WIESBADEN, Germany - The Army's judge advocate general was in town Jan. 24 to personally welcome back members of the 1st Armored Division legal team to Wiesbaden from Iraq.
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Lt. Gen. Dana Chipman and a team from the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps spent time with 1st AD, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade and other unit JAG officers, civilians and paraprofessionals discussing mission, vision and future planning.
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"This is a great team with a great lineage," said Chipman in welcoming back Iron Advocates to Wiesbaden after duty in Iraq. Chipman praised the "legacy of service" that Army legal Soldiers and civilians provide.
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The Army's senior legal eagle discussed the JAG vision of providing "proactive legal support" in a "principled manner" and mission of "developing, employing and retaining" highly qualified legal experts. "Our obligation is to try to figure out how to retain this great talent."
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Chipman also addressed the Army's efforts to reshape the military to offer more of a "supply-side model" where teams of legal experts could transition and deploy where needed. Among initiatives being considered is a model where Soldiers would have three years at home station for every one year of deployment. "We want to give people predictability and some measure of security in their lives," he said.
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"These are tough times for the nation as far as trying to figure out how we'll make this all sustainable," he added, addressing economic pressures facing the nation as a whole that are impacting the Department of Defense. "It's a period of time when DoD will have to cut its budgets. ... We'll have to do some fiscal reform in order to get our house in order."
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By the same token, "it is a great time to be in the JAG Corps," Chipman said. "It's a great time to be in the JAG Corps because of the diversity of our practice."
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Chipman described how legal Soldiers were getting a wealth of experience while serving on missions from Iraq to Afghanistan and around the globe. "That operational experience is unmatched in our history."
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Describing challenges facing the JAG Corps, Chipman said making sure mid-level managers have the depth of knowledge to perform their roles and that "investigations are done to standard" are chief among those.
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Among the items the JAG Corps owes those who serve are an "equitable assignment process," a "commitment to civilian professional development," "effective knowledge management" and information technology to enhance legal practice, he said.
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"Superb service" and "selfless service to meet the needs of the Army," including "superb leadership" are what is expected of Army legal professionals. That includes integrity on- and off-duty. "We are the standard bearers," Chipman told his listeners.
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