Staff Sergeant Matthew Franks, a combat engineer assigned to 3-364th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 189th Infantry Division, prepares to disassemble a weapon during the 2022 First Army Division West Best Warrior Competition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington March 15, 2022. (Credit: Staff Sergeant Scott Evans)
By Lieutenant Colonel Timothy D. Litka
Prior to his untimely death, one of Lieutenant Colonel Litka’s most recent accomplishments was the selection of the following article for publication in The Army Lawyer (TAL). Special condolences to the Litka family from TAL staff. He was a joy to work with, wishing only to pass his wealth of knowledge on to the next generation.
When I received the news from the Personnel, Plans, and Training Office that I was going to First Army, Division West to be their staff judge advocate (SJA), my first thoughts were: what is First Army, and what does Division West do? I know now. Each year, Division West pushes a corps’ worth of troops to commanders all over the globe, and the assigned judge advocates (JAs) have to factor in complexities not found in a typical legal office.
A Brief Overview of First Army
First Army is America’s “longest-serving numbered field army.”1 In April 1917, the standing Army numbered 133,000 troops.2 Following the United States’ declaration of war against Germany, 400,000 members of the National Guard were ordered into federal service.3 As a result, General John J. Pershing was appointed to lead the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) to France, and he went overseas to build it.4 When “American troops arrived, Pershing insisted they be trained to exacting standards, by battle-seasoned Soldiers, before they could be sent to the front.” 5
Simultaneously, Brigadier General E.A. Kreger assumed duties as a JA for the AEF.6 In May 1918, “he was assisted by one officer and two battalion sergeants major.” 7 In August 1918, First Army was established.8 By September 1918, the legal workload had increased at a steady pace and First Army’s legal office “consisted of six officers and a clerical force of eight men.”9 The work continued to increase, and it became apparent that the force “on duty” was not large enough to meet the need.10 During this time, several JAs from various divisions assisted First Army’s legal efforts.11
After World War I, First Army was deactivated.12 In 1933, it was reactivated at Fort Jay, New York 13: “First Army’s new mission was to command and train regular Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard units within its assigned area . . . .”14 It also “commanded Soldiers from the Army’s three components (Active, Guard and Reserve) until the eve of [World War II], when the unit resumed a combat role.”15 In 1973, First Army’s mission became one of “improving the readiness of the Reserve Components (RC), as it had between World Wars I and II.”16 Ultimately, by 1995, First Army became the “largest of the Continental Armies in terms of personnel and second-largest geographically.”17 Finally, in 2006, “First Army gained the entire continental United States in its mission of training, mobilization, deployment and demobilization of all Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers.”18
In 2013, First Army was designated U.S. Army Forces Command’s (USFORSCOM) Coordinating Authority for the Army’s Total Force Policy Implementation.19 As of 2019, First Army (often referred to as “Task Force Deed,” based on its historical motto “First in Deed”) remains “a multicomponent-sourced organization of more than 8,000 active- and RC Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians,” providing training support to Reserve and National Guard units.20 It is notable that “[w]ith more than 60 percent of the Army’s combat support residing in the RC, the Army Reserve and Army National Guard are vital to accomplishing the Army’s multifaceted global mission.”21 The Global Operating Model of the National Defense Strategy is comprised of four layers: “contact, blunt, surge, and homeland.”22 The “surge” is the mobilization of Guard and Reserve forces to win the war. Currently, First Army, through Division West, is the third layer of the Global Operating Model, training and validating Guard and Reserve Soldiers for the “surge.”
First Army, Division West
In accordance with the Army Sustainment Readiness model, “Division West supports pre-mobilization training for reserve component forces . . . ; assesses and reports pre-mobilization readiness for reserve component forces . . . ; [and] conducts mobilization and demobilization operations . . . .”23 Moreover, continuing in the tradition of General Pershing’s demand of the AEF, “Division West conducts battle focused, tough, realistic training to provide equipped and ready Soldiers, units, and leaders for the combatant commanders.”24 This training can include training in “counter-improvised explosive device, counter insurgency, and escalation of force . . . .”25
Division West partners with U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard Leadership “to better prepare them for deployment; ensure no degradation to the unit’s wartime contingency capability and fully maximize the time for RC units in theater.”26 Division West accomplishes this mission through its headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas, and its five brigades at four locations throughout the western United States: 120th Infantry Brigade and 166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas; 181st Infantry Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; 189th Infantry Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and 5th Armored Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Unique Jurisdictional
Authority for Division West
Division West gains, loses, and gains jurisdiction again over Soldiers as it validates a corps’ worth of Service members each year. In Division West, members may be either on Title 10 orders; drilling in a troop program unit (TPU) status; mobilizing (moving from Title 32 to Title 10 status); or de-mobilizing (moving from Title 10 to Title 32 status). Title 10 Soldiers at First Army, Division West, are active duty Soldiers or Reserve and National Guard Soldiers under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.27 When the Soldier is on Title 10 orders, jurisdiction belongs to the Division’s general court-martial convening authority (GCMCA) and their brigade’s special court-martial convening authority (SPCMCA); for mobilizing Soldiers, this begins at their mobilization (M) date, continues up until they deploy, and then picks up again when they redeploy.28 This is a unique aspect of jurisdiction, since most active duty brigade judge advocates deal with issues of active duty Soldiers who are in the unit until they PCS or go to confinement. Another unique aspect of jurisdiction is that the Division West JA may need to consider the possibility of concurrent jurisdiction if a brigade-sized element mobilizes. Using continuous communication with their RC counterparts, issues such as investigating misconduct, recommending GOMORs, or demobilizing Soldiers, can be worked through without causing any friction between the Active element and the Reserve or Guard unit. When Soldiers return from deployment to demobilize, jurisdiction returns to Division West until the end of their transition leave.29 At this point, the Service members go back to either state control under Title 32, or to their reserve unit.
