ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. - First Army brought its legal team members together to equip them with the tools to better perform their vital mission during a Staff Judge Advocate summit here Aug. 28-31.
“We did have a theme: Principled Counsels Supporting People and Readiness,” said Col. Mary Fisch, First Army Staff Judge Advocate.
To further that goal, the approximately 40 attendees participated in blocks of instruction on an array of legal topics and broke into smaller groups for more detailed and interactive discussions.
“What I wanted, and I think it was successful, was for them to get to know each other,” Fisch said. “They’ve seen and heard from the experts and they know who they can talk to and reach out to if they have questions. We did a few breakout sessions as well…broken down by roles.”
One of the key accomplishments of the summit, Fisch continued, was ensuring First Army legal team members are well-equipped to carry out Observer Coach/Trainer duties.
“Many have never served as OC/T and provided injects, so that can be intimidating. Maybe they’ve never done national security law at all,” she said. “So we brought in instructors to provide blocks of instruction to help get them familiar with that. We also had an attorney from Division East and one from Division West who have served as OC/Ts and they provided their tips and tricks. That was one of the favorite blocks of instruction.”
With these lessons, attendees were able to chart the way forward and are better prepared to adapt to dynamic processes, according to Division East Staff Judge Advocate, Lt. Col. Patrick Davis.
“It’s an opportunity…to make sure that we’re all aware of the most current issues and demands and challenges that are going on for First Army’s mission, for the JAG Corps mission, for the changes to the military justice system, and to make sure we’re all on the same page and that we are sharing our solutions with each other,” he said.
Davis echoed Fisch’s sentiments about the value of the Observer Coach/Trainer lessons, especially with how to respond to fluid situations.
“It was very important to hear from our OC/Ts about how they are drafting their SOPs based on their ground experience when they’re interacting with our partners,” Davis said. “We have a template (but) no plan survives first contact. To see how they’re adapting it for their purposes and for their partners’ very different missions as they prepare for their mobilization, has been extraordinarily helpful for me.”
The summit also enabled attendees to put a name to a face for persons they normally work with remotely.
“I interact with my brigade staff judge advocates several times a week but it’s aways through phone, Teams, or something like that. Being able to interact in person makes a tremendous amount of difference in being able to build a team and build those relationships,” Davis said. “We get so much more done when we talk face to face. What we can achieve now in this week has been monumental for moving forward for what our plans are for the year, as we continue to grow and develop our program.”
Now he and the rest will go back to their respective units with new-found knowledge to further enhance the First Army mission of preparing trained and ready troops for the nation.
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