Courtesy Photo | Staff from the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel celebrate the promotion of Brig....... read more read more
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel commemorated a significant milestone Dec. 28 celebrating its one-year anniversary of being fully operational.
It’s been a busy and eventful year for the OSTC team as they hit the ground running, marking the past year by achieving significant accomplishments.
Most notably, OSTC prosecutors reviewed more than 8,600 criminal investigations and exercised authority over 2,172 of those cases. Approximately 6,000 investigations were ultimately returned to the command for disposition.
While the case review process remains an ongoing effort, OSTC prosecutors preferred charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 489 cases in the past year.
Of the cases where charges were preferred, OSTC prosecuted 151 through to completion. These include 65 cases for rape, sexual assault and other sexual misconduct and 63 for domestic violence.
Because of the complex and serious nature of the crimes prosecuted by OSTC, each prosecutor within the organization must meet specific standards in education, training, experience and temperament before being certified to handle these cases.
In the past year, OSTC conducted nine outreach events and 11 training courses across the Army while also assisting with numerous other JAG Corps trainings throughout the year.
Brig. Gen. Christopher A. Kennebeck, lead special trial counsel, acknowledged that standing up a new organization has it challenges, but the OSTC team has successfully started off on the right foot.
“From the beginning, there was clear Congressional intent, solid support from Army leaders and commanders, and a collaborative effort among Army staff and Judge Advocates to define goals, allocate resources, and establish a clear mission and vision,” Kennebeck said.
“As with any new organization, it takes time to integrate stakeholders and to learn how to be most efficient, which is an area where criminal justice systems can always improve.”
Kennebeck, who assumed the position of LSTC in June, is impressed with the entire OSTC team, to include the attorneys, paralegals, special victim liaisons and support staff.
“We have a tremendously talented, solid team of professionals who are specially trained to support investigations, communicate with victims and commanders, and prosecute cases where there is sufficient credible evidence to obtain a conviction,” he said.
Looking forward to 2025, Kennebeck’s goals are to continue to refine and improve the collaboration and communication with investigators, command legal advisors and victims of crime.
“An effective criminal justice system requires coordinated effort among these stakeholders, and that collaboration leads to a more just, timely and efficient disposition of offenses,” he said.
Being a new organization, one of Kennebeck’s objectives is to educate the Army community and the public about OSTC and stressed making communication a priority.
“The Office of Special Trial Counsel is a new organization, and not everyone knows what it is and what it does,” he said.
“Our mission is to provide expert, independent and ethical representation of the United States in the investigation and prosecution of covered offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to seek just outcomes in all cases, and to promote trust in the military justice system by maintaining open, honest communication with victims, the Army and the public.”
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is comprised of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert and independent prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located across the country to include Europe and Korea. For more information visit https://www.army.mil/ostc.
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2025 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 489407 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
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This work, The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel Marks Its First Anniversary, by Michelle McCaskill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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