal 

to CDR Peter Jankell, USNR for his 

service as Legal Department Head, 

Naval Surface Force Atlantic, Naval 

Reserve Detachment 606 from October 2005 - December 2008. 

LT Jocelyn Loftus-Williams

received the Navy and Marine Corps 

Achievement Medal for outstanding 

performance of duties for Naval Legal 

Service Office Central prior to her 

transfer to Region Legal Service Office 

EURSWA.

On Jan. 21, the Naval Justice School 

recognized four individuals. LCDR 

Melissa Powers received the Defense 

Meritorious Service Medal for her work 

as the officer-in- charge of the Combined 

Review and Release Board in Iraq. LT 

Anthony Capece was given the Navy 

and Marine Corps Commendation Medal 

in recognition of his outstanding service 

as an instructor and division officer in 

military justice and administrative law. 

LN1 Erin Kolb earned the Navy and 

Marine Corps Commendation Medal 

for her impressive contributions during 

her time at Region Legal Service Office 

Southeast, Branch Office New Orleans. 

Finally, LT Mike O’Regan was named 

the Naval Justice School’s Junior Officer 

of the Quarter for October - December 

2008 for his efforts as course coordinator 

of Basic Lawyer Course 09010, division 

officer of the Trial Advocacy Division, 

and recruiting officer for NJS.

VADM MacDonald presented Mrs. 

Debra Ward with the Meritorious 

Civilian Service Award.

RADM Joseph F. Kilkenny, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, 

selected LN1 Danelle Slack as Navy 

Recruiting Command Headquarters’ 

Sailor of the Quarter for the first quarter of CY-09. She was recognized for 

her outstanding legal support to more 

than 7,000 staff and field recruiting 

personnel nationwide.

LN1 Myron Chism and LN2 Erin 

Crusan, both assigned to RLSO MidWest, were recognized for their selection as Navy Region Midwest’s Senior 

and Junior Sailor of the Quarter for the 

period January to March 2009. Presenting the awards were the Region Commander, RDML Douglass Biesel, and 

the Region Master Chief, CMDCM(SW/

AW) Aloysius Nelson. LN1 Chism was 

also selected as Naval Legal Service 

Command’s Sailor of the Quarter. 

LT Billy Holt received a Navy and 

Marine Corps Achievement Medal 

from CAPT Pamela Ball, Commanding Officer, NLSO NW. This was 

an end of tour award for his time at 

NLSO NW.

In a RLSO Japan awards ceremony 

CAPT Stuart Belt recognized LT Jonathan Flynn as Junior Officer of the 

Year, Mr. Gerald Sauls as Civilian of 

the Year, and SH1 Dante Ribada as 

Sailor of the Quarter. 

LN1 Shawn Sargent was the 

named the Sailor of the Year for CTF 

70 and LN1 Wanda Smylie was 

named as the Sailor of the Year for 

RLSO Japan.

On March 18th, LCDR Andrew 

House assumed Command of Naval 

Legal Service Office (NLSO) Central 

as CDR Scott Thompson prepared to 

depart for Afghanistan. The Change of 

Command Ceremony, held on the flight 

deck of the USS Cabot in the National 

Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air 

Station Pensacola, was attended by over 

one hundred guests, including Rear 

Admiral James Houck. 

LCDR Chris Williams received the 

Colleen S. Smiley-Owendoff Teaching 

Excellence Award. The United States 

Naval Academy bestows the award 

annually upon a military or civilian faculty member in either the Division of 

Professional Development or the Division of Officer Development. LCDR 

Williams’ name will be inscribed on a 

plaque permanently displayed in Luce 

Hall at the Naval Academy.
3939 Photos From The Fleet

Navy JAG team that supported ADM Walsh in his review of conditions of 

detention at Guantanamo Bay, pursuant to the President’s Executive Order. 

Pictured from Left to Right are CAPT Pat McCarthy; ADM Pat Walsh, LCDR 

Elysia Ng; and CDR Erin Stone.

Navy IAs currently serving with Multi National Force – West in Al Asad Air Base, 

Iraq: LT Sean Thompson, LCDR Dave Lee, LT Jared Edgar, LT Tim French, and 

LCDR Josh Nauman. 

Task Force 134 Legal Headquarters on Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq. Pictured 

from left to right are Capt Seth Rundle, USAF, LT Dan Napier, LT Mario Correa, 

and LT Will Bloomfield.

TF 134 FOB Football team. Standing (left to right): LT Gavan Montague, 

LT Phil Angeli, Capt Reese Hays, LT James Head, LT Justin McEwen, 

Capt Andrew Nolan, Capt Wes Duncan. Kneeling (left to right): Capt 

Justin Swick, MSgt Jeffrey Julig, LCDR Brandon Keith.

LCDR Byron Divins, Jr. with children during a recent TAD in Afghanistan. LCDR 

Divins is the Officer-in-Charge of RLSO EURSWA Detachment Bahrain.

LT Bryan Barletto (NLSO SW), CDR Eric Roper (RLSO SW), and CDR Mary 

Ellen Moss (RLSO SW during the NLSO SW Golf Tournament at the North 

Island Naval Air Station. 
Office of the Judge Advocate General

Public Affairs Office

1322 Patterson Ave., SE, Suite 3000

Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5066

Navy and Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals . From left: 1. Judge Lewis Booker 2. foreground (LCDR James Carsten, Senior Law Clerk) 3. Judge John 

Maksym 4. Judge Robert Kelly 5. Senior Judge Robert Vincent 6. Senior Judge John Feltham 7. Chief Judge Daniel O’Toole 8. foreground (LtCol Richard 

Posey, Deputy Division Director, Appellate Defense) 9. Senior Judge Eric Geiser 10. Senior Judge Stuart Couch 11. foreground (Major Elizabeth Harvey, 

USMC, Appellate Government Counsel) 12. foreground (LT Dillon Ambrose, Appellate Defense Counsel) 13. Judge Joseph Stolasz 14. Judge Eric Price