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The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at all levels of command. The Judge Advocate General's Legal Service includes judge advocates, warrant officers, paralegal noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted personnel, and civilian employees. The Judge Advocate General is a lieutenant general. All military officers are appointed by the U.S. President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, but the Judge Advocate General is one of the few positions in the Army explicitly provided for by law in Title 10 of the United States Code, and which requires a distinct appointment. Officers who have already been appointed to another branch of the Army are administratively dismissed and simultaneously recommissioned anew as Judge Advocates, rather than merely transferring branches.
General George Washington founded the U.S. Army JAG Corps on July 29, 1775, with the appointment of William Tudor as the Judge Advocate General. The Army Judge Advocate General's Corps is the oldest of the judge advocate communities in the U.S. armed forces - as well as the oldest law firm in the United States. The Judge Advocate General, who is referred to as TJAG (pronounced "tea-jag"), serves a term of four years. Lieutenant General Scott C. Black, appointed in October 2005, is 37th TJAG, and with his promotion to Lieutenant General on December 11, 2008, the first to serve in that grade; the increase in grade brings the billet into parity with the Army's Surgeon General and Chief of Engineers.
The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS) is located on the North Grounds at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, adjoining, but distinct from, the University of Virginia School of Law. The Commandant of the Judge Advocate General's School is authorized by Congress to award a Master of Laws degree. The School is the only Federal institution to have American Bar Association accreditation as one of America's law schools. Judge Advocates from all five armed forces of the United States and international students attend the annual Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course in which the Master's degree is awarded. The Legal Center and School also trains the Army's new Judge Advocates, provides continuing legal education for Judge Advocates and lawyers from throughout the United States Government, and trains the Army's paralegal noncommissioned officers and court reporters. The School trains those officers appointed military judges, irresepective of service. The Judge Advocate General's School began in World War II at the University of Michigan to train new judge advocates as the Judge Advocate General's Department rapidly expanded. It was disestablished for a time after the war but, after a short stay at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, was reestablished at the University of Virginia in 1951.
Judge Advocates occupying the position of Staff Judge Advocate serve on the special and personal staff of general officers in command who are general court-martial convening authorities (in other words, who have the authority to convene a general court-martial). Staff Judge Advocates advise commanders on the full range of legal matters encountered in Government legal practice and provide advice on courts-martial as required by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Subordinate judge advocates prosecute courts-martial, and others, assigned to the independent United States Army Trial Defense Service and United States Army Trial Judiciary, serve as defense counsel and judges. The almost 2,000 full-time judge advocates and civilian attorneys who serve The Judge Advocate General's Corps comprise the largest group of attorneys who serve the U.S. Army. Several hundred other attorneys practice under the Chief Counsel of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Command Counsel of the United States Army Materiel Command.
Judge advocates are deployed throughout the United States and around the world, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar. They provide legal assistance to soldiers, adjudicate claims against the Army, advise commands on targeting decisions and other aspects of operational law, and assist the command in administering military justice by preparing nonjudicial punishment actions, administrative separation actions, and trying criminal cases at court-martial.
In addition to the active component judge advocates, there are approximately 5,000 attorneys who serve in the US Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. Several hundred Reserve and National Guard attorneys have left their civilian practices to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The branch insignia consists of a gold pen crossed above a gold sword, superimposed over a laurel wreath. The pen signifies the recording of testimony, the sword represents the military character of the JAG corps, and the wreath indicates honor. The insignia was created in May 1890 in silver and changed to gold in 1899.
The regimental distinctive insignia (commonly but erroneously referred to as a "crest") contains the branch insignia on a shield of argent (silver) and Azure (dark blue), the regimental colors. The "1775" on the ribbon below the shield signifies the founding of the Corps.