Providing Support to
Approximately 60,000 Soldiers
“Mobilization actions begin with the unit notification of sourcing (NOS) and continues until forces board transportation to the theater of operations.”30 First Army is responsible for USFORSCOM’s rotational mobilization, training, and deployment of RC forces.31 Occurring approximately twelve-to-eighteen months before mobilization, the Multi-Component Joint Assessment (MCJA)32 is an assessment that “enables First Army to work with the RC to develop their unit training plans so [First Army] can do both pre- and post-mobilization and get [all partner units] to theatre with what they need to succeed.”33 The Office of the Staff Judge Advocate (OSJA) for Division West provides a video presentation to develop the RC units that attend the MCJA. It goes over the unique aspects of jurisdiction, investigations, and the common legal issues potentially facing Guard and Reserve units. These include lessons learned by the OSJA from the previous twelve months. From 2019 to 2021, these issues were inappropriate senior-subordinate relationships, allegations of toxic work environment, and Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program issues.
Approximately two-to-four months prior to arriving to the Division West footprint, the brigade legal office reaches out with a checklist of possible training briefings. Once that is returned, the attorneys and paralegals work with the unit to be ready to present the training requested, in addition to the training reviewed in the MCJA video. The 120th Infantry Brigade and the 5th Armored Brigade oversee Mobilization Force Generation Installations, which34 “are the Army installations designated to provide premobilization training and support, combat preparation, post mobilization training, and sustainment capabilities to both AC and RC units.”35 The 120th Infantry Brigade mobilizes/validates approximately 20,000 Soldiers per year, and the 5th Armored Brigade mobilizes/validates approximately 30,000 Soldiers per year.36 As such, the brigade judge advocates (BJAs) (at these two brigades) have five-to-ten times more Service members coming through their jurisdiction than a “typical brigade.”37 The 181st Infantry Brigade works closely with the 86th Training Division to provide observer/coach trainer (OC/T) support to multiple Combat Support Training Exercises on an annual basis.38 The 181st Infantry Brigade is tasked to support up to four Combat Support Training Exercises over approximately a four-month period during the summer, directly contributing to the training and readiness of approximately 50,000 RC Soldiers.39 Moreover, the 189th Infantry Brigade currently partners with approximately thirty RC brigades and six units at echelons above brigade.40 In terms of deployments, in fiscal year 2019, the 189th Combined Arms Training Brigade (CATB) assisted with 31 deployed units, totaling over 1,200 personnel from 11 states.41 Finally, the 166th Aviation BJA assists in validating roughly 33 percent of current, combined AC and RC deploying aviation forces.42 The Division West brigade legal offices not only provides the training mentioned above but also has the dual role of observer/coach trainer for the legal teams, validating them so that they may go forward to their area of operations.
Extra Layers of Complexity
Title 10 Orders
In my time at Division West, a majority of the misconduct we advised on was generated by Guard or Reserve Service members on active duty orders. As such, for every possible investigation or court-martial, a JA at Division West first needed to find out how much time was left on the active-duty orders to make sure jurisdiction was not lost. Additionally, the alleged misconduct needed to be examined for potential jurisdictional issues, to see if any of it occurred in a Reserve or Guard status. Lastly, coordination needed to be done with the reserve unit so they were aware that their Soldier was being investigated.
