Photo By 1st Lt. Brianne Roudebush | Staff Sgt. Bernie Lagasca, Spc. Sean Chaffin and Capt. Matthew Roland, Judge Adjutant...... read more read more
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OAHU, Hawaii – "JAG," the TV series that ran for 10 years, between 1995 and 2005, served as many people’s first and only look into the roles and responsibilities of the Judge Adjutant General. During disaster response training however, the JAG’s role is less criminal investigation and more legal consultation.
Six JAG members with the 49th Military Police Brigade (Homeland Response Force) participated in the Vigilant Guard/Makani Pahili 2015 exercise in Hawaii May 31 through June 8.
Their role during the exercise was to lend their experience to the Hawaiian counterparts.
“We bring a good amount of operational law knowledge due to our experience with emergencies in California as well as working with the HRF,” Maj. Christopher Weaver, the command judge advocate, said.
The team was responsible for researching legal authorities for the deployment of the HRF outside California, preparing documents and legal memos, and ensuring that all units understand the rules for the use of force in Hawaii.
Their main effort was focused on providing legal guidance and support to the commander.
“If JAG was not present at these types of trainings, we may not to be able to see legal ramifications that might be present that we need to consider during operations,” Sgt. 1st Class Bernie Lagasca, the chief paralegal with Headquarters Headquarters Company, 49th MP Brigade, said.
Operations during VG/MP 15 ran 24 hours a day, and at least one member of the legal team was always present in the tactical operations center.
“We need to be able to cover all the shifts so that we can support all aspects of the operations,” Lagasca said.
The six-man team consisted of a command judge advocate, attorneys and paralegal specialists.
“The homeland response force JAG is probably the most experienced team in the state of California,” Weavers said. “We get this experience from doing multiple exercises and because the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX is located in California.”
Vigilant Guard/Makani Pahili 2015 is a large-scale, multi-agency exercise designed to improve collaborative efforts in the response to domestic emergencies. National Guard units from multiple states joined forces with local, state and federal agencies to respond to a hurricane that wreaked havoc on the Hawaiian Islands. The training provides an opportunity for less experienced members to learn how all the components work together.
“It is important for junior enlisted Soldiers to participate in this type of exercise because they are being exposed to the mission in its entirety instead of being locked down in an office,” Spc. Sean Chaffin, a paralegal specialist with the 49th MP Brigade, said.
Chaffin said his role was to provide research and analysis of regulations and policies and to gather information for the attorneys.
“I like that I get to get out and see the role of the JAG for the bigger picture of the HRF,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2015 20:26 |
| Story ID: | 165693 |
| Location: | OAHU, HAWAII, US |
| Hometown: | FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 270 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, JAG trains with Vigilant Guard 2015, by 1LT Brianne Roudebush, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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