ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Illinois - 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. 26-29.
The approximately 35 attendees participated in blocks of instruction on an array of legal topics and broke into smaller groups for more detailed and interactive discussions. According to Col. Mary Fisch, First Army Staff Judge Advocate, instruction was given on warfighting, continuous transformation, strengthening the profession, and delivering combat ready formations.
“I think it went exceptionally well,” she said. “It was very satisfying to meet everyone face to face and I got great feedback.”
Attendees in the rank of captain had the opportunity to meet with a career manager “to talk to them about next steps in their careers,” Fisch said. “We also had a break out with just the Staff Judge Advocate from First Army and the 85th ARSC. We also had someone come from the JAG school to speak about legal interoperability and supporting the warfighter. They did some great blocks of instruction about the law of armed conflict and the integration of paralegals into the Military Decision Making Process.”
The summit also allowed attendees to meet fellow First Army SJA Soldiers who they normally work with from a distance.
“We had a social so we could get to know each other better. We also had them go around the room and introduce themselves and talk about their background,” Fisch said. “And everyone here at the headquarters also taught a block of instruction because they are the reach back support.” That’s important, she added, because downtrace units, “need to know who to call when they have questions or need support.”
The summit enabled presenters from outside agencies gain a deeper understanding of the First Army mission.
“Inviting outside speakers gave them a chance to then become ambassadors of First Army,” Fisch said. “The outsiders that came in and presented were able to learn about what we do. I’m excited to think that these collaborations will continue going forward.”
Fisch stressed how the week’s lessons have strengthened the individual Soldiers’ abilities to contribute to the mission.
“I want them to feel empowered and excited about the important work that we do here in First Army,” Fisch said. “I asked them to think about three questions. One, how can they apply what they learned to how to do their jobs? Two, to figure out what else they needed to know, and we gave them a lot of tools to do that and a lot of great resources and copies of the presentations. And the third question was to think about how they can best balance the many things that are asked of them, not only being legal advisors to command and staff but being legal OC/Ts as well.”
And with a successful summit behind them, attendees now return their units with a bolstered knowledge on how to enhance the First Army mission of preparing trained and ready troops for the nation’s contingencies.
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