Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a revolutionary transition from the information age to a cyber-physical age, where data and physical domains will fuse, enabling machines to perceive, learn, decide, and ultimately act.2 The National Security Commission on AI best described the scale of this transformation.
View legal professionals across the force as they train, deploy, and operate in diverse environments around the world. From field exercises and airborne operations to multinational training and professional education, these images reflect the breadth of legal support provided to commanders and Soldiers at every level.
As a U.S. Army Military Police officer selected for the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP), I approached my summer internship at the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate (OSJA) for 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss with the mindset of becoming a future counselor. Up until that point, law enforcement and Soldier-focused development shaped my professional life. This internship offered something different: a deeper understanding of the legal backbone that supports everything from discipline to operational readiness.
A perennial discussion for leaders is whether leaders are born or made.2 Leadership in Turbulent Times3 (Leadership) by Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of more than 12,000 books in the Library of Congress on leadership.4 One could argue that from the sheer number of leadership publications available (Army Doctrine Publication 6-225 included), we have the answer: leaders are made, or at least we believe they can be.6 Naturally, then—and rightly!—readers are on the lookout for formulas for successful leadership.
The Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps has many examples of heroism in combat in its 250-year history. Our most highly decorated members served during the First World War, when, due to a shortage of line officers, then-Colonel Blanton Winship and then-Major J. Leslie Kincaid commanded infantry units in combat while serving as the judge advocate (JA) for First Army and the 27th Infantry Division, respectively. Winship received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, while Kincaid received the Distinguished Service Cross, Belgian Order of the Crown, and the British Distinguished Service Order.
Imagine the following: in a barracks room on Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Sergeant (SGT) Shady, a young U.S. Army military intelligence Soldier, uses an encrypted messenger app to communicate with a foreign national in Hong Kong. He has been talking to the individual for a few weeks, and a standard practice has developed: SGT Shady sends the foreign national information about the U.S. military, including classified information, in exchange for money.
Judge advocates (JAs) and paralegals must maintain a sharp set of analytical tools in their toolkit to be effective and relevant. Analytic rigor strengthens credibility by fostering trust with clients and colleagues through increased transparency and sound reasoning. But similar to muscles, if analytic skills are not practiced and exercised, they can atrophy over time. This article lists thirteen analytical tools relevant to the practice of military law derived from Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 203, Analytic Standards.
It is another sweltering day in July at Fort Swampy. The chief of public affairs trudges across the baking asphalt parking lot to the entrance of the headquarters building. She attempts to unlock the door using her access card. Instead of a click of the lock, she is met with a flashing red light . . . access denied.
On 20 May 2016, the President signed Executive Order (EO) 13730, which modified Military Rule of Evidence (MRE) 801(d)(1)(B).2 The amended rule reads: (d) A statement that meets the following conditions is not hearsay: (1) A Declarant-Witness’s Prior Statement. The declarant testifies and is subject to cross-examination about a prior statement, and the statement: . . .