The legal enterprise encompasses the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) and the domain of expert knowledge in military justice and the laws of land warfare. According to the U.S. Army’s website, the JAG Corps has the following responsibilities for representing and advising service members and commanders on matters of military law:

• Criminal Law. Serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, government or defense appellate counsel, or as a military judge. Prosecutes courts-martial or represents Soldiers accused of committing a crime.
• Legal Assistance. Includes providing personal legal advice to Soldiers, families, and retirees in the U.S. and overseas. Learns and applies the laws of host nations such as Germany, Korea, and Italy.
• Administrative Law. Providing counsel to Army commanders to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, both under U.S. law and military law. Include government ethics, administrative investigations, environmental law, Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act matters, as well as The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the military law enacted by Congress.
• Operational Law. Provides legal advice to Army commanders on domestic and foreign laws that influence military operations, reviews military plans, and provides advice on the laws of war and rules of engagement—ensuring commanders have every lawful tool they need to succeed.

Military lawyers also represent and advise other government agencies, state and local governments, and others regarding:

• Civilian Litigation. Works with the Department of Justice to represent the U.S. Government in civil cases, negotiating settlements, and arguing cases before administrative judges and federal courts.
• Labor Law. Advising managers of the Army’s civilian employees on all aspects of hiring, firing, rating, and disciplining employees; and representing the Army before Federal administrative bodies such as the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Equal Opportunity Commission.
• Environmental Law. Serve as chief environmental counsel and litigate on behalf of the Army in state, federal, and local courts. Advising senior Army leadership on environmental policy and serve as the Army’s environmental bar.
• National Security Law. Ensures the application of U.S., foreign, and international law to military operations and activities. Involves expertise in Constitutional Law, International Law, Operational Law, and the highly specialized areas of Cyberspace Law, Intelligence Law, and Special Operations Law.
• International Law. Serve as the liaison with host or allied nation’s legal authorities. Interprets and applies foreign and domestic laws to the Army’s overseas missions, such as intelligence activities, security assistance, counter-drug operations, and stability operations.
• Contract and Fiscal Law. Reviews and awards a variety of government contracts, as well as litigates any contract disputes that may arise. Litigates contract disputes before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Shelf SL.00 — General

Faculty Publications:

• None.

Web Resources:

• JAG Center for Law and Military Operations Website. [Requires CAC]
  • The Center for Law and Military Operations (CLAMO) was founded in 1988 at the direction of the Secretary of the Army and serves as a joint, interagency, and multinational organization responsible for:
    • Collecting and synthesizing data relating to legal issues arising in military operations
    • Managing a central repository of information relating to such issues, and
    • Disseminating resources addressing these issues in order to facilitate the development of doctrine, organization, training, material, leadership, personnel, and facilities as these areas affect the military legal community.
• JAG Center repository of Handbooks and Deskbooks. [May require CAC]
• Defense Legal Services Standards of Conduct Office (SOCO) – resources on military ethics
• Joint Service Committee — link to comprehensive body of military justice materials and all services military justice sites 
• Lieber Institute for Law & Land Warfare (westpoint.edu)
  • The Lieber Institute at West Point facilitates and contributes to the global dialogue on today’s most pressing and complex law of war issues. Through its research, publications, events and education, it strives to advance the understanding and maintain the primacy of law in today’s armed conflicts.

Laws, Policies, Memos, and Regulations (sorted by regulation number):

• DoD Regulation 5500.07-R, Joint Ethics Regulation, 1993.
• DOD Instruction 5500.17, Joint Service Committee on Military Justice, 2018
• Washington HQ Services, Manual for Courts Martial: 1984 | 1969
• Washington HQ Services, Joint Service Committee on Military Justice SOP, 2021
• Army Regulation 27-10, Military Justice: 2019 Interim | 2016
• Army Field Manual 1-04, Legal Support to Operations, 2020
• Army Field Manual 6-27, Commander’s Handbook on Laws of Land Warfare, 2019
• Army JAG Corps Miscellaneous Pub 27-8, Commander’s Legal Handbook, 2019

Strategies and Reports:

• The Red Book (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office)
  • The Red Book is the Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, a multi-volume treatise concerning federal fiscal law. The 4th edition is currently being released one chapter at a time, remaining chapters from the 3rd edition are posted and considered still valid.

Commentaries (inclusion does not represent endorsement):

• None.

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Title image credit: Mock court martial training, U.S. Army photo, public domain.