JAG visit looks to ensure consistency across deployed legal operations

Published Aug. 18, 2009
By Capt. Larry van der Oord
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr., Air Force deputy judge advocate general, visited the 386th Air Expeditionary wing here today to begin an eight-day Article Six visit to various deployed locations throughout the area of operations.

The visit refers to Article Six of the Uniform Code of Military Justice requiring the Air Force JAG or appointed designee to make frequent visits to the field to inspect military justice operations. The visit provides a look into overall legal operations to ensure deployed personnel are presented with appropriate legal support.

"It gives us some ground truth as to what's going on with our folks forward," said General Dunlap. "We want to make sure we are doing everything we can back home to support those who are deployed."

General Dunlap stressed that a main goal of this trip is to ensure Air Force JAGs are consistently providing a high level of service to customers. One specific success story he highlighted was the tax assistance program initiated by the 386th AEW legal team. The program is being used as a model to institute similar initiatives at other deployed locations.

When he visits legal offices in Iraq, his focus will turn to detainee operations. General Dunlap discussed both the ethical and practical military importance of this specific mission.

"It's absolutely critical to ensure the (detainee operation) mission is done correctly for two reasons," he said. "First, it's simply the right thing to do. We are Americans, we have standards and we want to make sure people are treated the right way. Second, we want to make sure we don't do something that the enemy is able to exploit."

General Dunlap also remarked on several specific areas in which he feels JAGs most contribute to the overall fight.

"One major contribution JAG makes is in the Air Operations Center ensuring that the way we conduct air operations not only complies with the Law of Armed Conflict, but also with further restrictions placed by the rules of engagement," he said.

Another JAG contribution concerns making sure commanders have access to the kind of advice they need to perform their function.

"In the 21st century, things have become very legalistic," said General Dunlap. "We want to make sure commanders get to where they want to be and still remain fully compliant with the law; and that's not always intuitive."

JAG involvement in strategic planning also plays an important role in deployed operations, said General Dunlap.

"I believe that adversaries today are looking to undermine our operations by characterizing them as being illegal, unlawful, or somehow improperly executed," he said. "They use that as a tool to erode support for those operations, particularly among the populace of democracies."

Getting legal support at the ground level when constructing a strategic vision for an operation is critical, said General Dunlap.

"We want our Airman not to have to wonder whether or not they're doing the right thing," he said. "We want them to have confidence that experienced and knowledgeable military lawyers have reviewed and approved the plans for a particular operation."

Currently, there are approximately 150 Air Force JAGs and paralegals deployed worldwide. The vast majority of those individuals are serving in the U.S. Central Command AOR.