Photo By Capt. Fernando Ochoa | Lt. Col George Merithew, 650th Regional Support Group command judge advocate, and...... read more read more
FORT MCCOY, Wis. – Lt. Col George Merithew, 650th Regional Support Group command judge advocate, and Capt. Nic Danna, deputy command judge advocate, were on the ground of Forward Operating Base Liberty during the Combat Support Training Exercise at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, June 8-16.
The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of a military concerned with military justice and military law.
Officers serving in a JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates. Only the chief attorney within each branch is referred to as “The Judge Advocate General;" however, individual JAG Corps officers are colloquially known as JAGs.
“Our mission is to assist the commander to maintain order and discipline,” said Merithew. “We are continuously working on-going legal actions, whether it is at home station or any incidents that may occur during the CSTX exercise.”
The CSTX is a multicomponent, joint, integrated training event that is conducted over six forward operating bases and will serve more than 3,000 Soldiers from U.S. Army Reserve units from around the country.
Judge advocates serve primarily as legal advisers to the command to which they are assigned. Their advice may cover a wide range of issues dealing with administrative law, government contracting, civilian and military personnel law, law of war and international relations, environmental law, among other issues. Judge advocates also may be assigned as legal counsel to individual Soldiers.
“We do have an important job, but I think that the camaraderie that is built here with my fellow Soldiers is the best part of these exercises,” said Danna. “At the battle assemblies there isn’t the same environment to build relationships.”
JAGs also serve as prosecutors for the military when conducting courts martials. In the U.S. military, they are charged with both the defense and prosecution of military law as provided in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Highly experienced officers of the JAG Corps often serve as military judges in courts-martial and courts of inquiry.
Army lawyers serve dual roles of being the arbiter of common sense and Army officers which places them in the position of having access to the commander and situational awareness.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2015 23:28 |
| Story ID: | 166224 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 650th RSG Legal Eagles soar, by CPT Fernando Ochoa, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
