Navy May/June 2007

Combined 

Task Force - 

Horn of Africa 

Individual 

Augment

Inside:

Next Generation of 

Legalmen

NAMARA Gets 

L6Sigma Help

The Law of the Sea

SJAs Beware!
On the cover

INSIDE JAG MAGAZINE

LT Tahmika Jackson, a 

JAG Corps Individual 

Augmentee at Combined Joint Task Force 

- Horn of Africa, works 

with the community in 

Djibouti, Africa 

See more on Page 6.

The Law of the Sea Page 5

Horn of Africa Individual Augment 

Page 6

Defining Communities of Practice Page 8 

SJA’s Beware: Errors In Courts Martial Post-trial Processing 

Page 10

 The Next Generation of Navy Legalmen Page 11

NAMARA Gets Faster, More Effective Page 12

Appellate Center of Excellence Page 14

Integrating in Support of the Mission Page 15

Regular columns

Book Review: Thinking Like A Terrorist Page 16

JAG News Page 19

JAG Corps 2020 Page 20 

NSPS Page 21

JAG Awards Page 22

Photos from the Fleet Page 24

NLSO Pacific Joint Initiatives Page 17
BRUCE MacDONALD

Rear Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy

Judge Advocate General

The Judge Advocate General

I am very pleased with the direction that the JAG 

Magazine is taking. Our Public Affairs team of Jen 

Zeldis and Natalie Morehouse work extremely hard 

to compile and publish a product of interest to the entire 

community, including our retirees and family members. 

Just as exciting is the quality of the articles coming in, 

not just from Headquarters, but also from the Fleet. See 

LT Tahmika Jackson’s remarkable article describing her 

IA experience in Djibouti. 

CAPT Pat Neher’s update on the Law of the Sea 

Convention provides insight into what has been one of 

the most visible issues that we have been handling in the 

Pentagon over the past two months. But it is only the tip of 

the iceberg, as all the Codes in OJAG and NAMARA have 

their share of important projects, in addition to “normal” 

emergent taskers.

Included in these pages are updates on several 

transformation initiatives – commencement of new and 

improved Legalman education at NJS, significant facility 

upgrades for the Navy-Marine Court of Criminal Appeals, 

Active-Reserve integration, jointness of legal services 

on Oahu, streamlining NAMARA’s handling of records 

of trial, and Communities of Practice. All are things to 

be proud of, and result from the innovative thought and 

determined follow-through of numerous individuals 

throughout the JAG Corps.

Summer is here, a traditional time for vacation plans 

and outdoor activities. I encourage everyone to enjoy 

well-earned leave and liberty. But please do so safely – 

there continue to be far too many of our shipmates killed 

or seriously injured in accidents that could be otherwise 

avoided by proper planning and risk management. For 

Supervisors: I consider it an essential aspect of covenant 

leadership for you to know what your people are doing and 

elevating our collective commitment to safety. 

Some of our Team are unable to make traditional summer 

plans this year. For those of you forward-deployed, know 

that the entire JAG Corps joins me in stating that you are 

in our constant thoughts and prayers. We look forward to 

hearing about your adventures when next we see you. Until 

then, be safe.

This forum is a great opportunity to share and communicate 

across our Corps. Please keep those articles, photos, awards, 

and book reviews coming! Thank you for all you do each 

day. 
4

I am delighted to talk about our full community – active 

and reserve. Our ideal is to be truly a single entity: 

active and reserve, officer and enlisted, ready and fully 

integrated. We have made great strides toward realizing this 

ideal, and our capacity to draw upon all of our resources to 

meet the mission has never been greater. I am proud of the 

work we have done to date.

Our challenge is to continue the progress we have made – 

to align our active-reserve components into something that 

best serves our current and projected needs in meeting the 

mission. I would like to place our efforts under JAG Corps 

2020 regarding the reserve component into the larger context 

of the Navy’s goals and needs for transformation. 

Our reserve component must be prepared for and aligned 

with overall JAGC community transformation. The 

imperative is to derive the greatest possible efficiency and 

effectiveness for the Navy - maximum results in support 

of our mission at optimal cost. The JAG Corps Reserve 

component alignment is manpower-intensive – our product 

is intellectual and produced directly by people. We look, 

therefore, to three key sources for guidance: the Chief 

of Naval Operations, the Chief of Naval Personnel, and 

the Judge Advocate General. In particular, CNP’s 2007 

guidance resonates with me:

Our challenge is to develop a more capable and versatile 

workforce that meets the rapidly expanding requirements 

posed by the Nation’s evolving maritime strategy.

Our vision is a Navy manpower, personnel, training and 

education system that targets and attracts the right talent, 

then trains, develops, equips and motivates these men and 

women throughout a career of Navy service.

Our mission in support of Navy is to anticipate war 

fighting needs, identify associated personnel capabilities, 

and recruit, develop, manage and apply those capabilities in 

an agile cost-effective manner.

The Strategic Goals:

An Effective Total Force

Capability-Driven

Competency-Based

Competitive in the Marketplace (i.e., first-quality)

Diverse (in skills, perspectives and backgrounds)

Agile and Cost-Effective

These are powerful principles and guidelines. Our 

goal is to meet that central challenge: to develop 

that “more capable and versatile workforce that 

meets the rapidly-expanding requirements” 

Assistant Deputy Judge Advocate General

that our Navy needs. A well-aligned and mutuallysupportive community, with each of its key components -- 

active and reserve, and civilians -- will make its integrated 

contribution of the “right talent,” in the right measure, in 

the right way, and at the right cost. It will take all of us to 

do the job right.

JAG Corps 2020 is our community’s way forward toward 

meeting this goal and realizing this opportunity. The article 

from CAPT Ben Abalos that follows is first in a series that 

will cover the specifics of active-reserve integration and 

alignment within JAG Corps 2020: areas of support to 

the active duty, core competencies of Reserve JAG units 

and individuals, and transformation initiatives and ongoing 

efforts. We are all on an important journey. With RADM 

MacDonald and RADM Houck, I look forward to working 

with people at every level of our community along the 

way.

NORTON C. JOERG

Rear Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy

Assistant Deputy Judge Advocate General
5

The Law of the Sea

By CAPT Pat Neher

International and Operational Law

On May 15, President Bush issued a statement urging 

the Senate to act favorably on U.S. accession to the 

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 

during the current session of Congress. In supporting the 

Convention, the President said:

Joining will serve the national security interests 

of the United States, including the maritime 

mobility of our armed forces worldwide. It 

will secure U.S. sovereign rights over extensive 

marine areas, including the valuable natural 

resources they contain. Accession will promote 

U.S. interests in the environmental health of the 

oceans. And it will give the United States a seat 

at the table when the rights that are vital to our 

interests are debated and interpreted.

Any past or present Navy judge advocate with salt on 

him or her will tell you – the navigation and overflight rights 

and freedoms reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention 

are absolutely critical to current and future Fleet operations. 

Specifically, our Navy depends upon the principles contained 

in the Convention in moving forces on, over, and under the 

world’s oceans, whenever and wherever needed. 

Specifically, the Convention recognizes and preserves for 

our ships and aircraft the freedom to conduct:

• Innocent passage in territorial waters

• Transit passage through international straits (surface, 

air, and subsurface)

• Unrestricted military activities in the high seas

• Military surveys

• Approach and visit of suspected stateless vessels.

Economically, the Convention supports our national 

interests by giving the U.S. sovereign rights over the 

resources of one of the largest continental shelves in the 

world. Further, it is the Law of the Sea Convention that 

creates and recognizes a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone 

out to 200 nautical miles, and the rights to explore, exploit, 

conserve, and manage the natural resources therein. 

More than 150 nations are Party to the Convention 

– but not the United States, the world’s leading maritime 

nation. Arguments that were used in the past to keep the 

U.S. outside the Convention – such as the impact of deep sea 

bed mining provisions – were affirmatively addressed and 

corrected in 1994 amendments to the Convention. And there 

are important reasons for us to join without further delay. 

Consider the following remarks that Deputy Secretary of 

Defense Gordon England and the Deputy Secretary of State 

John Negroponte wrote in a recent editorial published in the 

Washington Times:

Accession makes sense from the perspective of 

U.S. leadership on the world stage. Joining the 

convention would give the nation a seat at the 

table, a voice in the debates, to help shape the 

future development of oceans law, policy and 

practice. Accession would also give the United 

States better opportunities to keep a close watch 

on other nations’ efforts to exercise their rights 

under the law of the sea and to counter excessive 

claims if necessary. Finally, accession would 

powerfully and publicly reiterate the nation’s 

commitment to the rule of law as the basis for 

policy and action.

The President’s statement in support of the Convention 

is a major step forward towards the goal of joining the 

Convention. We expect that the Senate Foreign Relations 

Committee will conduct formal hearings regarding the 

Law of the Sea Convention. We will keep you posted of 

progress. 

