Posted on 08/23/2019 4:18:02 AM PDT by robowombat
SECNAV Spencer Expanding JAG Review to Include Marine Legal Community
By: Sam LaGrone August 22, 2019 6:35 PM
THE PENTAGON – A review of the Department of the Navy’s legal system has expanded to include the Marine legal community, according to a memo from Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer obtained by USNI News.
“Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, in full coordination with the commandant of the Marine Corps, has directed an expansion of the U.S. Navy’s comprehensive review of the Judge Advocate General Corps to include U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocates,” read a Thursday Navy statement to USNI News.
“There is value in applying this review and its subsequent recommendations across the Department of the Navy. The review’s purpose is to confirm the uniformed legal community is structurally and organizationally sound and best supporting the good order and discipline our integrated naval force.”
According to a copy of the memo, “these reviews are intended to ensure the Navy JAG and the Marine Corps SJA legal communities are organized, manned, trained and equipped to support the Department’s mission.”
The review will be conducted in parallel to a review directed by former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson who earlier this month ordered a wholesale review of the Navy’s JAG Corps following a series of gaffes surrounding the trial of Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Eddie Gallagher. Prosecutors and NCIS agents attempted to spy on the defense team and a reporter covering the case. After the trial, other members of the government’s legal team were awarded citations that drew the ire of President Trump.
Richardson, who ordered the review carried out by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Robert Burke, told USNI News that it was time to get a fresh perspective on the JAG Corps.
“I think it was just about time that we stepped back and took a look at the community, and it’s time for a vigorous assessment. And so we’re going to strike the right tone. We’re going to get a lot of different perspectives inside and outside the Navy,” he told USNI News earlier this month in an interview. “We’re going to put a nice concise time limit on this thing, we don’t want it to go on forever. And then we’ll get a product that I am absolutely confident will be very helpful in making sure that our JAG community, which is a small part of our Navy but a very important part of our Navy, is as sharp as they can possibly be in the service of our Navy and our nation.”
The Thursday memo gave a 15-day deadline to outline the scope of the review of both services and 90 days to complete a report on how well the Navy and Marine legal communities support the goals of the Department of the Navy.
Two former Marine lawyers praised the decision when contacted by USNI News.
“The Navy JAG comprehensive review came on the heels of a handful of highly publicized cases that involved perceived errors, gaffes, and unethical conduct by Navy lawyers. Like the surface force comprehensive review, which was spurred by the McCain and Fitzgerald collisions, I suspect these seminal events were merely the culminating points for concerns that have been building for a while,” Robert “Butch” Bracknell told USNI News on Thursday. “I don’t sense the same level of concern with the performance of the Marine Corps, though the Corps has had several high-profile embarrassments in military justice cases over the past few years which warrant a fresh look at the community of practice.”
Another former Marine lawyer said that the review into service’s legal community was a long time in coming.
“A review like this is long overdue, frankly. I’m hopeful that it will be conducted intelligently and honestly, but experience has shown that the government isn’t super great at self-reflection,” attorney Brian Bouffard told USNI News on Thursday. “A lot of general officers and their staff judge advocates will need to be able to look at themselves critically, because that’s the level where moral courage tends to be in short supply.”
Good. We need lawyers who don’t abuse the system.
“And then we’ll get a product that I am absolutely confident will be very helpful in making sure that our JAG community...is as sharp as they can possibly be in the service of our Navy and our nation.”
...depending on the President in office at the time.
:-(
Many JAGs including me were quite disgusted during the GWBush years about the Justice Department authorizing torture. Boy did I look like a fool after I assured my mom we were not committing torture and it came out that we were to my shock and disgust.
A host of professional intelligence agents have also expressed the view that torture just isn't helpful. E.g. former CT investigator for the FBI Ali Soufan who wrote "The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda."
My kid’s an Army lawyer...I get your drift.
Another useless report that will accomplish nothing and become just another piece of shelf ware.
Ever since Clinton, the JAG have become loaded with the PC , anti warrior ethos enforcers in the military.
It became pathological under Obama as JAG became advocates for Jihadi
As a JAG who refused a congratulatory letter from Obama on my retirement, I disagree with that comment. Some of the leadership and some of the noob company grade types were soft, but not all, and not many of us in the field grade ranks.
Colonel, USAF (ret)
Agree totally.
The issue is that agenda driven people with the same mindset as those pushing soldiers and ROTC to march in red spiked high heels and lactation vests have infiltrated and assumed power during the Obama years.
At issue is the imposition of rules of engagement that favor the enemy and intentionally put our people in a position where they have difficulty even defending themselves.
Soldiers were then prosecuted under dubious and bad faith interpretations of these ROE and given harsh jail terms for trying to protect their troops . The aim of these prosecutions seemed to be show trials to discourage and impede our people in the field and further an anti military agenda
Agree totally.
The issue is that agenda driven people with the same mindset as those pushing soldiers and ROTC to march in red spiked high heels and lactation vests have infiltrated and assumed power during the Obama years.
At issue is the imposition of rules of engagement that favor the enemy and intentionally put our people in a position where they have difficulty even defending themselves.
Soldiers were then prosecuted under dubious and bad faith interpretations of these ROE and given harsh jail terms for trying to protect their troops . The aim of these prosecutions seemed to be show trials to discourage and impede our people in the field and further an anti military agenda
No argument here.
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