Last week the Fort Lewis (JBLM) Trial Defense Service office took another trip to the indoor marksmanship range. Though the light wasn't the best for shooting pictures with my phone, it was sufficient for all of us to qualify on both the 9mm pistol and the M-4 assault rifle. I managed to shoot 30 for 30 with the pistol and 38 for 40 on the rifle -- not bad for a lawyer! Here are a few pics of the team in action. These are the folks you want defending you - in court

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This week saw a pair of headlines -- one on Sunday and one this morning -- that had me thinking about more than just what the news is, but also how it's reported. Our local paper, the Tacoma News Tribune, led with these front page headlines headlines: "With more soldiers comes more crime" (29 Jan 12) and "'Kill team' saga ends as charges dropped" (4 Feb 12) -- attention-grabbing to say the least. The first story was about how the rate of crime has

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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