If you are interested in the Law of the Sea Convention 

(and every Navy legal professional should be!), and want 

to do some more reading, visit the Code 10 Community of 

Practice on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO). 
6

Editors note: This article is the 

second in a series of first-hand accounts 

from members of the JAG Corps in individual augmentee (IA) assignments. 

The first article, found in the March/

April JAG Magazine, featured LT Chris 

Jeter and LN2 Debra Bazan in their IA 

assignments in Iraq.

This is a chance to prevent conflict. 

To promote regional stability. To 

protect coalition interests. To prevail against extremism. This is Combined 

Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa.

The Horn of Africa is massive in size 

and diverse of people and issues. With 

a land area of 2.1 million square miles 

(approximately 68% of the size of the 

lower 48 States), half of its populace 

lives in extreme poverty with 3.3 million refugees, over 10 million displaced 

persons and at least 26 million people 

living with HIV. 

What are we doing here? Facing 

critical issues including famine, AIDS 

and lack of infrastructure in a complex cultural environment that includes 

clan and tribal sub-cultures requires a 

variety of engagement strategies while 

addressing national political interests. 

Judge advocates must earn their keep.

Combined Joint Task Force—Horn 

of Africa Office of the Staff Judge 

Advocate is a joint unit that includes 

a Navy JAG Commander (and former 

submariner), a Marine grunt FLEP, 

and an Army Reservist who ran her 

own law practice before activating. 

Our newest Navy judge advocate, also 

my replacement, was my wily defense 

counsel adversary six months ago but 

now is my new favorite face on the 

Camp. All are supported by a first-rate 

legalman first class whose blood bleeds 

orange (go Tennessee Lady Vols!), and 

a deputy clerk of court for Skagitt 

County Washington by day and an 

Aviation Ordinance second class petty 

officer by rate. And then there is me. 

Coming to the end of my IA in a matter 

of days, how does this team that I have 

had the fortune to be a part of work 

toward RDML James Hart’s vision of a 

stable region free of extremism? 

Let me set the stage for you. First, 

Afghanistan is hot. Iraq may be hotter 

still. But the hottest place on the planet 

on average year-round is located right 

here in Djibouti, Africa. 

The entire Camp is just over a mileand-a-half in perimeter, so it is only a 

matter of time before you lay eyes on 

just about everyone here. On what 

passes for the morning commute (the 

walk up the hill toward work), you pass 

all branches of service including the 

Coast Guard from time to time. While 

they all greet you in English, 

you cannot miss the coalition officers from Germany, 

France, Kenya, Ethiopia, 

Korea, Great Britain and a 

host of other nations. 

We also have contract 

civilians from the U.S., 

Italy, and Canada plus 

many local nationals staffing everything from the 

gym and pool to the Moral, 

Welfare, and Recreation 

(MWR) office and the Base 

Exchange. 

We are here to win hearts 

and minds as guests in our 

host nations. Of course, it 

is also a bit of a challenge 

to win anyone’s heart or 

mind sitting behind a desk, 

so judge advocates here 

do what we do everywhere 

JAG Corps Individual Augment: 

Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa

By LT Tahmika Jackson

Combined Joint Task Force -- 

Horn of Africa

LT Tahmika Jackson greets local military members at Combined Joint Task Force--Horn of Africa.
7

else. We primarily facilitate the purple fleet’s roving 

accomplishment of the mission, although from time 

to time we get to do some 

roving, too.

CJTF-HOA meets immediate host nation needs through 

civil military operations that 

provide clean water, functional schools and improved 

roads and medical facilities 

among other things. If you 

guessed fiscal law is our bread 

and butter, derived from our 

role in vetting these projects, 

you would be correct. Almost 

everything we do here involves spending federal funds and the parameters 

surrounding those expenditures set up 

by Congress and the Commander-inChief. 

In an effort to maintain host nation 

self-sufficiency and sanitation, our 

Seabees and Civil Affairs teams are 

hard at work building schools, digging 

wells, creating libraries, training medical and veterinarian personnel and sanitizing slaughterhouses in cooperation 

with host nations, U.S. Embassies and 

USAID. 

Our combat soldiers promote regional 

stability by creating military selfreliance through military-to-military 

training. In any typical week this busy 

office deals with humanitarian affairs 

project proposal reviews (to ensure 

compliance with CENTCOM, federal, 

and international law); ethics issues 

concerning donations, excess property 

and travel issues; human rights training 

and issues; rules of engagement; joint 

military justice; and all manner of legal 

assistance issues from wrongful death 

suits to stolen identities. We could be 

working on personnel recovery issues 

in the morning and post-trial matters by 

the afternoon.

We win hearts and minds through the 

human touch. Not all of us can repair 

a bridge or help birth a calf. But the 

command encourages all members to 

become involved in our local outreach 

activities where we can make a difference. Just down the street from the 

Camp is Douda Village. I was lucky 

enough to be invited to participate in 

the first ever women’s exchange in the 

village. 

While Marines were pitching in to 

help the village with various projects, 

the local women, mostly young with 

children, felt left out and were hoping 

to speak with some military women to 

exchange perspectives. It was laundry 

day. While the men painted equipment 

and lifted weights, we swapped stories 

about children—one lady offered to 

braid my hair on the spot. I have been 

invited as a guest to a Djiboutian wedding where I found that the stark look 

LT Tahmika Jackson, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of 

Africa describe life as a JAG Corps Individual Augmentee

of terror in a groom’s eye 

transcends all cultural lines. I 

could not speak the language 

but was honored to dance, sing 

and eat with the women in celebration of one of life’s most 

important moments. 

I have been called “lost 

sister across the water” more 

than once while giving human 

rights and law of war training 

to the Ethiopian and Djiboutian armies. Twice a week, 

I head out to local schools to 

speak English with local men 

and women who are learning 

the language and striving to 

make their lives and country great. They 

see a better tomorrow, and they see the 

United States as a part of their growth. 

Sometimes the electricity goes out, 

the alleys are dark and muddy, the air 

is often thick with the smell of burning trash and the desks and chairs are 

coarse. But without fail, we are greeted 

as friend, sister and brother. We are relevant. This is the long war for hearts 

and minds, peace and stability. This 

requires that in addition to knowing the 

law and providing sage counsel to our 

staff, we must step out from behind the 

confines of the law, beyond the comfort 

of Camp, and into the front lines of the 

newest infantry unit in the fight against 

terror. We must be advocates of good 

will and friendship.

Combat soldiers promote regional stability by creating military self-reliance through military-to-military training.

LT Tahmika Jackson visits with local women on laundry day in Djibouti, Africa.
8

I

f you think about it, the concept of a “Community of 

Practice” (CoP) is similar to popular websites such as 

My Space and Facebook -- only CoPs are used for your 

day job and can be used on NMCI computers. 

A CoP actively links together individuals performing 

similar functions within a common discipline; promotes the 

routine sharing of knowledge and ideas; produces synergy 

among all CoP; and shares/distributes/archives “best practices” and valuable lessons learned. The information gained 

from active participation in a CoP greatly enhances the accuracy, productivity and knowledge of the individuals participating. 

The JAG Corps’ CoPs are currently located on the Navy 

Knowledge Online (NKO) Portal. The current CoP offerings include Military Justice, Civil Law, Information Technology and Legal Assistance.

The first active CoP had its genesis among the members 

of our Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. This CoP is a 

secure discussion portal for all trial judges to utilize, and 

have confidence that all communications are secure from 

access by anyone not serving as a sitting trial judge. 

This was such a great success it ultimately was expanded 

to include the trial judges from all other services. This collaboration space quickly became a vehicle for timely and 

efficiently sharing information. 

“This allows for MJ practitioners to exploit synergy 

derived from collective wisdom and experience,” said CAPT 

Defining Communities of Practice

By Mr. Thomas Banda

Knowledge and Information Services By Mr. Thomas Banda

Knowledge and Information Services

John Rolph, the Chief Judge of the Navy-Marine Corps 

Court of Criminal Appeals. 

Rolph, the “Community Champion,” was instrumental in 

motivating and encouraging all of the Trial Judiciary to begin 

routinely and effectively using the NKO discussion forum.

With the success of the Trial Judiciary’s Knowledge 

Center and secure discussion portal, JAG’s NKO site was 

expanded to include individual Knowledge Centers for other 

major segments of the MJ community, giving many their 

own individual secure discussion forum. 

The MJ main page has a virtual library and provides access 

to published instructions and up-to-date military justice publications. The Defense and Prosecution Knowledge Centers 

were added as well as all other practice areas within MJ. 

Each Knowledge Center has its own document repository 

where best practices and lessons learned can be captured for 

all future practitioners. They also have their own discussion forum (secure and unsecure) to promote discussion and 

synergy among their counterparts worldwide. To join one 

of these CoP Knowledge Centers, contact each community 

manager listed on the MJ CoP manager’s page.

