It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change. ¹—Leon C. Megginson

On 8 August 2019, the Department of Defense (DoD) published Army Field Manual (FM) 6-27/Marine Corps Tactical Publication 11-10C, The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Land Warfare (Handbook) , replacing FM 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare (1956). As judge advocates, we have an obligation to provide relevant, understandable, and accessible tools for commanders, Soldiers, and practitioners. This Handbook provides an invaluable tool for Army and Marine Corps commanders and their judge advocates to guide land forces in conducting disciplined military training and operations in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC).

On 2 October 2018, the Judge Advocate General’s Corps stood up the Army eDiscovery Program at Fort Belvoir, Virginia (housed within the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency (USALSA) as the eDiscovery Division). One year later, the program has made significant progress in its goal to become a fully robust program that can meet the eDiscovery needs of the Army.

Leadership—the activity of influencing people by providing purpose, direction,and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. ¹

Soldiers are not in the Army, Soldiers are the Army. ¹—General Creighton W. Abrams

As 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, it is time to reflect on the weapon that ended that war and changed the world forever: the atomic bomb. While Americans today and everyone living on this planet have learned to live with—if not ignore—the existence of nuclear weapons, it was truly a shocking event for many adults when the United States dropped the fission bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima on 5 August 1945.

If we continue to [use] our technology without wisdom or prudence,our servant may prove to be our executioner. ¹—General Omar Bradley

The brigade commander calls you into their office to share some news: the annual brigade ball will occur three months from today. Having recently taken command, the goal is to improve the brigade’s esprit de corps with maximum participation by offering low ticket prices. The commander expects to use members of the S6 section to provide assistance with the audio visual equipment that will be used to play music during the event. Additionally, the commander wants to assign Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) personnel to perform the color guard and to operate a courtesy shuttle service to mitigate alcohol-related accidents.

Whether it be due to the regular deployment schedules, long hours in the field, or any of the other normal daily stressors that accompany military life, the concept of divorce is not foreign to service members. What is unique to military divorces, however, is that for decades, courts across the country have struggled to deal with reaching equitable solutions about how to divide retirement pay between the military spouse and their ex-spouse.

My¹ first rater didn’t have it. Nor did my senior rater. Fortunately for me, one of my rater’s counterparts (MAJ L) did, and his empathic support made all the difference in my transition into the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. The ability of MAJ L back at division headquarters to connect with me, two hours away, in a small, remote branch office, and provide the informal empathic leadership our small team needed was invaluable.