A narrative history, includes actions in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Haiti, as well as eleven non-combat deployments such as resettlement operations, disaster relief, and civil disturbance operations. Presents the thesis that the role of the military lawyer in military operations has gradually evolved into an "operational law" (OPLAW), which has enhanced mission success.
A narrative history, includes actions in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Haiti, as well as eleven non-combat deployments such as resettlement operations, disaster relief, and civil disturbance operations. Presents the thesis that the role of the military lawyer in military operations has gradually evolved into an "operational law" (OPLAW), which has enhanced mission success.
As the U.S. Army has evolved in the past half-century, the Judge Advocate General's Corps has been an important part of its maturing ability to provide effective military force to meet a broad range of challenges. Since the opening days of American involvement in Vietnam, the U.S. Army has been working to meet national security objectives under close public scrutiny in complex, demanding situations. Those conditions call for commanders to make full use of all available staff input, and the special training of the Staff Judge Advocate has often made the lawyer one of the most important sources of insight. This volume recounts numerous instances when new challenges would not have been met so effectively had that specialized staff work not been available. At one level this is the chronicle of judge advocates at work in the theater of active operations. It provides valuable information on the organization, tasks, and performance of legal offices in a wide array of activities. The author uses the term "combat" to evoke the theater of active operations-justifiable shorthand, but calling too little attention to the operations other than war covered very ably in the last chapter. Throughout, the reader is introduced to Army lawyers who met unexpected requirements while working under tough, demanding conditions. At another level, this is the history of the evolution of "operational lawn-the concept that put those Army lawyers at the right hand of commanders during the deployments of the 1990s so that everything from Status of Forces Agreements to application of the principles of the Law of Land Warfare would be integrated into the planning and execution of operations such as JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM as well as the many "peacekeeping" operations and deployments in support of civil authorities. This operational focus of judge advocate staff support in addition to traditional legal support-has enhanced mission success in the politically charged and militarily ambiguous operations that have become common in our era.
Judge Advocates in Combat is the first narrative history to examine how Army lawyers enhanced mission success during both traditional combat operations and military operations other than war. Frederic L. Borch looks at the years between 1959 and 1996-when the first judge advocate reported for duty in Vietnam and when the last one serving in Haiti returned home to the United States. Relying on hundreds of interviews, Borch demonstrates that during this tumultuous period of complex, politically charged, military ambiguous operations at home and overseas the role of Army lawyers changed dramatically and in the end contributed greatly to overall mission accomplishment. The contingency-oriented U.S. Army has met and continues to meet national security objectives under close public scrutiny, and its reliance on judge advocates as important force multipliers in the full spectrum of military operations will ensure their ongoing transformation.
In "Judge Advocates in Combat: Army Lawyers in Military Operations from Vietnam to Haiti," Colonel (COL) Frederic Borch uses first hand accounts from JAG officers to tell the story of how the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps transformed from a garrison-type legal services in a deployed environment to a fully integrated part of the Army operational Team. The historical narratives track the metamorphosis, from Vietnam to operations in Haiti, of the Army Jag and the creation of operational law as it is implemented today. "Judge Advocates in Combat" is a valuable resource for Army lawyers, commanders, and anyone interested in the role of the JAG in modern operations. This book review discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Borch's book analyzing the historical perspectives, first hand accounts, and ways in which Borch's theme is ijavascript:void(0);nterwoven into the book.
Official history of the United States Judge Advocate General's Corps, which includes biographies of the Army Judge Advocates General. Major Percival D. Park prepared an update to this history, "The Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, 1975-1982," which was published in the Military Law Review, Volume 96 (1982).
A comprehensive study of the work and individual experiences of judge advocates in the Vietnam war, not only in headquarters units but also in combat organizations such as II Field Force, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 25th Infantry Division.
This document is comprised of two letters. The first is from Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, dated March 1, 1919 and addressed to Major General Enoch H. Crowder, Judge Advocate General. In his letter, Secretary Baker expresses concern over recent harsh criticisms of the U.S. system of military justice and requests that General Crowder answer these criticisms by providing "a concise survey of the entire field" so as to restore the confidence of all those concerned. General Crowder's reply, dated March 10, 1919, follows. After introductory remarks on "prior efforts to revise the Articles of War" and the extent of his own "personal responsibility for the administration of military justice" during the previous two years, General Crowder presents detailed information on three individual cases, addresses at length the general defects that allegedly exist in military justice, and concludes with recommendations.