The advantage for MJ practitioners in routinely using the 

established CoP is ultimately, a better, well-reasoned, and 

often more thoroughly researched final work product. The 

knowledge and information gained from others’ past and 

current experiences (some of which can literally be shared 

with you “real time”) allows you to be far more efficient, 

effective, and thorough. The CoP is a remarkable innovation and an incredible tool for every new legal professional 

entering into a military justice practice. To date the number 

of MJ page hits stands at 17,305.
9

LCDR Aaron Rugh, 

JAGC, USN

“Members of the Criminal Law 

Community of Practice have a new 

resource on NKO after the recent 

unveiling of a refurbished, Code 20-

sponsored CoP web page. The new 

criminal law page links to hundreds of 

military justice documents including 

sample motions, voir dire questions, 

mock cross-examinations, charging 

tips, and other helpful court-martial 

forms all organized in searchable, 

subject matter gears. Additionally, 

the page serves as a common room for 

both government and defense litigators 

with weekly courtroom advocacy tips 

and pre-loaded training on every stage 

of the trial process. Finally, counsel 

and military judges can share ideas on 

the discussion forum message boards 

or get advice on tough questions with 

instant E-mail or telephone reachback. Code 20 has put a great spin 

on the CoP web page idea and done it 

all with our ‘unique’ sense of humor 

and style.” 

Definition of a Community of Practice: An affinity group or information network 

that provides a forum where members can exchange tips and generate ideas; a group of professionals 

who try to face a common problem to solve and who strive to improve their profession and thereby 

themselves. An informal network or forum where tips are exchanged and ideas are generated. A 

group of professionals informally bound to one another through exposure to a common class of 

problems, common pursuit of solutions, and thereby themselves embodying a store of knowledge. A 

group of practitioners held together by shared practices and common beliefs. 

“Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice” Kimiz Dalkir

What are people saying about CoPs?

LCDR Ted Cook, 

JAGC, USN

“The Legal Assistance CoP is a 

great resource for attorneys providing 

legal assistance. It contains basic 

background information at the 

attorney level with citations and crossreferences to allow more research in a 

specific topic if that is required. The 

main focus of the LA CoP is the gear 

CDR Gregg Cervi, 

JAGC, USN

“The Admiralty and Maritime Law 

Division has made a concerted effort 

to provide information and resources 

regarding claims prevention, processes 

and strategies in its CoP. Fleet-wide 

dissemination of articles, training aids 

and sample documents in subjects 

such as civil litigation, admiralty 

and maritime law, investigations, 

discovery, and privileges, make the 

Code 11 site essential reading for 

attorneys engaged in civil litigation 

support or maritime law specific 

research.”

entitled ‘Legal Assistance Topics.’ 

Here the topics are grouped together 

for family law, consumer law, estate 

planning, etc. Currently the topics are 

generic to all jurisdictions, but in the 

future they will be specific to several 

states with significant Navy presence. 

Besides the topics page, the LA CoP 

also has Legal Assistance Discussion, 

Legal Assistance Attorney Essential 

Readings/References, LAPAs, Checklists, Software Download, and much 

more. After spending just a few 

minutes navigating through the LA 

CoP, users are surprised at the wealth 

of information and ease of which it can 

be retrieved. This tool is especially 

helpful for those who don’t do legal 

assistance on a daily basis and are 

called upon to answer personal legal 

questions.”
10

SJA’S Beware: Errors In Courts 

Martial Post-trial Processing

For years, Navy and Marine Corps post-trial procedures 

have been plagued with delays and errors. Appellate 

courts have expressed their frustration on numerous 

occasions, subtly and not-so-subtly encouraging us to fix the 

problem.

As described in a recent Code 20 News-Mailer, in the first 

three months of 2007, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) had to deal with the following errors:

Staff Judge Advocate Review (SJAR) that listed a nonexistent NJP;

SJAR with erroneous findings;

SJAR that failed to indicate multiple specifications were 

withdrawn, thereby impacting (in error) the approved findings;

SJAR that failed to note pretrial 

restraint imposed on the accused;

Convening Authority (CA) who 

took action without waiting for the 

required delivery of the SJAR;

CA who failed to disapprove 

confinement as required under the 

pre-trial agreement (PTA);

CA who failed to disapprove 

adjudged forfeitures as required 

under the PTA;

CA who ordered a BCD executed despite the fact that he lacked the authority to do so.

Unfortunately, this is only a partial list.

We can and must do better. SJAs and legal support personnel involved in post-trial processing can easily prevent these 

mistakes by simply reading the Manual for Courts-Martial 

(don’t go off of memory – open the book in every case), by 

drafting SJARs to reflect the particular case at hand (shell documents are great until they become a crutch), and spending 

a modest amount of time critically reviewing the advice and 

paperwork sent to the CA. 

In a memorandum dated May 23, 2007, the Judge Advocate 

General reemphasized this point to the entire JAG Corps. In 

addition, he requested that the Chief Judge of NMCCA specifically include the name of the cognizant SJA in the title of 

each case the court reviews, just as the Court lists the military 

judge, appellate counsel, and convening authority. Effective 

June 12, 2007, the Chief Judge adopted this new procedure.

As RADM Bruce MacDonald 

states in his memo, “The professional reputation of our community depends on the ability to 

promptly and properly shepherd 

courts-martial through the entire 

military justice system. We must 

improve this area of practice.”

For those who have questions, 

concerns, or would like assistance 

with respect to post-trial processing, contact the experts in Code 

20, at (202) 685-7060. 

Post-trial processing 

questions, concerns, or 

assistance?

Contact the experts in 

Code 20 at 

(202) 685-7060 

By CAPT Christian Reismeier

Criminal Law
11

The Next Generation of Navy Legalmen

By LNCM (SW/AW) Chris Browning

Navy Justice School Senior Enlisted Advisor

I

t has been nearly three years since the last class of Navy 

Legalmen graduated from the Naval Justice School in 

Newport, Rhode Island. By the mid-2000’s, the rating 

had been overwhelmed with Sailors converting to Legalman 

through the General Targeted Enlistment and Perform-ToServe Programs. Suddenly, the rating was overmanned in all 

three Career Reenlistment Objectives (CREO) groups. JAG 

Corps leadership recognized a need 

for change in the recruitment and 

education of Legalmen. Plans were 

devised to streamline the rating to 

ensure recruitment of only the finest 

Sailors who would serve the Fleet as 

true paralegals with ABA-accredited 

degrees.

During the three-year hiatus of LN 

accession, Naval Justice School created an innovative course of study for 

new Legalmen, incorporating university paralegal courses with military legal training. Working 

with Roger Williams University in Providence, Rhode Island, 

a challenging 11-week curriculum was established, incorporating eight weeks of paralegal studies courses (10 college 

credit hours) and three weeks of military justice, civil law and 

operational law training.

On April 16, Naval Justice School welcomed its first 10 

candidates to the new Legalman Accession Course. 

"The students are exceptionally motivated and eager to 

make a positive impact on their gaining commands immediately," said LCDR Tracy Clark, the paralegal department 

head.

These Sailors endured a rigorous 

screening process, and were handselected by the JAG Corps Command 

Master Chief to lead the Legalman community into the Navy’s future and JAG 

Corps 2020 vision. 

These 10 Legalman students are some 

of the finest Sailors I’ve ever served 

with. We, the staff at NJS, can’t wait to 

get them out to the Fleet so they can set 

the new standard for Navy paralegals!

Legalman Accession Course students with 

Rear Adm. Bruce MacDonald.
12

NAMARA gets faster, more 

effective with L6Sigma help

“It has changed the entire 

mentality I have had towards the 

work that I have before me. It 

has caused me to do a complete 

180 degree turn in regards to the 

outlook of the Mandate section, 

making everything 100 percent 

more efficient and easier.”

 --Cpl. Sean Smith, Code 40 

By Ms. Jen Zeldis

Public Affairs Officer

I

n attempting to explain a process that 

doesn’t seem to make sense, have 

you ever heard someone say “this is 

the way we have always done it”? 

For the Lean Six Sigma expert, the 

words “this is how we always do it” are 

an anathema. This attitude costs the 

government untold dollars in possible 

savings, according to OJAG’s Deputy 

Director for Management and Plans, 

Bill Whitacre.

Whitacre found a perfect fit for his 

interests and the strategic direction of 

the JAG Corps when he first read about 

Lean Six Sigma. Whitacre is a senior 

business analyst and has a Masters 

of Business Administration, both of 

which piqued his interest in statistics 

and problem solving. Lean Six Sigma 

provided a novel way to approach 

transactional, service and support 

missions in order to improve speed, 

efficiency, and quality through a datadriven process.