Investigations and Courts-Martial
The typical U.S. Army division has a robust bench of lieutenant colonels and colonels on hand who, if needed, could be called upon to investigate senior officers. Division West does not have that luxury in its immediate footprint. When an organic battalion or brigade needs an investigating officer for alleged senior leader misconduct, or a mobilizing/demobilizing unit has an allegation of senior leader misconduct, Division West may need to rely on the senior active duty army advisor (typically a Division West lieutenant colonel or colonel) detailed to a state Army National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Office to come on temporary duty orders to conduct the investigation.43 Regarding courts-martial, most divisions have a full complement of military justice practitioners supervising, advising and prosecuting cases as general crimes or sex crimes. Division West does not. Division West will field the initial allegation and conduct an investigation or coordinate with the Criminal Investigation Division. When this is complete, similar to assisting the American Expeditionary Force, today, members of various garrison offices assist Division West with our legal efforts. By permanent order, I Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord; Fort Leavenworth; 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss; and III Corps, Fort Hood, assist Division West with courts-martial.44 Therefore, the investigation and decisions begin with Division West legal personnel coordinating legal advice and staffing through our SPCMCA and GCMCA and then, if needed, the issue is worked with the respective garrison GCMCA to completion at court.
Reserve Battalions and Supporting the
Total Force Readiness Exercises
Apart from the 166th Aviation Brigade, all other First Army brigades are organized and designated as either a Multi-Function Training Brigade (MFTB) or a Combined Arms Training Brigade(CATB).45 MFTBs and CATBs are “multicomponent-sourced, modular and scalable organizations that provide observer coach/trainer (OC/T) support for RC pre- and post-mobilization training.”46 They also “have the capability to support combat training centers, major training exercises, and enhanced annual training.”47 These brigades increase First Army’s ability to train Reserve and Guard formations which is “a necessity, since more than 76 percent of the combat support/combat service support of the Total Force resides in the reserve component.”48 But this, too, adds to the legal office’s potential duties—occasionally, the BJA will have to advise on a matter that comes up from a reserve support battalion that is not on Title10 status. When this occurs, we coordinate with the appropriate reserve legal support command. Last, First Army JAs assist the U.S. Army Reserve Legal Command by providing attorneys and paralegals to assist with their Total Force Readiness Exercises (TFRX) as OC/T support or supporting as a member of the Higher, Adjacent, Lower, Supporting, Supported response cell.
Conclusion
First Army and Division West continue the tradition of the AEF, implementing the Total Force Policy. As General Milley stated:
We cannot conduct sustained land warfare without the Guard and the Re-serve . . . It is impossible for the United States of America to go to war today without bringing Main Street—without bringing Tennessee and Massachusetts and Colorado and California. We just can’t do it . . . It is one Army, and we’re not small—we’re big. We’re very capable. And we’re very capable because of the reserves, we’re capable because of the National Guard.49
Above and beyond understanding and being able to work issues in national security law, administrative law, labor law, contract and fiscal law, military justice, and ethics, the JA’s role in assisting the surge of war-winning forces has nuances that most JAs do not have to factor in their planning. With each and every issue that comes up, the JA must check the Service member’s orders and see how much time is left on active duty, understand if we need to bring an investigating officer on temporary duty orders, know if they are Guard or Reserve members in order to figure out who their parent unit and legal office is for coordination of actions, go through the evidence to see if the alleged misconduct occurred on Title 10 status, understand if the action should be processed with the reserve or active regulations, and know these issues well enough to also provide O/CT validation through injects for the deploying units or helping with the U.S. Army Reserve Legal Command’s TFRX. All of this may seem straight forward, until you arrive to Division West and realize that the assigned manning of the OSJA is composed of ten people: the SJA, the Division noncommissioned officer-in-charge, five BJAs, and three paralegals.TAL
LTC Litka served as the staff judge advocate for First Army, Division West from 2019 to 2021. He most recently served as a senior instructor at The Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Notes
1. History, First U.S. Army (Apr. 20, 2021), https://web. archive.org/web/20210420135301/https://www.first. army.mil/content.aspx?ContentID=200 (last visited Oct. 20, 2019).
2. Eric B. Setzekorn, Joining the Great War, April 1917–April 1918, at 13 (2017).
3. Id.
4. History, supra note 1.
5. History, supra note 1.
6. 15 Ctr. of Mil. Hist., U.S. Dep’t of Army, United States Army in the World War 1917–1919: Reports of the Commander-in-Chief, Staff Sections and Services 355 (1991), https://history.army.mil/html/ books/023/23-21/CMH_Pub_23-21.pdf.
7. Id
8. History, supra note 1.
9. 15 Ctr. of Mil. Hist., U.S. Dep’t of Army, United States Army in the World War 1917–1919: Reports of the Commander-in-Chief, Staff Sections and Services 355 (1991), https://history.army.mil/html/ books/023/23-21/CMH_Pub_23-21.pdf.
10. Id.
11. Id.
12. History, First U.S. Army, (Apr. 20, 2021), https:// web.archive.org/web/20210420135301/https://www. first.army.mil/content.aspx?ContentID=200 (last visited Oct. 20, 2019).
