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| Judge Advocate General's Corps | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1967 – present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Type | Military justice |
| Role | Legal and policy advice to the Secretary of the Air Force |
| Part of | United States Air Force |
The Judge Advocate General's Corps also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG" is the legal arm of the United States Air Force.
The United States Air Force became a separate military service in September 1947. On June 25, 1948, Congress established an office of The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) in the United States Air Force. On July 8, 1949, the Air Force Chief of Staff designated 205 attorneys Air Force Judge Advocates. Thus, ironically, there were Air Force judge advocates three months before there was an Air Force Judge Advocate General. Following the promulgation of enabling legislation, the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Department was established on January 25, 1949, by Department of the Air Force General Order No. 7 (as amended by General Order No. 17, May 15, 1949). While this event was clearly the birth of the department, it really represented an interim step, providing the Air Force authority to administer its military justice system within the existing Air Force structure of the time until other legislation (what became the Uniform Code of Military Justice) could be developed and enacted. The department was originally a part of the Air Force Personnel Branch but became a separate entity reporting directly to the Air Force Chief of Staff in February 1950. The first Air Force judge advocate general, Major General Reginald C. Harmon, believed it important for Air Force JAGs to remain a part of a functionally interconnected military department. For that reason, the concept of a separate corps was discarded in favor of the department that existed until 2003.
In 2003, the Judge Advocate General's Department was renamed to the Judge Advocate General's Corps by order of the Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. James G. Roche. In December 2004, the Air Force Judge Advocate General, Thomas J. Fiscus, accepted non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ, for conduct unbecoming of an officer and obstruction of justice related to numerous unprofessional sexual relationships with subordinates. Upon his retirement, Fiscus was reduced two grades, to colonel. Major General Jack Rives, the Deputy Judge Advocate General, became the Air Force Judge Advocate General as of February 2006. On July 23, 2008, General Rives was confirmed as a lieutenant general, becoming the first TJAG to hold that rank.
On December 15, 2009, the President nominated Brigadier General Richard C. Harding to serve as the 16th Judge Advocate General. On February 2, 2010, the Senate Armed Services Committee endorsed the nomination and the Senate voted to confirm the nomination. Lieutenant General Rives retired on February 5, 2010, accepting the position of Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the American Bar Association, and now-Lieutenant General Richard Harding became The 16th Judge Advocate General of the Air Force. His formal investiture and promotion ceremony occurred on February 23, 2010. General Harding's term as The Judge Advocate General ended on January 31, 2014.
On May 22, 2014, the Senate confirmed Brigadier General Christopher F. Burne to serve as the 17th Judge Advocate General in the grade of lieutenant general. He was promoted and began duties as The Judge Advocate General on the following day. Lieutenant General Burne's term as The Judge Advocate General ended on May 18, 2018.
On January 30, 2018, the Senate confirmed Major General Jeffrey A. Rockwell, who was then serving as Deputy Judge Advocate General, to serve as the 18th Judge Advocate General in the grade of lieutenant general. That same day, the Senate also confirmed Brigadier General Charles L. Plummer to serve as Deputy Judge Advocate General in the grade of major general. Lieutenant General Rockwell's formal investiture ceremony occurred on May 21, 2018.
The Air Force Judge Advocate General's School was founded in 1950 and has been located in the William Louis Dickinson Law Center, at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, since 1993. The school provides instruction to new judge advocates and paralegals, in addition to offering approximately 30 continuing legal education courses. The school publishes scholarly legal journals such as The Air Force Law Review, semiannually, and The Reporter online. [1] The school also produces The Military Commander and the Law, [2] a publication that is invaluable not only to judge advocates, but commanders and first sergeants in handling the myriad of legal issues that arise with a squadron or wing, and for the continued enforcement of good order and discipline.
| No. | Judge Advocate General | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |
| 1 | Major General Reginald C. Harmon | 1948 | 1960 | ~12 years | |
| 3 | Major General Albert M. Kuhfeld | 1960 | 1964 | ~4 years | |
| 3 | Major General Robert W. Manss | 1964 | 1969 | ~5 years | |
| 4 | Major General James S. Cheney | 1970 | 1973 | ~3 years | |
| 5 | Major General Harold R. Vague | 1973 | 1977 | ~4 years | |
| 6 | Major General Walter D. Reed | 1977 | 1980 | ~3 years | |
| 7 | Major General Thomas B. Bruton | 1980 | 1985 | ~5 years | |
| 8 | Major General Robert W. Norris | 1985 | 1988 | ~3 years | |
| 9 | Major General Keithe E. Nelson | 1988 | 1991 | ~3 years | |
| 10 | Major General David C. Morehouse | 1991 | 1993 | ~2 years | |
| 11 | Major General Nolan Sklute | 1993 | 1996 | ~3 years | |
| 12 | Major General William A. Moorman | 1999 | 2002 | ~3 years | |
| 13 | Major General Thomas J. Fiscus [3] | 2002 | 2004 | ~2 years | |
| - | Major General Jack L. Rives Acting | 2004 | 2006 | ~2 years | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General Jack L. Rives | 2006 | 2010 | ~4 years | |
| 15 | Lieutenant General Richard C. Harding [5] | February 2010 | January 2014 | ~3 years, 334 days | |
| 16 | Lieutenant General Christopher F. Burne | May 2014 | June 2018 | ~4 years | |
| 17 | Lieutenant General Jeffrey A. Rockwell | May 2018 | ~26 May 2022 | ~4 years, 25 days | |
| 18 | Lieutenant General Charles L. Plummer | ~26 May 2022 | Incumbent | ~1 year, 62 days | |
The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG", is the legal arm of the United States Navy. Today, the corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 730 commissioned officers serving as judge advocates, 30 limited duty officers (law), 500 enlisted members and nearly 275 civilian personnel, all serving under the direction of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy.
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The United States Marine Corps' Judge Advocate Division serves both to advise the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) and other officials in Headquarters, Marine Corps on legal matters, and to oversee the Marine Corps legal community. The head of the Judge Advocate Division (JAD) is the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant.
In the United States Armed Forces, a brigadier general is a one-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
A tombstone promotion is an advance in rank awarded at retirement. It often does not include any corresponding increase in retired pay, in which case it is an honorary promotion whose only benefit is the right to be addressed by the higher rank and to carve it on one's tombstone.
The Judge Advocate General of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on legal matters pertaining to the Navy. The Judge Advocate General also performs other duties prescribed to them under 10 U.S.C. § 5148 and those prescribed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
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The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates.
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