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I spent most of the day returning from a short - but needed, and appreciated - family vacation. We didn't go far, but we did enjoy spending some quiet time together hiking, reading, and enjoying some beautiful views (and the season's first snowfall). On the way home, while listening to NPR, I caught the replay Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream' speech from 1963. I'm a bit ashamed to admit I'd never heard the whole thing, but I listened today and it got me...read more
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Christmas and the Northwest's almost never-ending rain have collided to bring me back to a minor hobby I had in college. Though it pains me to think about how long ago it was, I have to admit it's been nearly 17 years since I did any rock climbing. I was never great, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I picked it up while spending a semester at the Coast Guard Academy (a story for another day) and found it really suited me at the time. I took a class and then stuck...read more
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In the midst of a crazy time of new babies, courts-martial, and assorted office fires to put out, I found out last week what my next assignment will be. I'll be headed back to the JAG School to teach criminal law! This is a GREAT job, and one that I honestly didn't expect to get. Not only am I looking forward to getting back east and back to a place I know (instead of starting from scratch again), I'm also looking forward to getting back into an assignment that...read more
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I'm wrapping up a week in San Antonio with much of the Army's Trial Defense Service (TDS), talking about defending sexual assault cases. Over the last couple years, the Army (and the military generally) has made a big push to ensure our Soldiers remain safe within the ranks and has gone to great lengths to educate everyone about the dangers of sexual assault and to punish those who commit those crimes. Part of the TDS mission is to ensure the rights of those accused are...read more
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I went into this Veterans' Day weekend watching a Soldier being found guilty for murdering three Afghan civilians while deployed last year. Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was charged with being the ring leader in what the media has dubbed a rogue 'kill squad.' The defense of these Soldiers at trial fell to the Army's Trial Defense Service and a collection of civilian attorneys who took on these cases. I wish I'd had a more significant role in preparing these...read more
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As we do every year in November (and March), the JAG Corps recently closed another application window for folks interested in becoming Judge Advocates or summer interns. In a previous assignment (way back when, when I first started writing here at ArmyStrongStories), I used to manage our Field Screening Officer program, the group of officers we send out to law school campuses to interview applicants. Since leaving that assignment, I really had been a bit out of the recruiting...read more
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I finally have a good excuse for a long absence -- my wife and I recently welcomed our second child to the family. Work has continued to be crazy (and to inspire concern about command concern for Soldiers and the legal advice they get) and coupled with sleepless nights at home has meant that I haven't had the energy to sit down and write. Now that my baby girl is about 2 months old - and we're both sleeping a little more - I've got a lot to catch up on. So...read more
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Today is a good day for the Army. The 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy in place for the last 18 years - which kept honest, loyal (gay) Soldiers from serving with with full dignity and respect - has been repealed. (You can read the announcement from the Army's leadership at www.army.mil - look for the "Hot Topic link at the top.) I've written here about DADT before and we've had a few short-lived discussions about whether repeal would be the...read more
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Anyone who has been around the Army a little while has seen this - the old guy in the guy in the guy or out at the PT track lifting more weight than is reasonable, doing more push-ups than you and me, running faster than his stumpy legs and beer belly should allow. For a few years now I've been living in that stage between young-man endurance and 'old-man strength,' waiting to be able to accomplish ridiculous feats of physical prowess with no connection to the actual work put...read more
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I like to think that my recent call out for thoughts on the role/respect of Soldiers in the general public was the catalyst behind last week's article in the New York Times. (Thanks to my friend Jen for posting it on Fb.) Among other things, the author says we need to take Soldiers down off a pedestal and start treating them like human beings. We're not perfect, and even though many of us (myself excluded) do hard or heroic things, most of us don't....read more
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Profile
Benjamin Grimes
| Affiliation: | Active Duty |
|---|---|
| Rank: | Major |
| Branch: | Judge Advocate General |
| MOS/AOC: | JAG Corps Attorney/27A |
| Location: | Tacoma, WA |
| Hometown: | York |
About Me:
MAJ Grimes has been in the Army since graduating from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1996, spending his first 4 years in service as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot before being selected to attend law school under the Funded Legal Education Program.
Since graduating from New York University School of Law, MAJ Grimes has served as an Administrative Law Attorney, Trial Counsel (Prosecutor) and Senior Trial Counsel, Brigade Legal Adviser, Trial Defense Counsel, and Judge Advocate Recruiting Officer. After earning his LL.M. from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, he was assigned as the Senior Defense Counsel for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington state.
His previous assignments include Fort Rucker (Alabama), South Korea, Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Germany, Fort Myer (Virginia) and Washington, D.C., and deployment to Iraq as the Senior Trial Counsel for Multi-National Corps -- Iraq. MAJ Grimes is married and has two children.
Since graduating from New York University School of Law, MAJ Grimes has served as an Administrative Law Attorney, Trial Counsel (Prosecutor) and Senior Trial Counsel, Brigade Legal Adviser, Trial Defense Counsel, and Judge Advocate Recruiting Officer. After earning his LL.M. from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, he was assigned as the Senior Defense Counsel for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington state.
His previous assignments include Fort Rucker (Alabama), South Korea, Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Germany, Fort Myer (Virginia) and Washington, D.C., and deployment to Iraq as the Senior Trial Counsel for Multi-National Corps -- Iraq. MAJ Grimes is married and has two children.
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