13. Id.
14. Id.
15. Id. See also First Army, First in Deed, https://www. first.army.mil/History/ (last visited Aug. 22, 2022) (“First Army established an impressive record of “firsts” in World War II: FIRST on the beaches of Normandy; FIRST out of the Normandy beachhead; FIRST into Paris; FIRST to break the Siegfried Line; FIRST to cross the Rhine River; and FIRST to link up with our Soviet allies at the Elbe River.”).
16. History, First U.S. Army (Apr. 20, 2021), https:// web.archive.org/web/20210420135301/https://www. first.army.mil/content.aspx?ContentID=200 (last visited Oct. 20, 2019).
17. Id.
18. Id.
19. Headquarters, First Army, G-7/Training Newcomers Orientation, at slide 7 (Feb. 20, 2018) (unpublished PowerPoint presentation) (on file with author).
20. Units/Tenants, U.S. Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal, https://home.army.mil/ria/index.php/units-tenants (last visited Apr. 5, 2022) (scroll down to section, First U.S. Army).
21. Id.
22. U.S. Dep’t of Def., Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America 7 (2018).
23. Mission, First Army Div. W. (Oct. 19, 2016), https:// web.archive.org/web/20161019222105/http://www. first.army.mil/divwest/content.aspx?ContentID=103.
24. Id.
25. Id.
26. First Army Division West Mobilization & Demobilization, First Army Div. W. (Oct. 15, 2017), https://web. archive.org/web/20171015181035/http://www.first. army.mil/divwest/content.aspx?ContentID=109.
27. 10 U.S.C. § 101(d)(1).
28. UCMJ, in Headquarters, U.S. Dep’t of Army, Execution Order 140–17, Annex A, Mobilization Command and Support Relationships and Requirements-Based Demobilization Process appendix 2 (3 Jan. 2018) [hereinafter HQDA EXORD 140-17].
29. Id.
30. Reserve Component Mobilization Operations, U.S. Army (Mar. 25, 2014), https://www.army.mil/standto/archive_2014-03-25.
31. Id.
32. W. Wayne Marlow, First Army Focuses on Helping Reserve Component Units Succeed, U.S. Army (May 17, 2016), https://www.army.mil/article/168022/first_army_focuses_on_helping_reserve_component_units_succeed.
33. Id.
34. Michael E. Linick et al., A Throughput-Based Analysis of Army Active Component/Reserve Component Mix for Major Contingency Surge Operations 16–17 n.9 (2019).
35. Id. at 17 n.9.
36. This assertion is based on the author’s recent professional experiences as the staff judge advocate for First Army, Division West from 2019 to 2021.
37. See generally Army, U.S. Dep’t of Def., https://www. defense.gov/Experience/Military-Units/Army/#army (last visited Apr. 5, 2022).
38. See Off. of Chief of Army Rsrv., Combat Support Training Exercise, U.S. Army (Mar. 19, 2018), https:// www.army.mil/standto/archive/2018/03/19/ [hereinafter Training Exercise]; Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, U.S. Army Rsrv., https://www.usar.army.mil/Commands/ US-Army-Reserve-Command/Fort-McCoy-Main/#:~:- text=Each%20year%2C%20Fort%20McCoy%20provides,Red%20Dragon%20and%20Global%20Medic (last visited Apr. 5, 2022) [hereinafter Fort McCoy].
39. See Training Exercise, supra note 38; Fort McCoy, supra note 38.
40. 189th Combine Arms Training Brigade (CATB), First Army Div. W. (Oct. 11, 2020), https://web.archive.org/ web/20201011204153/https://www.first.army.mil/ divwest/content.aspx?ContentID=189. note 38.
41. Id.
42. Interview by Major Galen Flannery with Colonel Ron Ells, Commander, 166th Aviation Brigade, in Fort Hood, Tex. (Nov. 7, 2019).
43. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993, Pub. L. 102-484, 106 Stat. 2315 (as modified by the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 1994, 1996, and 2005). ATFP and Senior Army Advisor, Army National Guard (SRAAG) Duties and Certification, U.S. Army (Dec. 3, 2014), https://www.army. mil/standto/archive_2014-12-03.
44. HQDA EXORD 140-17, supra note 28
45. Combined Arms and Multifunctional Training Brigades, U.S. Army (Apr. 14, 2015), https://www.army.mil/ standto/2015-04-14.
46. Id.
47. Id.
48. Id.
49. Ellen M. Pint et al., Review of Army Total Force Policy Implementation 9 (2017) (quoting General Mark Milley in Sergeant First Class Jim Greenhill, General Milley: “There Is Only One Army,” U.S. Army (Sept. 22, 2015), https://www.army.mil/article/155850/general_milley_there_is_only_one_army).