Lawyers Review Airstrike Plans

Air Force Female Captain in Iraq, on Targeting and ROEs.

As I understand it, a female Air Force Captain was one of a number of lawyers who were assigned the jobs of interpreting the ROEs and selecting or approving targets. Can you please tell me who she is and how to contact her? Thanks

Lawyers Review Airstrike Plans

While the Army general's comments are overblown, the current Air Force JAG leadership, particularly the Deputy Judge Advocate General, need to take the blame for the Army's view.

As we speak, the top lawyers for the Air Force spend more time trying to "look good in the shower" than they do in trying to provide top-notch legal advice to the field. The Deputy JAG has made a career speaking to groups in his desert BDU/ABUs about what an outstanding lawyer he is while failing to recognize delivering appropriate air power to the Marines and soldiers on the ground are more important than whether the Air Force enjoys positive PR.

As evidence of this attitude, this article was sent to all AF lawyers as "a must read" from the Deputy Judge Advocate General despite the lack of real legal issues or education involved; it is great public relations, however. This senior AF lawyer and his boss, the current top AF lawyer have consistently failed to deliver difficult advice to the AF leadership on torture and water boarding, the new tanker lease initiative, the Thunderbirds contracts, to name but a few, and on any other issue which might negatively impact their image.

As a senior Air Force JAG with Air Operations Center experience, I guarantee that the rank and file JAGs deliver unmatched, accurate, timely advice to commanders to fulfill their assigned missions. Unfortunately, the lack of actual hands-on experience by the two top AF lawyers (out of over 63 years combined service, The Judge Advocate General and the Deputy Judge Advocate General have but 7 years time as the head lawyer at an installation or numbered air force but 24 combined years inside the Beltway) bodes ill for the forces in combat.

US Army -- Cognitive Dissonance at its finest

The comment from the Army general in this piece is, at best, disingenuous. Airmen put precision weapons where our troops want . Ms Mulrine should have gotten the scoop from the troops whov'e absolutely sworn by the support they get from the AF F-15s, A-10s, AC-130s, and UAVs dedicated to strike, flex, & CAS. Ground commanders are customers -- of many -- which the AF has bent over backwards to support in the COIN fight (e.g.'s: increasing and accelerating UAV CAPs to twice the Joint requirement over the past two years, taking thousands of soldiers and marines off of the roads -- and saving lives -- in Iraq by utilizing airlift "convoys," and filling Ground Component billets out of hide -- I could go on). Many, if not most engagements now end with a PGM through on a bad guy's head. All this "gentleman" can find time to do is complain about the AF trying to do things better in order to strengthen the Joint Force and America's position. He clearly has too much leisure time on his hands.