Whitacre has attended Lean Six 

Sigma training and obtained the rank 

of green belt. As green belt facilitator, 

Whitacre assists managers 

in applying Lean Six Sigma 

principles to their operations to 

improve both speed and quality. 

The Problem

The Navy and Marine Corps 

Appellate Review Activity 

(NAMARA) was the first group 

Whitacre was asked to assist. 

NAMARA wanted to speed the 

process of receipt, preparation 

and delivery of a record of trial 

(ROT) and associated documents 

to the Navy Marine Corps Court of 

Appeals. 

“First, we asked everyone who was 

involved in the NAMARA process, 

both who worked on it and who were 

customers of it, to get together,” said 

Whitacre. “This might be the most 

important part of the process. The senior 

decision-makers were all together in one 

room. They were able to see what their 

process looked like and what could be 

done to improve it.”

The working group consisted of 

NAMARA, the Navy-Marine Corps 

Trial Judiciary (TRIJUDACT), the 

Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal 

Appeals (NMCCA), and the Navy and 

Marine Corps Appellate Leave Activity 

(NAMALA). 

The group created a Lean Six Sigma 

“value stream map,” basically a pictorial 

diagram of the stages of the process for 

the receipt, preparation and delivery of 

a ROT to the NMCCA. All participants 

wrote down an explanation of what they 

do and where they send their product. 

From this, Whitacre was able to outline 

the ROT process in complete detail for 

the entire working group.

At the next working group meeting, 

each person involved in the process 

briefed their tasks to the group, taking 

questions if needed. This allowed the 

group complete visibility of every part 

of the process from the experts who 

work their individual parts day-to-day.

Once the working group understood 

the complete process, they brainstormed 

on ways to improve it. Since all the 

customers were represented in the 

working group, they were able to tell 

NAMARA what they needed in order 

to accomplish their mission, allowing 

NAMARA to eliminate actions of no 

consequence to their customers. 

“They were searching for the 

efficiencies,” said Whitacre. “One 

discovery that the group made was the 

ROT and associated documentation 

came from the RLSO in a certain 

order. Upon arrival at NAMARA, 

it was someone’s job to reorder that 

same paperwork before sending it to 

NMCCA. Through a quick analysis, it 

was determined that there was no need 

to reorder the paperwork, allowing 

NAMARA to skip their ‘reorder’ step.”

The Solution

Once the brainstorming was 

complete, the group made a new value 

stream map and started implementing 

some of the new ideas.

“Doing the value stream 

mapping and analysis and talking 

to each other quickly revealed 

that many of the things we were 

doing were simply not necessary 

to our customers (the appellate 

divisions and the Court)”, said 

Col. Mick McCue, Assistant 

Judge Advocate General 

for Military Justice. “The 

success we’ve enjoyed so far in 

implementing Lean Six Sigma 

principles is largely attributable 
13

“The most important part of 

the process is to have command 

and customer involvement. 

Also, it is important to have 

a trained Lean Six Sigma 

facilitator. The final detail is 

CMTIS, which is becoming more 

and more important because 

Lean Six Sigma is data driven 

and does not allow anecdotal 

information. CMTIS will provide 

data for other OJAG process 

improvements.”

 -- Bill Whitacre, Deputy Director for 

Management and Plans

to the team effort of all those who 

have been involved, which has 

been just about everyone at some 

point or another. Perhaps just 

as important was the leadership 

and mentoring received by the 

JAG, who directed the project 

as a result of the U.S. v. Moreno

decision, and Mr. Whitacre who 

has not only guided us with his 

knowledge of Lean Six Sigma but 

has been a very active participant 

every step of the way.” 

NMCCA was also able 

to improve the docketing 

process. As a result of the ROT 

process project, the Appellate 

Government Division began a 

pilot project to digitally scan 

smaller records of trial and e-mail 

the records to drilling reserve 

attorneys, rather than sending the 

records via FedEX. This provided the 

attorney with two or three more days 

to perform their work and also reduced 

mailing costs. Eventually, the group 

hopes to have many of the needed 

documents put into CMTIS so there is 

no need to scan the material.

The Results

Whitacre was able to study the 

new process NAMARA has in place 

for the past three months and provide 

statistical data as a result of the changes. 

NAMARA Administrative support 

(Code 40) reduced their ROT processing 

time from 17 days to approximately two 

days. NMCCA reduced the average 

time to docket a case from eight days to 

two days. Each case is now processed 

3 weeks faster – that’s a lot of savings 

when you consider that NAMARA 

deals with 1,800 cases per year. 

“It has really helped expedite our 

process. L6S is a process that should 

stick around for a long time, as it has 

streamlined the way we do things 

in Code 40,” said Cpl. T. P. Reeves, 

document examination section leader 

for Code 40.

If all of this is not enough to convince 

you, there is an improvement on the 

quality of life.

“It has changed the entire mentality 

I have had towards the work that I have 

before me. It has caused me to do a 

complete 180 degree turn in regards 

to the outlook of the Mandate section, 

making everything 100 percent more 

efficient and easier,” said Cpl. Sean 

Smith, Mandate Clerk for Code 40. 

Whitacre explained that this project 

went very well because of a few 

details.

“The most important part of 

the process is to have command 

and customer involvement,” said 

Whitacre. “Also, it is important 

to have a trained Lean Six Sigma 

facilitator. The final detail is 

CMTIS, which is becoming more 

and more important because Lean 

Six Sigma is data driven and does 

not allow anecdotal information. 

CMTIS will provide data for other 

OJAG process improvements.”

Lean Six Sigma is a proven 

business process the entire Navy 

has embraced because of the 

current challenges faced by the 

military. Not only is the military 

fighting today’s war, each service 

must position its force for an 

uncertain future.

As the Secretary of the Navy has 

said, “Lean Six Sigma helps build a 

culture of continuous improvement. 

Our focus needs to be in areas of both 

strategic and tactical importance.”

Just because “this is the way we’ve 

always done it” doesn’t mean that 

we’re doing it right. Perhaps there’s a 

process that can be improved in your 

work center?

Bill Whitacre and Connie Browning, both from Code 63, discuss CMTIS data. 
14

Historic Building 

58 at the Washington Navy 

Yard is quickly taking 

shape as the JAG Corps’ 

new Appellate Center 

of Excellence. Also the 

former Marine Corps 

Historical Center, it will centralize the Navy JAG Corps’ criminal law enterprise together under the same roof. Building 58 

will also house Naval District Washington’s new dual-use courtroom, suitable for appellate- and trial-level proceedings and 

fully compliant with Naval Legal Service Command courtroom 

security standards.

Located next to Leutze Park, the ceremonial center of the 

Washington Navy Yard, the structure was built around 1859. It 

was extensively renovated in 1941 to serve as the Marine Guard 

barracks. In 1977, it became the Historical Center and housed 

the Marine Corps museum, until the Marines relocated in 2006 

to a new museum at Quantico, Va. Since 2006, the four-story 

building has been undergoing interior demolition and renovation 

in preparation for the arrival of OJAG Criminal Law (Code 20), 

Navy and Marine Corps Appellate Review Activity (NAMARA), 

and Navy - Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) 

in the summer 2008.

Building 58’s new tenants focus on two unique benefits, 

efficiency and pride of place, in their enthusiasm for the new 

building. According to Assistant Judge Advocate General for 

Military Justice, Col. Mick McCue, the new spaces will “be a 

tremendous improvement over our current facilities.” 

McCue went on to 

explain all elements 

of appellate practice 

will, once again, work 

together under the 

same roof in a secure 

environment.

“Judges, counsel, 

and support staff will 

have ample space and 

updated furnishings 

and equipment to perform their mission,” 

said McCue. 

The new courtroom 

will overlook historic Leutze Park, site 

of numerous Navy ceremonies in Washington, DC. The new 

courtroom will be the Navy’s first in the National Capital Region 

fitted with the latest in smart courtroom technology. 

McCue notes that the new spaces will also, “reflect the dignity 

and importance of our courts-martial proceedings and appellate 

arguments.” 

Chief Judge of the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal 

Appeals, CAPT John Rolph concurred that the new spaces demonstrate the value of military justice to the Fleet. 

“The commitment of a grand old building and the funds 

to make it a first-class appellate courthouse reflect the JAG 

Corps’ commitment to recognizing the importance of military 

justice litigation as the backbone of good order and discipline,” Rolph said.

Historic Building 58’s premier location in the heart of the 

Navy Yard is not lost on the JAG Corps. Pride of place will add 

the appropriate gravitas to the building’s important new role. 

“While the historical nature of the building presents certain 

construction and design challenges, and the basement ‘brig’ is 

no longer functional,” said McCue, “the building’s rich history will surely lend an air of pride to the organization and its 

occupants.” 

Rolph agreed that the new center “brings a sense of community and pride to the capstone area of the military justice litigation practice.” 

