NAVAL RESERVE FLAGpGRAM 07-01

From: Rear Admiral Norton C. Joerg, JAGC, USN

To: All NavyJudge Advocates and Legalmen serving in the Reserve Component (RC)

Subj: FlagpE-Gram 07-01

Date: 15 December 2006

1. We have entered a new fiscal year, the apply board process is complete, and exciting opportunities await us in the coming year. As we move forward, I want to make sure that you understand the guidance and vision our Navy and our JAG community leadership has established.

2. JAG Corps 2020. As you know, JAG Corps 2020 was recently released to provide a roadmap for our community’s future. This plan can be found on NKO or on the Navy JAG website. JAG Corps 2020 envisions a Navy JAG Corps able to provide consistent, accessible, and authoritative solutions to the combatant commands, the Navy, and its component commands on the diverse and varied legal issues we will face. The following paragraphs outline a few of the things this exciting new vision for our community includes. You can expect to hear much more during our upcoming symposia.

        •  Enhancing Active Reserve Integration (ARI). JAG Corps 2020 recognizes the significant assets resident in the RC and seeks to leverage those assets to compliment the AC resources. This will include developing a JAGPERS database to catalog, display, and validate areas of RC subject matter expertise. It also includes enhancing and formalizing the RC mentoring program that currently exists on an informal level. Our AC shipmates recognize the experience and talent resident in our RC and believe it is underutilized. ARI is an exciting concept and a great way for us to continue to provide our support to the fight.

         •  Organizational structure. JAG Corps 2020 envisions the Navy will continue to align itself to support the war on terrorism. The JAG Corps must, therefore, organize in a manner to provide the best legal services to our forces (including joint and combined forces) wherever located and whenever needed. This means the AC JAG Corps is evaluating organizational constructs that offer optimum flexibility to deliver trained and experienced JA’s and LN’s to the Fleet. Our AC shipmates are currently considering aligning the legal assistance function to the RLSOs and reorganizing the NLSOs into Defense Service Offices with the sole mission of providing defense and personal representation services – indeed, this latter possibility is being tested right now via a pilot in Europe. Under this construct, the RLSOs would provide all legal services except defense work. We in the Reserve Component will be in the mix, contributing, evaluating, and ultimately, implementing that which results.

        •  Communities of Practice. JAG 2020 envisions pursuing web-based “Communities of Practice” to ensure maximum dissemination of authoritative legal resources to the Fleet. Additionally, the JAG Corps is examining a technology-based legal program “suite” to standardize and automate many of the day-to-day legal processes. As in everything else, our RC representatives are involved in all phases of these efforts.

3. Navy Objectives for 2007. While JAG Corps 2020 is our community’s vision for the future, we must remember that we serve the Navy. We must be well-versed in Navy goals and objectives as well so that we understand where our clients are headed. To that end, SECNAV, CNO, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps have published the Navy Department’s objectives for 2007. I do not intend the list below to be all-encompassing; rather, I hope it will provide you with a useful and thought-provoking sense of where we are headed. The 2007 objectives include:

        •  Providing a total Navy workforce capable and optimized to support the national defense strategy.
        •  Using the Navy-Marine Corps team to aggressively prosecute the GWOT.
        •  Building the Navy-Marine Corps force for tomorrow.
        •  Emphasizing safety and manage risk to improve mission effectiveness and to safeguard the people and resources of the Navy-Marine Corps team.
        •  Reinforcing ethics as a foundation of exemplary conduct with the Navy.

As you can see, the JAG Corps will, by the very nature of its mission, play an important role in accomplishing these objectives. Who better to emphasize safety, manage risk, reinforce ethics, etc., than our legal team? We – AC and RC alike -- will be standard-bearers in these areas and our clients will look to us to help them accomplish these objectives.

4. Naval Operations Concept. I also recommend that you review the 2006 Naval Operations Concept (NOC) that was released in September. This is a joint document signed by both the CNO and CMC and replaces the 2002 NOC. The 2006 NOC is the CNO’s and CMC’s “Commander’s Intent” and is designed to guide the creativity and judgment of our Sailors and Marines in applying the principles and methods articulated in Sea Power 21 and the 21st Century Marine Corps. It cites examples of recent operations and provides vignettes of future naval, joint, and inter-agency operations in order to provide a picture of how the Navy-Marine Corps team is contributing and how it will continue to contribute in the future to our national defense. It can be found on NKO under the “Leadership Information” portion of the “Leadership” section.

