“The court is assembled.” A trial judge utters this legally significant phrase in every court-martial. At the most fundamental level, these words announce that all the necessary players are present and the proceeding can commence. These players include the attorneys and support personnel detailed to the court and the panel members who the convening authority selects.

News & Notes 2024 Issue 1

Over the last several years, I have been asked by various audiences—basic course students, graduate course students, fellow faculty at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS)—for advice about writing in professional and scholarly journals or for online venues at the intersection of national security and the law.

Just before I was heading out to attend a routine recruiting event during my Reserve mobilization as an outreach officer (ORO) for the Judge Advocate Recruiting Office (JARO), my inbox received a warning in blaring, bold text.

On my first day walking into the Juliet Company footprint, I enthusiastically opened a set of double doors and my eyes were immediately drawn to the iconic campaign hat of the drill sergeant behind the duty desk.

As an open society, the United States has a clear interest in strengthening norms that mitigate cyber threats and enhance stability in cyberspace. We aim to deter cyber attacks from state and non-state actors and will respond decisively with all appropriate tools of national power to hostile acts in cyberspace, including those that disrupt or degrade vital national functions or critical infrastructure.

Ways and Means: Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War is a unique book on the Civil War because it provides an important financial and economic analysis of how the Union and Confederacy waged war. Every judge advocate, legal administrator, and paralegal specialist should read it to learn multiple lessons that are relevant in our era of competition with Russia and China.

Arthur Winton Brown had a remarkable career as a Soldier and Army lawyer. When he took the oath of office as The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) on 28 February 1934, Brown had served in many locations, seen much combat, and held many important legal positions. But he is unique in our history in serving as a legal advisor on three diplomatic missions to South America.

The end of 2023 will also be the end of the Lore of the Corps series of short legal history articles—at least by me. I suspect, however, that the new Regimental Historian, Dr. Nick Roland, may want to continue writing for The Army Lawyer. And I hope so!

The following members of our regiment, in alphabetical order, passed away in 2023.

John, a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran, has been fighting to access U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare for his service-connected wounds for more than half a century.1 John was drafted into the Army in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War as an armor reconnaissance specialist.2 While deployed to Vietnam, he was wounded by an enemy rocket that left permanent scars on his neck.3 Not only did John endure physical injuries, but he also suffers from the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).4

This commentary makes the case that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to create its own generative artificial intelligence (GAI) large language model (LLM) similar to ChatGPT.1 Before digging in more thoroughly, however, I must start with a full disclosure2 that this commentary was not written with the help of any generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) chatbot or other GAI LLM.3 Given GPT technology’s uncanny ability to create or improve written prose on many subjects, it was certainly tempting to run some ideas through the free version of ChatGPT.4

The South China Sea is one of the most hotly disputed areas in the world. Due to its key location as a major trade route with abundant natural resources, Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have all asserted competing sovereignty claims to portions of the South China Sea.1 Maritime features in the South China Sea are similarly disputed, with the claimant states frantically building installations on varied rocks, reefs, and other features to expand their exclusive economic zones.2

During a recent conversation with colleagues about building and shaping the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps of tomorrow, someone brought up a quote attributed to the famed football coach Vince Lombardi. He once said to his team, “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.”1