NLSO North Central, Region Legal Service Office Navy District Washington, and Trial Judiciary Activity will move to temporary swing space in Building 183, the old Navy Dispensary; 

the commands will use the Building 58 courtroom for memberspanel courts-martial. They will return to Building 200 after that 

building’s renovations are complete in 2010.

A Historic Setting For A Noble Purpose: Building 58 

Becomes the Appellate Center of Excellence

By LT Christopher Colby

Operations Officer, Management and Plans
15

The JAG Corps Reserve 

community stands in committed 

partnership with the active 

component to support an America at war. 

America’s enemies have proven their 

ability to challenge our nation and our 

armed forces with unpredictable, agile, 

and innovative means. In meeting these 

challenges, America adapts its national 

maritime strategy. In support, the JAG 

Corps Reserve aligns its efforts with those 

of the active duty Navy in support of the 

national maritime strategy. 

The Chief of Naval Personnel, 

VADM Harvey, stated that “Our 

challenge is to develop a more capable 

and versatile workforce that meets the 

rapidly expanding requirements posed by 

the Nation’s evolving maritime strategy.” 

This article is the first in a series that 

will cover specifics of active-reserve 

integration and alignment within JAG 

Corps 2020. It highlights areas in 

which the active duty needs our support. 

Because requirements now approach 

levels at which communities are stressed 

in sustaining their fundamental mission 

contributions, the Reserve is being called 

upon more and more to provide support 

– whether via individual augmentation 

(IA) mobilizations or via other types of 

orders to extended active duty. These 

assignments are diverse, their locations 

are far flung, and they are critical to the 

mission. 

To focus on one area, the need for JAG 

Reserve support as IAs is significant and 

increasing. Various types of assignments 

exist, with orders for six months to a year, 

exclusive of pipelines, for paygrades 

0-3 through 0-5 and Reserve LNs, at 

locations both inside and outside the 

continental United States. That number 

will likely increase in fiscal year 2008. 

At present, there are 36 reservists who 

fill IA assignments. A few IA overseas 

Integrating in Support of the Mission

assignments are under consideration for 

conversion from AC requirements to RC 

requirements – a trend that will continue. 

These assignments that require 

Reserve participation are quite varied. 

JAG Reserve officers and legalmen are 

needed to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan, 

the Horn of Africa, Guantanamo Bay, 

and INCONUS. They are needed for 

work with other services and agencies. 

They are needed to provide support in 

the building of essential Iraqi capacity 

to investigate and try major crimes; on 

matters of detention, internment, trial, and 

interrogation; as staff judge advocates, 

handling military justice, contract and 

fiscal law, ethics/standards of conduct, 

foreign claims, trial counsel, and legal 

assistance services, in operational law and 

law of the sea; in criminal investigation 

and criminal prosecutions, and in civil 

affairs. 

Similarly, the demand for reserve 

officers and legalmen to serve on active 

duty for special work (ADSW) and other 

extended active duty orders has increased 

markedly. Reservists currently support 

the Navy and Marine Corps Court of 

Criminal Appeals, Naval Personnel 

Command, Appellate Government, 

Appellate Defense, and various NLSO’s 

and RLSO’s. In many cases, this service 

directly supports the active community’s 

capacity to surge manpower forward.

The Judge Advocate General has 

By CAPT Ben Abalos

JAGC Reserve Component

spoken of the strength of the active duty 

judge advocates as “general practitioners” 

who, when deployed, should be able to 

“reach back” to subject matter experts. 

The JAG Corps Reserve, with its 

diversity of professional and occupational 

expertise among 700-plus officer and 

enlisted members, is a tremendous pool 

of such skills. In the next issue of the JAG 

Magazine, the featured Reserve article 

will focus on reserve areas of practice and 

expertise, and on our strategic plans to 

better tap them to meet our transformative 

vision of a fully-integrated and aligned 

community able to most effectively draw 

upon all of its resources.

In anticipation of this discussion, 

let’s focus for a moment on technology. 

Technology will improve the speed and 

quality of Reserve support. First, a new 

Reserve Component module within the 

JAGPERS database will improve access 

to information regarding reservists’ 

individual capabilities and skill sets. In 

addition, the new Case Management and 

Tracking Information System (CMTIS) 

will enable the JAG Reserve to understand 

the impact, effectiveness, and efficiency of 

its legal services and its ability to sustain 

them consistently with the Navy’s needs. 

CMTIS will result in the implementation 

of better resource decisions. 

The JAGC Reserve community 

is committed to meeting the mission 

– whether it be via drills or extended 

deployments, whether INCONUS or 

OCONUS, whether working in the various 

specialized fields in which reservists have 

special competence, or whether via a 

broader augmentation of the community’s 

capacities. The key is an evolving and 

ever-improving alignment to the Navy’s 

needs for legal services as they themselves 

evolve and emerge, both in the short- and 

long-term. Active-reserve alignment and 

integration have at their core the spirit of 

our JAG Corps 2020 mission “to provide 

superb legal solutions ... whenever and

wherever required.” 

CAPT Velling with LNC Gifford assigned 

to conduct an Army investigation also 

demonstrate the active and Reserve 

connection.
16

Mike German doesn’t fit the 

profile of a terrorist – a blond, 

blue-eyed, Irish Catholic, Army brat. By outward appearances, he seemed to be a quintessential all-American boy.

Yet by his own assessment, Mike German was a good terrorist. Intelligent, conscientious, capable, he had the humility to take orders without question, the guts to put words into 

action, and the competence to do it without getting caught. 

The only thing he lacked was loyalty. And for this we can 

be thankful. For while Mike German was a good terrorist, 

he was an even better FBI agent.

In Thinking Like a Terrorist, Mr. German has provided not 

only a fascinating look into his infiltration of white supremacist groups in Los Angeles and Washington State, but also a 

scholarly and thoughtful discussion of terrorists in general 

– how they think, what motivates them, their strengths, their 

weaknesses, and how to best counter them. 

Mr. German laments our collective failure to truly understand terrorists, despite the fact that terrorism is all about 

“message” and that terrorists are very vocal in announcing 

who they are, what they want, and how they intend on getting it. Mr. German argues that this fundamental failure to 

understand what terrorists seek to achieve has resulted in 

policies that inadvertently play directly into their hands.

Starting with his own experiences inside the white supremacist movement in the United States, then weaving into his 

discussion comparisons and case studies involving Algeria, 

the Irish Republican Army, the Weather Underground, and 

Al Qaeda, Mr. German finds commonalities that force us to 

consciously consider the nature of terrorism. 

Terrorists represent a very small part of the community 

they claim to represent. Within the terrorist group, the “us 

versus them” philosophy of fascism is both pervasive and 

binding. There is a quest for legitimacy – legitimacy for 

the terrorists’ goals and an attack on the legitimacy of governing institutions (national or international). In carrying 

out attacks against the perceived oppressors, the terrorist 

seeks to publicize the message, cause overreaction on the 

part of attacked governments, and awaken to the cause 

their own identity group still unconscious to the terrorist’s 

truth (“sheeple,” in white supremacist terms, the umma for 

Islamic terrorists).

Mr. German requires us to check morality at the door in 

analyzing the problem –we must view terrorists as rational, 

thoughtful people, committed to a cause, making conscious, 

predictable strategic decisions. We must also recognize that 

they are not all powerful; if viewed as an “army,” they are 

poorly selected, trained, and equipped.

But Mr. German strenuously argues against affording 

terrorists the legitimacy of being labeled as “soldiers” or 

engaged in “war.” He adjudges most appropriate that term 

a terrorist hates most – “criminal.” Witness the infamous 

Maze prison strikes of the late 1970s where members of 

the IRA starved themselves to death, not for the cause of 

protesting anti-Catholic discrimination, or police abuse, or 

stationing of British troops in Northern Ireland, but rather 

because the government took away their “political prisoner” 

privileges in jail and treated them as common criminals.

Mr. German advocates a strategy that focuses squarely 

on the criminal activities that terrorists undertake. Terrorists may undertake crimes for political purposes. But 

an approach based in law enforcement looks only to the 

objective question of whether a crime was committed; the 

subjective reason that motivated him to commit the crime 

is irrelevant. In a straight forward prosecution, a terrorist such as Richard Reid, the would-be American Airlines 

shoe-bomber, is exposed for what he truly is. 

In analyzing current events, Mr. German starts with a 

stark observation: a small, stateless band of organized criminals called for an international “holy war” against America, and the U.S. government responded with the “Global 

War on Terrorism.” Does this response make sense? Mr. 

German believes not, and in his pragmatic, balanced analysis of what Al Qaeda is and wants, he lays out where he 

believes U.S. policy has erred since the events of 9/11. 