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Judge Advocates General of the Army
- Lieutenant General Dana K. Chipman, (October 2, 2009 - present)
- Major General/Lieutenant General Scott C. Black, (October 1, 2005 - October 1, 2009)
- Major General Thomas J. Romig, (October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2005)
- Major General Walter B. Huffman, (August 5, 1997 - September 30, 2001)
- Major General Michael J. Nardotti, Jr., (October 1, 1993 - August 4, 1997)
- Major General John L. Fugh, (July 26, 1991 - September 30, 1993)
- Major General Hugh R. Overholt, (August 1, 1985 - July 31, 1989)
- Major General Hugh L. Clausen, (August 1, 1981 - July 31, 1985)
- Major General Alton H. Harvey, (July 1, 1979 - July 31, 1981)
- Major General Wilton B. Persons, Jr., (July 1, 1975 - June 30, 1979)
- Major General George S. Prugh, (July 1, 1971 - June 30, 1975)
- Major General Kenneth J. Hodson, (July 1, 1967 - June 30, 1971)
- Major General Robert H. McCaw, (January 1, 1964 - June 30, 1967)
- Major General Charles L. Decker, (January 1, 1961 - December 31, 1963)
- Major General George W. Hickman, Jr., (January 1, 1957 - December 31, 1960)
- Major General Eugene M. Caffrey, (February 5, 1954 - December 31, 1956)
- Major General Ernest M. Brannon, (January 27, 1950 - January 26, 1954)
- Major General Thomas H. Green, (December 1, 1945 - November 30, 1949)
- Major General Myron C. Cramer, (December 1, 1941 - November 30, 1945)
- Major General Allen W. Gullion, (December 1, 1937 - November 30, 1941)
- Major General Arthur W. Brown, (December 1, 1933 - November 30, 1937)
- Major General Blanton Winship, (March 1, 1931 - November 30, 1933)
- Major General Edward A. Krieger, (November 16, 1928 - February 28, 1931)
- Major General John A. Hull, (November 16, 1924 - November 15, 1928)
- Major General Walter A. Bethel, (February 15, 1923 - November 15, 1924)
- Major General Enoch H. Crowder, (February 15, 1911 - February 14, 1923)
- Major General George B. Davis, (May 24, 1901 - February 14, 1911)
- Brigadier General John W. Clouse, (May 22, 1901 - May 24, 1901)
- Brigadier General Thomas F. Farr, (May 21, 1901 - May 22, 1901)
- Brigadier General G. Norman Lieber, (January 3, 1895 - May 21, 1901)
- Brigadier General David G. Swaim, (9February 18, 1881 - December 22, 1894)
- Brigadier General William McKee Dunn, December 1, 1875 - January 22, 1881)
- Major General Joseph Holt, (September 3, 1862 - December 1, 1875)
- Brevet Major John F. Lee, (March 2, 1849 - September 3, 1862)
- Captain Campbell Smith, (July 16, 1794 - June 1, 1802)
- Colonel Thomas Edwards, (October 2, 1782 - November 3, 1783)
- Colonel John Laurance, (April 10, 1777 - June 3, 1782)
- Lieutenant Colonel William Tudor, (July 29, 1775 - April 9, 1777)
Army Judge Advocate Qualifications
Prior to entry into the JAG Corps, all Army Judge Advocates must have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school and be admitted to practice law by the highest court of a state or federal district. While some Judge Advocates have prior enlisted or commissioned experience, most are direct commissioned and have no prior military training or experience.
Initial entry training into the JAG Corps is composed of four phases:
- 12 day military orientation course at Fort Lee, Virginia
- 10 1/2 week Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (JAOBC) at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS)
- 4 week Direct Commissioned Officer (DCO) Course at either Fort Benning, Georgia or Fort Sill, Oklahoma
- 7 week Basic Officer Leader Course II (BOLC II) at either Fort Benning, Georgia or Fort Sill, Oklahoma
See also
- Judge Advocate General's Corps
- United States Army Trial Defense Service
- U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
United Kingdom
Canada
Notes
References
- The Army of the United States: Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-In-Chief, 1896.
- The Institute of Heraldry
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