5. Miscellaneous News and Notes.

        •  As of 4 October 2006, the LN rating has been reopened as a separate rating! This is great news. The rating is no longer subject to merger, and the professional and educational initiatives that our community is undertaking in order to enhance the rating’s value will pay great dividends in the future. We will discuss these issues in some detail as we enter our training cycle this fiscal year. In the meantime, the following bullet provides an overview.

       •  The JAG Corps vision for LNs includes increasing leadership and professional responsibilities. NJS has partnered with Roger Williams University to earn approval from the ABA for four paralegal courses during the LN accession course starting in January 2007. Under this program, the LN accession course will give our new LNs 10 semester hours of credit towards an ABA-approved paralegal degree through Roger Williams University, which is making its paralegal studies program available in a distance learning format. Please make sure to talk with those enlisted sailors you meet and let them know about the outstanding opportunities that the LN rating provides. We are all advocates and recruiters for our community and accessing strong LNs will solidify our JAG Corps for years to come. If you want to leave a mark, there’s no better way than recruit an LN who becomes a Chief down the road. FYI, the key reference is JAGINST 1440.1D, dated 11 July 2006, “Legalman (LN) Rating Accession/Conversion Procedures”.

        •  The Navy has introduced the Navy Professional Reading Program (NPRP) as of 2 October 2006. The purpose of the NPRP is to facilitate the professional and personal development of our sailors regardless of rank. The CNO has said that he deems it “a key component” of his priority to develop 21st Century leaders. The 60 NPRP titles focus on 6 areas: leadership, naval and military heritage, joint and combined warfare, regional and cultural awareness, critical thinking, and management/strategic planning. Per direction CNO, Commanding Officers will promote the NPRP and incorporate it into our GMTs. For further information, please see NAVADMIN 267/06.

        •  Training Symposia. The CO/SJA Symposium returns this fiscal year to New Orleans, at the end of January. Please check the web site for relevant data. Note especially that all attendees must register for a room at the Astor Crowne Plaza no later than 28 December. We are running behind in the registration rate. If you are affected, please attend to this important detail ASAP. Our Military Law Training Symposia will be in Norfolk and San Diego in, respectively, May and June. We have returned to a more traditional east-west split. Once again, please visit the web site (and revisit regularly) for details and guidance regarding these events.

       •  Funding Note. The IDTT situation for FY07 will be difficult as funding is significantly reduced from last year. In addition, this is a transition year to a new funding arrangement under which supported command OSOs (Operational Support Officers) will be allocated IDTT funds directly for the supported commands instead of allocating IDTT through the NOSCs. For the Law Program, CAPT Twining serves as OSO for all the supported commands. In FY 2007, however, IDTT has not been allocated directly to the Law Program with the exception of the military judges' unit -- NR JUDACT. All other units must still seek IDTT funding from their local NOSCs. If IDTT is not available locally, units and personnel should use Annual Training funds to the maximum extent possible. AT up to 17 days is authorized and split AT's are permissible, with travel, local availability permitting. Please route all funding issues up the chain of command as soon as you become aware of them. Early attention is often the difference between finding solutions and work-arounds and failing to do so.

        •  Apply Board Debrief. Congratulations to everyone who was selected for a billet during the FY 07 Apply Board. The competition was tough and the candidates outstanding. These Boards are difficult because of all the excellent officers we have to choose from. Our Navy is well served to have such a wonderful pool of officers to accomplish its mission. A key lesson for all, one that can’t be repeated often enough: Your records are your responsibility. Please ensure that they are up-to-date so that you may be competitive for all opportunities.

6. Final Thoughts. Congratulations again to those of you who are embarking on new jobs throughout our community and Fleet in January. Good luck as you begin new adventures and increased responsibility. I couldn’t be prouder of how each and every one of our members are turning to and tackling every challenge with enthusiasm and dedication!

As we navigate the holiday season, please be safe. Please stress safety to all who may be in your charge or within your reach.

Thank you once again for the sacrifices you make. I simply can’t say it enough. I know absences from families and missing weekends and personal commitments add to the challenge. You are making important contributions to the public good in a tough time in our nation’s and our Navy’s history – and you are helping to write that history.

I look forward to seeing and working with you in the New Year. As always, keep up the great work.

All the best!

-- Norton Joerg