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My new role as part of the Trial Defense Service (TDS) is a little bit different from every other legal job in the Army. TDS attorneys work for Soldiers and officer accused of crimes just like any civilian attorney would. We are there to represent the Soldier, not the commander, not the Army. In the Army, the opportunity to form attorney-client relationships is rare, and even more rare is a chance to be an advocate for someone when so much can be at stake for your...read more
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Long absences from the blog before were usually 2-3 weeks. It's been nearly 2 months now since I've last written and I've got far more to cover than I can do in just one post. I want to talk about a few things, but some it is just going to have to be left out. I graduated from The Judge Advocate Graduate Course on 20 May and shortly thereafter set off on a 3-week cross-country odyssey with my family. Preparing to move -- as it always is in the Army -- is both...read more
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As part of the Graduate Course here at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, we've had the opportunity to take a number of elective course, and I've spent most of my available credits studying International Law topics. One of the most interesting (and the last class of the year I need to attend) is my Rule of Law elective. We've spent our time discussing what 'rule of law' really is and how the United States is working to establish and...read more
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It's been a great week here at the JAG School and I've got three great events I'd like to share (in addition to a re-cap of BG McMaster's leadership discussion, which I have mentioned before). Keep reading for a follow-up on the leadership discussion that started a few weeks ago, involving the JAG Corps' warrant officers; and stay tuned for two more posts coming shortly to talk about a visit from one of the Army's senior trial judges (he spoke to my Military...read more
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While I still need to review my notes from BG McMaster's discussion with us (a few weeks ago), I thought I'd jump right on some thoughts from a senior Marine Corps officer who spoke with us today. (Remember, The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School enforces a non-attribution policy - an important feature that fosters open conversation - so no names.) Suffice it to say, this was an officer who's been around and offered some thoughts on legal service that are definitely...read more
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It's been a pretty good couple weeks. Shortly after my last post, we had a guest speaker come in to talk about officership, leadership, and the future of the Army. BG H.R. McMaster was an excellent addition to the roster of guest speakers we've had so far, and I intend to (eventually) draft up a blog post about his comments. In other news, I took my family out to the Fort Lewis area to look around and start to scope out some neighborhoods to try to find...read more
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I got a question in one of my recent posts and wanted to share the answer with everyone. How physical is the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (JAOBC) class at TJAGLCS and the six-weeks at the Direct Commission Officer Course (DCC)). I have a chronic torn ACL, which has not been surgically repaired. Also, how does the army determine your area of work (e.g. medical, administrative support, combat, legal and law enforcement, etc)? Do you rotate through each area? McKenzie, While I can't...read more
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If you follow my Twitter feed (@MAJGrimes), you noticed that yesterday was another leadership discussion. This one was a little bit different than our others because the Graduate Course met as a whole (without or foreign and sister-service officers) and heard from three senior Army commanders. This was possible because the JAG School (officially, The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School) is this week hosting a Senior Officer Legal Orientation (SOLO). This is something that...read more
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A great leadership discussion on Wednesday has led to more ... and less. I was very excited to share some of my small-group leadership discussion with the rest of the world on Wednesday. We were talking about the challenges of leading warrant officers, enlisted paralegals, and civilians as part of our series of seminar discussion about leadership in the JAG Corps. (I used the #jagcldrship hashtag, so you can check out the discussion on Twitter -- and keep it going.) The...read more
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Well, for those who were waiting for last week's leadership discussion, I apologize. A last-minute trip to the doctor for some recurring low-back pain kept me out of school for the day. Luckily, leadership training continues! Today we'll be tackling: Leading Legal Administrators, Paralegals, and Civilians. This should be an interesting discussion - particularly as regards civilians. I'll be live-Twittering the discussion, using the #jagcldrship hashtag. Feel...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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