At its heart, Thinking Like a Terrorist is a tribute to the 

Rule of Law, and our need to recognize the safeguards 

embodied within what Mr. German considers our best 

shield against terrorism – the Constitution. Over the course 

of 230 years, our country has faced menace on numerous 

occasions. And there have been previous periods that, when 

faced with an enemy, America’s constitutional equilibrium 

became unbalanced. Mr. German advocates an immediate return to our moral strength – to our legitimacy in the 

world – in addition to a greater understanding of what it is 

to “think like a terrorist.”

Mr. German’s command of history, of philosophy, the law 

(Northwestern University Law School, class of 1988), and 

his personal expertise in the workings of terrorism, make 

for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. 

Thinking Like A Terrorist: Insights of a 

Former FBI Undercover Agent

 Book by Mike German (Potomac Books, Inc. 2007) 

Review by CAPT Michael Quinn

Book Review
17

Joint Initiatives—Naval Legal Service

Office Pacific’s Force Multiplier

By LT Ian Midgley and 

Ms. Sarah Courageous

NLSO Pacific

I

n keeping with the JAG Corps 

2020 guiding principles, Naval 

Legal Service Office Pacific 

(NLSO PAC) is proactively seeking 

opportunities to collaborate with sister 

services to more efficiently serve 

clients. 

With four offices covering six time 

zones and an area of responsibility 

spanning more than 50 million 

square miles, NLSO PAC can greatly 

improve effectiveness and efficiency 

by working with sister services and 

sharing information and resources. 

The Joint Legal Assistance (JLA) 

pilot in Hawaii is an example of interservice cooperation. 

Hawaii presents the ideal location 

for a JLA program. There are five 

major military installations with legal 

assistance offices on the island of 

Oahu within roughly 26 miles 

of each other. The Navy, Army, 

Air Force, Marine Corps, and 

Coast Guard legal assistance 

offices serve a mix of clients. In 

2005, 20 percent of new clients 

seen in Navy legal assistance 

were members or dependents of 

the other Services. 

All total, the DoD legal 

assistance offices on Oahu 

are staffed by more than 25

personnel, including attorneys, 

enlisted personnel, and civilians. 

A cadre of four civilian attorneys 

and six civilian paralegals 

handle the majority of the 

complex legal assistance cases, 

while military attorneys and 

paralegals divide their time between 

legal assistance and other areas of 

practice (e.g., defense, fiscal, labor 

law, etc.).

Traditionally, each legal assistance 

office operated as a self-contained 

unit. There was little sharing of 

training, personnel, scheduling 

procedures, forms or materials. Each 

office was solely responsible for 

absorbing any manning shortages due 

to deployments, or other surges in 

legal requirements. Prior to Sept. 11, 

2001, pre-deployment legal readiness 

for deploying units was mostly 

a Navy and Marine Corps issue. 

With the Global War on Terrorism, 

deployment of Army and Air Force 

units for extended periods of time has 

resulted in increased need for predeployment legal services. And the 

deployment of judge advocates and 

enlisted legal personnel for OIF and 

OEF has further stretched our ability 

to maintain the high levels of quality 

customer service that has been the 

hallmark of military legal assistance. 

Joint legal assistance has 

not only given the legal 

assistance attorneys and staff 

a chance to meet and interact 

with one another, but it has 

also enabled us to better 

serve our military community 

by coordinating efforts and 

working as a team.

--

With all the Services experiencing 

the same stress, the question is 

whether a joint approach to legal 

assistance would be beneficial? To 

answer this, NLSO PAC hosted the 

first inter-service strategy session in 

2005. Attended by legal assistance 

personnel from all five uniformed 

services and representing the five 

major military installations in Hawaii, 

the meeting was used to brainstorm 

and discuss innovative ways of 

providing quality and efficient service 

with fewer active duty attorneys. 

The result -- mutual understanding 

of each service’s unique concerns in 

dealing with their specific client base 

as well as a recognition that future 

coordination would require common 

methods of collecting data, eventual 

implementation of joint services 

including non-attorney services, and 

a joint policy board to tackle policy 

issues. 

 It was determined early on that 

maintaining the existing offices, vice 

moving personnel and locations, 

would best permit the 

development of a grass roots 

mutual support network. 

Joint program management 

and policy meetings were 

scheduled once a month to 

discuss issues of mutual 

concern. These meetings were 

followed by joint training 

sessions focused on legal 

assistance issues of mutual 

concern, e.g., Hawaii domestic 

relations, Hawaii consumer 

law, and debt collection issues. 

These meetings also explored 

areas of reciprocal support 

among the services through 

better inter-service training and 

coordination. 

NLSO PAC continued page 18
18

In September 2006, the interservice group thought the time was 

right to stand up joint Tax Centers 

and pool resources for tax training 

and services. The enthusiasm and 

cooperation put into this effort were 

exceptional. The Army took the lead by 

hosting a meeting at its new Tax Center. As 

the only service in tax year 2005 to use TaxWise 

Online, the Coast Guard stepped forward and provided 

online training at their facilities and, as a result, four 

services, including Navy, converted to TaxWise Online 

for the 2006 tax season. The Marines hosted VITA and 

State of Hawaii tax training, the first time such training 

was conducted jointly. All the services shared manpower 

and supplies at each of the Tax Centers; Navy personnel 

volunteered their time at the Army, Marine Corps, and 

Coast Guard tax centers and vice versa. This sharing of 

resources ensured that sufficient volunteers were always 

located where the service was needed. The unanimous 

conclusion of all participants – joint Tax Centers were a 

resounding success. 

“The bottom line is that the camaraderie between all 

Oahu military legal assistance 

offices allowed for unprecedented 

sharing of tax information and 

resources,” said Mr. Jeffrey 

Carter, NLSO PAC Tax Officer.

In expressing the thanks of the 

IRS, the head of Hawaii’s VITAELF program, Ms. Gail Bonilla, 

said “The cadre of Hawaii Military 

VITA coordinators and instructors made 

tremendous strides this year in working 

together as a team which eliminated duplication 

of effort and redundancy.” 

The success of the joint tax initiative has led to an expansion 

of JLA in other areas, e.g., joint legal assistance training, referrals 

for conflict clients, utilization of uniform procedures such as 

standardized forms amongst the services, implementation of 

a uniform policy on providing emergent services in the event 

of a disaster or emergent operations, and promotion of a joint 

grievance procedure for tenants of privatized housing. 

“Joint legal assistance has not only given the legal assistance 

attorneys and staff a chance to meet and interact with one 

another, but it has also enabled us to better serve our military 

community by coordinating efforts and working as a team,” 

said Pearl Harbor’s Legal Assistance Department Head, LT 

“Monty” Montgomery. 

Sarah Courageous at Naval Legal Service Office Pacific with a legal assistance client.

NLSO PAC

continued from page 17
19

News

MILITARY JUSTICE CAREER 

PATH INSTRUCTION

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC – The Judge Advocate General of the Navy, RADM Bruce MacDonald, signed 

JAGINST 1150.2 May 3 officially creating a delineated 

career path for Navy judge advocates who choose to become 

military justice litigation specialists. 

This instruction provides the methods for identifying, 

developing and retaining those judge advocates who have 

demonstrated significant military justice knowledge and trial 

advocacy skills. 

“This instruction is the first step towards a cadre of JAG 

Corps attorneys that are focused on excellence in the courtroom,” said RADM MacDonald. “We have committed to a 

career path that will ensure continued professional growth as 

a litigator.”

The Military Justice Litigation Career Track (MJLCT) 

instruction is an important part of the “Accountability” transformation focus area in JAG Corps 2020. The goal in creating this highly-skilled group of litigators is a more efficient 

corps of litigators and, in turn, a reduction of the number of 

JAG Corps officers required in the courtroom. In addition, 

this creates a highly skilled contingent of attorneys available 

for reachback assistance from the fleet.

“Throughout the discussions leading to the signing of this 

instruction, we understood the importance of creating this 

specialty within the JAG Corps, and with creating a very 

strong break with our past way of doing business,” said 

CAPT Chris Reismeier, a criminal law expert in the Office 

of the Judge Advocate General. “The track is predicated 

on careful selection and detailing of the correct officers for 

the path, cultivating those junior officers identified as litigation candidates, and directly involving senior officers with 

years of litigation experience in the courtroom as counsel of 

record. Once officers are accepted into this career path, they 

should expect to be detailed into military justice litigation 

billets, and to continue actively trying cases throughout their 

careers. Competition to enter into the career path may be 

fierce, but the application and screening process will result 

in selection of ‘the best of the best.’” 

The MJLCT instruction sets up the qualifications for 

entering the track and sets career milestones. First tour lieutenants will be able to apply for designation as a Specialist 

Military Justice Litigation Qualification (MJLQ) after being 

selected at the Career Status Board. After completion of 

three years in a MJLQ billet, a judge advocate may apply for 

Expert MJLQ status. MJLQ designation is required before 

selection for Trial Advocacy PG school is permitted.

