Editor’s Note: The Army reached a watershed moment in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. This issue of The Army Lawyer features short anecdotes and images from Judge Advocate Legal Services personnel who deployed to Afghanistan in support of operations from 2001 to 2021. The Army Lawyer seeks to honor those who have served in theater and capture some of the lessons our Corps learned through their experiences. Their anecdotes appear in chronological order.

Why submit an article about the challenges of defense article property disposition post-collapse of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) when one could write about more intriguing issues associated with all things Afghanistan? Fair question. Appropriations law and the National Defense Authorization Acts tend to be inflexible, black-letter law with no room for legal options.

Of the approximately 200-plus military occupational specialties (MOS) in the Army, the 27A MOS is the only one that requires a license to practice the law. Because of this specialized field of practice, judge advocates (JAs) are charged to deal with a wide range of issues in the Army, all of which involve communicating, negotiating, counseling, and advising.

When you’re a leader—no matter how long you’ve been in your role or how hard the journey was to get there—you are merely overhead unless you’re bringing out the best in your employees.