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.
A concise look at how military justice during the Vietnam War served the dual purpose of punishing U.S. solders' crimes and infractions while also serving the important role of promoting core American values--democracy and rule of law--to the Vietnamese.
Zone of Action is a front-row seat to major combat operations, leadership, tragedy, and nation-building. These are the war-theater observations of a senior Army JAG constantly in the thick of the war, the occupation, and the Iraqi community. He tells the inside-the-war-room story of Operation COBRA II and Iraqi Freedom during the march to Baghdad and the nation-building beyond. It details his official and inner journeys and those of soldiers and Iraqis encountered along the way. It reveals the sacrifice of many unsung heroes and the challenges of liberating and occupying a broken country. It shows the character of our soldiers and leaders . . . and the occasional lack of it. But above all things, it is an honest, often humorous romp through war by someone deep in the arena.
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.