Promotion board precept language will discuss the need 

to have experts in military justice litigation, highlighting that 

a career as a litigator will necessarily look different from that 

traditionally taken by judge advocates. In accordance with 

the instruction, the JAG will determine the needs for military 

justice litigators and set the precept language accordingly.

“The signing of this instruction is a huge win for the JAG 

Corps and for transformation efforts,” said CAPT Dave 

Hayes, Special Assistant for Transformation. “There is still 

more work under our accountability transformation focus 

area in JAG Corps 2020, but this is a huge victory for the 

JAG Corps.”

NEW RECRUITING 

INSTRUCTION

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC – The new recruiting, 

internship and accession selection instruction (JAG Instruction 1150.1B) was signed by the Judge Advocate General of 

the Navy, RADM Bruce MacDonald on April 30, aligning 

all recruiting efforts with JAG Corps 2020, the Navy JAG 

Corps strategic plan. 

The new instruction is a major development under the 

“Personnel Policy” transformation focus area in JAG Corps 

2020.

“This instruction is the result of countless hours of effort 

by members of the personnel office and many others,” said 

RADM MacDonald. “The final instruction is a huge step 

forward for our JAG Corps and demonstrates our commitment to getting the best people to support the warfighter. 

The foundation of our success is clearly our people.”

Some of the major changes to the instruction include:

- New selection criteria,

- Standardized appraisal reports,

- Streamlined application processes, and

- A “JAG Corps Recruiter of the Year” chosen by the 

Judge Advocate General from all O-4 and below officers.

“After spending two years as the accession detailer, I have 

observed first-hand the amazing talent coming out of the law 

schools,” said LCDR Colleen Shook. “We were careful to 

craft the instruction in order to capitalize on that talent. The 

intention is to increase the number and diversity of quality 

applicants for the JAG Corps and ensure we are choosing the 

best candidates.” 

The recruiting instruction is part of the fundamental strategy of the “Personnel Policy” transformation focus area in 

JAG Corps 2020 aimed at recruiting, selecting, developing, 

and retaining a diverse force of agile, mature, intelligent, and 

challenge-seeking, high quality legal professionals. 

“Completing this instruction is a major win in JAG Corps 

2020,” said CAPT Dave Hayes, Special Assistant for Transformation. “Look for more wins across the spectrum of 

strategic initiatives in JAG Corps 2020 as we continue to 

accomplish our goals detailed in the Strategic Transformation Execution Plan – the STEP.”
20

CAPT Dave Hayes

(202) 685-7115 david.f.hayes@navy.mil 

Special Assistant for Transformation (SAT) Staff

CDR Mary Horrigan

(202) 685-7255 mary.horrigan@navy.mil

CMTIS at BLC. The March 2007 Basic Lawyer Course 

at Naval Justice School is the first class to participate in the 

new CMTIS training curriculum. Students are provided 

CMTIS accounts the first day of class and trained on how 

to properly record workload data. This new curriculum 

will help new JAG attorneys make CMTIS a natural part of 

their day to day work and create knowledgeable users that 

can assist in training personnel at their new commands.

CNA Functional Assessment. The JAG Corps has 

contracted with the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) 

to conduct a functional assessment of our business lines 

and legal services workload, to provide a quantitative 

assessment of current force structure, and to propose 

proper force mix and ways to improve effectiveness 

and efficiency in the provision of legal services. In 

furtherance of those tasks, CNA administered a JAG 

Corps-wide workload survey that began on May 30 and 

ran through June 12. The survey included active duty and 

civilian members of the JAG Corps. A reserve workload 

survey will be run in June and July. Thanks to all for their 

participation!

CMTIS Use Increases. The reported percentage of the 

JAG Corps community who use CMTIS has improved 

dramatically, and many have reported that as they become 

more familiar with the program, their input times have 

markedly decreased. But . . . CMTIS has not yet become 

a daily habit – at many commands the log on rate is only 

50 percent. In accordance with the business rules, the 

preferred recurrence for entering CMTIS data is daily to 

ensure that local and Corps-wide reports remain up-todate and accurate. Which leads to the next point . . . 

CMTIS Capability. At a recent meeting with senior 

Navy leadership, JAG leadership was asked for a data 

breakdown of UCMJ violations over a period of time. In 

the past, data mining of this type would have required 

people both at headquarters and in the field to physically 

search court-martial records - an extremely time intensive 

task for all. Using report functions made possible through 

CMTIS, the information is now available in minutes. 

Survey Development. In furtherance of JAG Corps 2020, 

the JAG Corps has contracted with Whitney, Bradley 

& Brown, Inc., and Dr. Dan Cable from the University 

of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School to 

develop several surveys. Already in use are two military 

justice surveys that evaluate the level of advocacy by 

Navy and Marine Corps attorneys. Another worldwide 

command client survey will be deployed in June. Under 

development are a customer survey of commands serviced 

by Region Legal Service Offices, client surveys for those 

serviced by Naval Legal Service Offices, and a leadership 

survey that will be used to assess the command leadership 

climate at Navy legal offices.

CMTIS Working Group. A multi-disciplinary CMTIS 

working group meets weekly. In addition to long term 

planning and design, the group staffs every comment and 

question received from the field. That group consists of 

several officers and civilians, including two commanding 

officers (RLSO & NLSO). The meetings are also regularly 

attended by the AJAG for Operations and Management, the 

Special Assistant for Transformation and the JAG Corps 

Inspector General. Many recommendations from the field 

are instituted immediately. For various reasons, others 

are not. Often, there are conflicting recommendations: 

one requesting more specificity in a certain field, another 

requesting less specificity. There is another category of 

recommendations that request robust changes that will be 

built into future versions of CMTIS. CMTIS version 2.0 

is already under development and will implement many of 

the larger changes that have been recommended, including 

inclusion of a PERSREP module and other major structural 

changes. Keep your comments and input coming!!

LCDR Joe Hoelz

(202) 685-5185 joe.hoelz@navy.mil
21

National Security Personnel System

By Amy Stevens

Fiscal and Resource Services

For more information or to ask a question about NSPS, please contact Amy Stevens 

202-685-5286 or at amy.stevens@navy.mil

Mock pay pools were held May 22 -24 

and May 29-31 at the Washington Navy 

Yard. Code 64 is currently working on 

lessons learned and feedback for the 

entire JAG Corps. The following is 

provided as a reference guide for all 

members of the JAG Corps. All the 

information included in the reference 

guide is essential to understand for the 

success of NSPS. 

Key Terms

Pay Schedule: Grouping of 

employees with like job roles. In OJAG, 

employees are assigned to either a YB 

(Technical/Support), YA (Professional/

Analytical), or YC (Supervisory) 

schedule.

Pay Band: Sub-division of the 

Pay Schedule. In most cases, Pay 

Bands are 1, 2 or 3. Pay Band 1 is the 

lowest grouping in the spectrum, 3 the 

highest. 

Performance Indicators: Used to 

rate employee performance on each 

job objective. These are unique to each 

Pay Schedule and Pay Band.

Benchmark Standards: Used to rate 

employee performance in individual 

“contributing factors” assigned to each 

job objective. These are also unique to 

each Pay Schedule and Pay Band.

Performance Indicators and 

Benchmark Standards 

All Performance Indicators and 

Benchmark Standards can be found 

on NKO. Each employee should know 

which Performance Indicators apply to 

his/her position. This will enable an 

employee to know what expectations 

apply to him/her individually. 

For example, the expected 

contributions of a YB-1 Technician 

are very different than that of a YB-3 

Technician. Where the YB-1 Technician 

is expected to act with supervision 

on completion of objectives and meet 

project schedules as prioritized by 

management, the YB-3 Technician is 

expected to act without supervision 

on completion of objectives and meet 

project schedules as prioritized by the 

employee.

Likewise, the expected contributions 

of a YA-1 Analyst or YC-1 Supervisor 

are very different from that of a YA2 Analyst or YC-3 Supervisor. For 

example, whereas the YC-1 Supervisor 

is expected to achieve stated objectives 

with guidance, the YC-3 Supervisor 

is expected to achieve the stated 

objectives without guidance and impact 

the mission of the organization while 

doing so. 

The expectations referenced above 

are requirements to rate an employee 

a “3.” To achieve something above a 

“3” on an objective rating, additional 

requirements are set for each Pay 

Schedule and Pay Band.

Similar to Performance Indicators 

setting standards for job objective 

performance, it is also necessary to 

understand the effect of the Benchmark 

Standard of “contributing factors” as 

they relate to adjusting the rating of a 

job objective. Again, the Benchmark 

Standards vary greatly between Pay 

Schedule and Pay Band. 

