Two departments in the Fort Sill Office of the Staff Judge Advocate's Client Services were recognized for excellence for fiscal 2011 at the Department of the Army Level.
The Army chief of staff honored the legal assistance office for the 23rd consecutive year; and the claims office won the prestigious Judge Advocate General's award for the eighth time.
Col. Paul Hossenlopp, Fort Sill Garrison commander, presented the awards Nov. 2 at Taylor Hall here. Capt. Alane Ballweg, claims office chief, and Kathryn McClure, client services branch chief, accepted the awards for their teams.
"The award reflects on the quality of attorneys and paralegals we have," McClure said. "It took a lot of sustained effort on the part of everyone and dedication to the mission."
The Chief of Staff Award for Excellence in Legal Assistance recognized legal assistance offices that consistently demonstrated excellence in providing legal support, according to the award citation. The criteria included quality of legal assistance, preventive law programs, responsiveness to clients, professionalism and innovations, McClure said. Fort Sill was one of nine installations recognized in the large installation category.
Capt. Eric Liddick, legal assistance attorney, said the recognition "was great for the office. It demonstrates that we have provided outstanding services not only to personnel, but dependents and retirees at Fort Sill and the surrounding area."
The Judge Advocate General's Award for Excellence in Claims looked at processing of personnel claims, tort claims and medical care recovery claims, according to the award citation. The Fort Sill Claims Office was recognized for excellence not only for the speed, quality and thoroughness of investigating and processing claims, but also in outstanding customer service and educational outreach.
Ballweg, who arrived in the claims office in June 2011, credited the award to her staff and her predecessor.
"Day-in and day-out, they do excellent work and we hardly ever have problems with our claims," said Ballweg, who had previously run the Installation Tax Assistance Center. "In 2011, we had the Medicine Park fire and our staff really came together and went above and beyond."
During the ceremony, Hossenlopp presented a coveted garrison "Most Valuable Player" football helmet to SJA Client Services.
"It's obvious to me that these two teams are extra special not only to Fort Sill, but clearly the Army," Hossenlopp said. "This is a token of my appreciation for what the whole team does for the installation."
Col. Mark Seitsinger, Fort Sill staff judge advocate, said the recognitions by the Army was "a phenomenal accomplishment."
"It tells me that I'm very fortunate to have this group of great people," he said. "It's a benefit to this office and certainly Fort Sill."
Legal assistance highlights
Legal assistance attorneys provided 8,341 legal services to 4,110 individual clients on a variety of issues ranging from family law, estate planning, landlord-tenant disputes, identity theft, credit issues, security clearances and other matters. An additional 3,205 Soldiers received briefings and legal services during predeployment and post-deployment Soldier readiness exercises.
Legal assistance attorneys and paralegals provided preventive law instruction at 122 briefings to more than 5,000 Soldiers and family members.
Almost 6,000 legal documents were prepared, including 4,646 powers of attorney; and 3,038 documents were notarized.
The office saved Soldiers and their families more than $4.3 million in attorney fees. Ninety-nine percent of client surveys reported high satisfaction with the quality of legal services provided, and the courtesy with which it was delivered.
Claims office highlights
-- Its five civilian personnel have more than 57 years of combined claims experience. In addition, one active-duty claims judge advocate, two Soldier paralegals, and a judge advocate reservist contributed.
-- The personnel claims section processed 65 claims for a total of $69,523 paid to service members who sustained property damage. The tort claims section processed 60 claims for a total of $79,894, and more 200 fire claims totaling almost $443,000. The medical care recovery section recovered $505,171 in funds for Reynolds Army Community Hospital and TRICARE.
-- Claims personnel responded to natural disasters with speed, efficiency and compassion, greatly contributing to the Army mission and helping to alleviate the financial burden felt by Soldiers, families and neighbors who were affected by the disasters.
-- The office deployed four personnel to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., in January 2011 to assist with claims processing following a devastating tornado.
-- The claims office set up a special claims processing site at the Medicine Park Community Center to process claims and made more than $120,000 in advance payments to victims of the Medicine Park fire. The office went on to process 265 claims for fire damage.
-- Vicki Mitchell, torts claims examiner, was recognized for excellence in handling fire claims and received the Fort Sill Civilian of the Quarter award in August 2011.
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