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Court Is Assembled: Ready? Set. Go! - Readiness in Legal Training and Education Across the JAG Corps

Readiness is not a very controversial topic in and of itself: it’s generally good to be ready, and it’s bad to not be ready—especially if you’re supposed to be ready. Overall, being ready has positive connotations in all aspects of life. There is even a certain playfulness when you ask someone if they’re ready, or an anticipation when you’re in the sprinter’s blocks being told to get ready.

News & Notes

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.

Pivotal Perspective: In Defense of the Formation How Engaging with Your Unit Increases Lethality

We stumbled towards the field, eyes often matted, some of us sweaty from the commute in or the workout we just finished. Then, we lined up in ranks on a field—often audibly grumbling about what a pain it was. We are all familiar with this unifying experience of military service: the formation. While some may believe it has little place or purpose in today’s Army, would abandoning it be truly Soldier-care-centered?

Lore of the Corps: The Man Behind the SCOTUS Military Justice Case Names

Two of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most significant military justice decisions share a party’s name. In both O’Callahan v. Parker1 and Parker v. Levy,2 the “Parker” was Warden Jacob J. Parker of the Federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. This article contributes to military justice heritage by providing a biography of Parker. Studying Parker’s role in two landmark military justice cases also highlights a significant and ongoing shift in the Supreme Court’s approach to review of court-martial cases resulting from the Military Justice Act of 1983.

Practice Notes: Strengthening Legal Interoperability - The Urgent Need to Sustain Mil-to-Mil Legal Engagements Across NATO

On 26 November 1941, six Japanese aircraft carriers departed from the Kuril Islands and began their voyage to Hawaii.1 The flotilla arrived about a week later, having completed their voyage undetected by American patrols. In the early morning of 7 December, the carrier-based aircraft took off and launched their attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.3 Although most Americans are familiar with this “date which will live in infamy,” not as many consider the importance of the attack from a military-technology perspective, as it marked the end of the era in naval warfare dominated by the battleship.

Practice Notes: From Soldier to “Condemned Prisoner” - A Review of Modern Military Death Sentence Procedure

In September 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth requested President Donald Trump to sign the death warrant approving and ordering the execution of Major (MAJ) Nidal Hasan. The military has not carried out a death sentence since 1961, when U.S. Army Private John Bennett was executed by hanging at the gallows of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks (USDB) in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Practice Notes: Father Time Is Undefeated - Intelligence, and How a Judge Advocate Can Prepare for Its Inevitable Decline

The human mind, like the body, experiences deleterious effects while aging. As individuals mature, they will have an inevitable decline in certain cognitive abilities tethered to their intelligence. While harsh, denying this inevitability will lead to frustration, anger, and lack of satisfaction, while eating away at one’s sense of purpose.