The YA-1 Analyst who has a 

contributing factor of “Critical 

Thinking” is expected to recognize 

obvious issues or problems and solve 

straight-forward problems; the YA2 Analyst with a “Critical Thinking” 

contributing factor is expected to 

define complex issues and identify 

and evaluate solutions to complex 

problems.

For someone who meets an expected 

Benchmark Standard, the employee’s 

job objective rating will not be adjusted 

in any way. Not meeting the “expected” 

benchmark in a contributing factor, the 

job objective rating will be adjusted 

negatively (-1). To be given a plus for 

a contributing factor (+1), the employee 

must meet elements of the “enhanced” 

benchmark set per Pay Band, Pay 

Schedule, and contributing factor. 

What the above discussion 

suggests is that it is absolutely 

imperative that every employee know 

which Performance Indicators and 

Benchmark Standards apply to him/

her. Employees and Rating Officials 

should refer to these guidelines when 

drafting self-assessments or composing 

assessments and recommending ratings, 

respectively.

Rating Process

Starting with the establishment of 

job objectives for a new work period, 

to the final rating and decision of the 

Pay Pool Panel, employees and Rating 

Officials must be cognizant of the steps 

in the Rating Process. 

1. In establishing Job Objectives: 

• Be appropriate to employee Pay 

Schedule and Pay Band.

• Be specific and results-oriented 

(what tangible results will the employee 

produce? )

• Assign contributing factors as a 

function of the objective rather than the 

employee.

• Do not construct in “Pass/Fail” 

language.

2. In assessing completion of Job 

Objectives:

• Both Employees and Supervisors 

should track accomplishments 

throughout the year in a personal log to 

assist in drafting the assessment.

• Employee and Supervisor write 

result-oriented assessments. (What 

was produced as a consequence of your 

actions?)

• Assessments should contain one 

paragraph dedicated to each objective.

NSPS continued page 22
22

LNC Ron Van Harten from 

the RLSO EURSWA Naples 

received his Defense Meritorious Service Medal from 

Major General Stone, the 

Marine Commanding General 

of TF-134 in Iraq.

57th Zenkokai Award 

May 26, 2007 -- The Yokosuka Legal Association, of which all Yokosuka 

based JAGs, LNs, civilians and OGC are members, has won a very prestigious award from the Nippon Zenkokai Association. Nippon Zenkokai 

Association is a non-profit organization within the Prime Minister's Office of 

the Japanese Government. This annual award, which was founded in 1951, 

is presented to individuals whose gallant or benevolent acts are remarkably beneficial to their neighbors or the general public. In calendar year 

2006, YLA members from local commands, including Naval Legal Service 

Office, Pacific, Region Legal Service Office, Japan, Commander, Seventh 

Fleet, and USS KITTY HAWK Strike Group Five organized fund raisers to 

benefit the community. The fund raisers included a golf tournament in May, 

open to U.S. military and Japanese nationals, at Camp Zama. 

• Address completion of the objective 

based on results.

• Refer to the appropriate Performance 

Indicators.

• Address how the contributing factors 

effect employee’s completion of objective.

• Refer to the appropriate Benchmark 

Standards.

3. Rating Officials Rate Each Objective.

• Apply Performance Indicator to rate 

objective (1-5).

• Apply Benchmark Standard to rate 

impact of Contribution Factors on efforts 

(-1, 0, or +1).

4. Rating Officials recommend overall 

rating (1-5), recommend number of shares, 

and share allocation (salary vs. bonus) to Pay 

Pool Panel.

5. Appraisal Quality Assurance:

• Rating Officials and Higher Level 

Reviews (in most cases, Division Directors) 

check appraisals for adherence to NSPS 

guidance and OJAG Business Rules. (i.e., has 

each objective been addressed individually? 

Have Performance Indicators and Benchmark Standards been considered?)

6. Pay Pool Panel:

• Reads and understands job objectives as 

written.

• Reviews written assessments of both the 

Employee and the Rating Official.

• Consults with the Rating Official to have 

any questions answered.

• Rates individual job objectives

• Applies Performance Indicator to rate 

objective (1-5).

• Applies Benchmark Standard to rate 

impact of Contribution Factors on efforts 

(-1, 0, or +1).

• Assigns final rating, share number, and 

share allocation to each Employee in the 

pool.

7. Final Steps:

• Performance Review Authority (PRA) 

confirms Pay Pool Results.

• OJAG PRA is RADM MacDonald; 

CNLSC PRA is RADM Houck.

• Panel returns results to Rating Officials.

• Rating Officials return individual results 

to each employee.

NSPS continued from page 21 Awards

TF-134

Award to 

Legalman Chief
23

Region Legal Service Office - Japan

These are only a few who have been recognized through the JAG Corps during the recent 

months. Many others not named here received awards from non-JAG commands for their 

outstanding services to those commands, and we will continue to highlight their achievements in coming issues. Congratulations to all who have received awards!

See your name in print! Submit your command awards 

or photos to natalie.morehouse@navy.mil

JAG reservist CAPT Dan Lutz and CDR.(S) William 

Bailey have received SECNAV recognition for their volunteer 

assistance to the Department of the Navy’s Severely Injured 

Marines and Sailors Pilot Program (SIMS). Drawing on their 

civilian legal expertise and organizational skills, CAPT Lutz 

and CDR.(S) Bailey successfully obtained guardianship over 

the person and estate of a comatose Marine severely injured 

by an IED attack. This included navigating a myriad of legal 

issues involving guardianship, tax, Social Security benefits, 

and administrative law. 

LNC(SW/AW) Renate M. Williams was awarded Commander, Navy Region Northwest Outstanding Navy Legal 

Professional by Rear Adm. Van Buskirk, Commander, Carrier Strike Group NINE. LNC Williams is fleet-focused 

and mission oriented. A dynamic leader with extraordinary 

managerial skills, in this last year alone LNC Williams has 

expertly processed Administrative Separations, Non-Judicial 

Punishment appeals, complex JAG Manual investigations, 

Special Courts Martial and Summary Courts Martial posttrial reviews, several Freedom of Information Act requests, 

Detachments for Cause, and Officer Misconduct Reports. 

During the 2004/2005 surge deployment, LNC Williams 

was an essential member of the operational law team during 

the Operation UNIFIED ASSISTANCE Tsunami Relief 

Mission. She quickly prepared a website, quick reference 

guides and numerous operational law briefs used throughout 

the Strike Group during this unprecedented crisis that garnered the world’s attention. Her efforts led the collection of 

toys that were flown ashore for children injured in the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami. A catalyst for morale, LNC 

Williams consistently seeks out responsibility and makes 

excellence the hallmark of everything she does. Her service 

and dedication have directly improved the quality and efficiency of the Navy’s legal system.

LN1 Tinamarie Whiteside received a Navy-Marine Corps 

Achievement Medal for her support to RLSO SW as a paralegal, court reporter, and transcriptionist on numerous courtsmartial. Additionally, LCDR Sandy Hodgkinson, LCDR . 

Jonathan Shapiro, and CDR. Russell Verby were awarded 

Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medals for their support to 

the Active Component on matters including working on NATO 

agreements and other international law issues and serving as a 

court commissioner with NMCCA. CAPT Timothy Hannon

and CAPT Ben Abalos received Meritorious Service Medals 

for their support, respectively, as an appellate judge and a strategist with the SECNAV’s Office of Total Force Transformation. 

Awards

Awardees included (left to right)

* BM3(SW) Amanda G. Pelham - RLSO Japan Sailor of the 

Quarter * LCDR Kimberly Kelly - Navy Commendation 

Medal (EOT) * LN1(SW/AW) Wanda L. Smylie - Navy 

Achievement Medal (3rd Award/RLSO Japan 2006 SOY) 

* LCDR Alison Hoyt - RLSO Japan Junior Officer of the 

Quarter * Mrs. Elsa Perez - Meritorious Civilian Service 

Award * Mrs. Hiromi Takahashi - RLSO Japan Civilian of 
24

LT Jackson and LN2 Holliday in 

the Horn of Africa

LN2 Thomas, LN2 Stewart-Potter, LN1 Galentine, 

IA training at Fort Jackson

LN2 Cavazos receiving an award from her IA unit Naval Legal Service Office Pacific 

Change of Command

MSgt. Rubio and LN2 Jeter in Afghanistan

LT Dave Melson, of TF-134 , with the MGen.

Scott Black, Judge Advocate General of the 

Army
25

LT Andrew Cobin during a two day survival 

training in the Djiboutian desert with the French 

Foreign Legion 

Legalmen training for IA 

at Fort Jackson

LNC Ron Van Harten and fellow legalman 

of TF-134

Detainee Operations Team Ramadi

Navy Legal Service Office Pacific 

Change of Command

Rear Adm. Bruce MacDonald speaks to Navy and 

Air Force attorneys and paralegals assigned to Task 

Force 134, in the Al Faw Palace 
JAG Corps 

Change of Command