Lawyers work hard and, like us, they’re human, many of them. ¹

Army Strong. ¹ This concept has been ingrained in Soldiers for the last twelve years. It communicates the idea that Soldiers are the best of the best, that they can endure anything, they can accomplish anything, and that they are unstoppable. While this message is intended to be empowering, it also conveys an unintended message to troops: because you are the best of the best, you should place the mission first and put your distress to the side; address the distress later, once the mission is complete. While the Army is a formidable opponent, it is a collective; it is only solid as a team of individuals and as strong as its weakest link. Maintaining the fighting force is not accomplished by ignoring stressors and being able to “do it all”; rather, it is achieved by focusing on the individual in order to contribute to the greater mission.

“I’m stressed, Chaplain.” And so the conversation begins. As an Army chaplain, I often hear this phrase, coming from those in line units to those who spend much of their time behind a desk.

Most people would probably imagine functional fitness as CrossFit, slamming a sledge hammer on a tire or throwing barbells around a gym, but I have learned to take a far more abstract approach to fitness. I have never been one to follow a traditional training regimen—I develop creative workouts that are fun and have yielded great results for me. Without any formal education in fitness, I can only speak from my experience and the impact fitness has had throughout my life.

The Military Justice Act of 2016 (2016 MJA) ¹ made sweeping changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). One of the most significant procedural revisions came from new statutory plea agreement authority. While prior plea agreements relied on a convening authority’s promise to exercise clemency in exchange for the accused’s plea, the 2016 MJA provides a convening authority, pursuant to a plea agreement, the ability to limit the sentence adjudged directly. ²

Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech. ¹
—Benjamin Franklin

Ask any former or current brigade judge advocate (BJA) what the most important task is upon arrival at the brigade, and they will likely respond with a variation of “becoming a member of the team.” This should be intuitive, as it won’t matter much if you are the second coming of Lieber or “Clausewitz with a JD”; if you are not a member of the team, you are not invited to meetings and your advice is not heeded or sought. Your insights may as well be “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” ¹

As a brigade judge advocate (BJA), you are operating in a dynamic environment at a break-neck pace. Your team is working hard to close out a never-ending list of administrative and military justice actions while participating in operational and training requirements for the brigade. As you operate in this frenetic environment, what do you need to do to remain fully integrated with staff to sustain mission success for the remainder of your tour? The answers are in three easy steps:

The Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) places company-grade judge advocates (JAs) in many different roles, but some are necessarily more independent than others; meaning, in those roles, JAs have just a technical supervisor and must make many decisions on their own, without a team to truly consult with to make the decision together.