Naval Reserve Law Program Flag E-Gram 01-04

NAVAL RESERVE FLAGE-GRAM 01-06

From: Rear Admiral Steven B. Kantrowitz, JAGC, USNR

To: All Naval Reserve Judge Advocates and Legalmen

Subj: FlagpE-Gram 01-06

Date: 25 July 2001

1. You, our Reserve legalmen and judge advocates, continue to do great things for our Navy. As usual, the sheer number of great contributions will not allow me the pleasure of noting all of the superb accomplishments of our team. However, my Deputy, Captain Mac Carter, joins me in thanking all of you for your service.

2. This FlagpE-Gram will update you on program highlights, active-duty initiatives and other important matters.

**"Navy JAG … A Better Practice," is Admiral Guter’s vision for the JAG Corps –active and Reserve. It is not a static concept but a developing and changing guide to what makes the uniformed practice of law different and better than other endeavors. Personal growth in an atmosphere of shared values, camaraderie, support, and leadership, is just one example of this vision. Building upon "A Better Practice" is the "JAG Corps Top 5 Priorities" announced by Admirals Guter and Lohr. Not surprisingly, people are the number one priority. We all need to be familiar with "A Better Practice" and the "JAG Corps Top 5 Priorities." The details are available for viewing or downloading on the Navy JAG website, www.jag.navy.mil, and as a link on our outstanding Reserve JAG website, www.nrjag.org.

**Military Law Update Workshop (MLUW). The second of two MLUWs for this year was held in Coronado at the Naval Amphibious Base. This MLUW focused on the Naval Legal Service Command’s (NLSC), Naval Legal Service Offices (NLSOs) and Trial Service Offices (TSOs). It also provided training to our Selected Reserve Trial Judges as well as a large number of VTU and non-Law Program judge advocates and legalmen. It was a superb venue with convenient and superior Navy quarters, fine meals, excellent meeting spaces and weather that was ideal. We have not yet compiled the critiques, but informal word and my observations were that it provided great training, camaraderie, timely program information and was fast paced and flawlessly executed. As with the first MLUW, the reason for the success was the hard work and vision of the Conference Committee (this time led by Captain Select Dale Bruder) and Captain Bob Huard and his Justice School team. Between the two MLUWs, more than 500 members of the program received training –including Naval professionalism, general judge advocate and legalman professional training, gaining command training, and program vision and guidance. The NLSOs and TSOs provided outstanding training to the officers and enlisted who support them. It was clear to all that the NLSC placed the highest priority on ensuring interesting and meaningful training. Also, and equally important, we received career training from our leadership and the experts at the Navy Personnel Command.

Now that our fiscal year 2001 MLUWs are complete, we need to start planning for next year. I encourage each of you to provide input via the chain of command on training for next year. We need to know what you need to get the job done, grow professionally, and improve your career. Send your input to Captain Huard.

**Khaki Conference. Our E-7 to E-9 Legalman Conference was held in June in New Orleans. Master Chief Jones and Senior Chief Ayoub ran a most informative conference that focused, as it should, on leadership. The attendees and speakers included JAG’s Command Master Chief Gary Lemmons, as well as a number of other active-duty khaki legalmen. The interest, perspective, and expertise of the active-duty participants added greatly to the conference. I had the pleasure of addressing the conference and meeting with our enlisted leadership.

** Promotion Board Results. There is nothing more important than selecting and developing our future leaders, officer and enlisted. I served as President of the Selection Board that considered Naval Reserve JAG Corps officers for selection to the grades of Captain and Commander. I was joined by an outstanding group of active-duty and Reserve officers. They worked long and hard to ensure that the best-qualified officers were selected for promotion. The results of that Board have been released and are available at: http://www.nrjag.org/promot02.htm

A separate board selected seven outstanding legalmen for advancement to Chief. Again, hard and dedicated board work ensured that our finest first class petty officers were selected. That list is also available at the above link.

Congratulations to our new selectees!

3. Officer and Enlisted Professionalism. As those of you who attended the MLUWs know, we must ensure that our entire team is knowledgeable in Naval traditions, Fleet operations and Navy core values. This includes exemplary personal appearance in uniform. Without this Navy professionalism, you and our entire Reserve uniformed legal team lose credibility –regardless of professional expertise as a judge advocate or legalman. I previously indicated that there would be a transition period for our personnel to develop this required Navy professionalism. That period is coming to an end. If you need help, get it now. Use the chain of command, the great message board on our Website (www.nrjag.org), your mentor, a colleague with the required expertise, or a Chief Legalman in your area.

4. BRAVO ZULU. In past FlagpE-Grams I have included numerous examples of judge advocates and legalmen doing great things for our Navy. This time I could just as easily do the same. However, I would like to mention just one in this message. I met him at the MLUW in Coronado in June. He was serving as the Assistant Conference Chairman and he was working continually before, during, and after the Conference. I soon found out that this Captain lived and worked a distance away, that he was serving in a Law VTU, and that he would be retiring within 6 weeks. In short, at his own considerable expense, he traveled to the site, worked hard and well for about a week, and received no pay. As he was retiring, he was not working towards a promotion or a pay billet. He did it for the love of the program and its people, as he had done for more than twenty years in our JAG Corps community. Fair Winds and Following Seas to a superb and unfailingly dedicated judge advocate, Captain Dave Paulson.

5. Again, with attribution to the Commandant of the Marine Corps: Mission First, People Always.

6. I request that you forward this FlagpE-Gram to those under your cognizance promptly.

Steven B. Kantrowitz