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| News > General Harding praises Lajes' legal office teamwork |
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Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, The Judge Advocate General, poses with JAG members during his visit to Lajes Field, Azores, April 12, 2011. General Harding was here for an inspection of the Lajes JAG office April 11 and 12, and he also took the time to meet and greet Airmen in other units. (Photo by Guido Melo)
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General Harding praises Lajes' legal office teamwork
Posted 4/20/2011 Updated 4/20/2011
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by Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
4/20/2011 - LAJES FIELD, Azores -- To ensure the legal services provided to the Lajes members are up to par, the 65th Air Base Wing legal office participated in an inspection conducted by the Judge Advocate General's Corps leadership, which visited April 11-12.
The inspection team was led by Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, The Judge Advocate General, from Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
General Harding is in charge of more than 2,200 judge advocates, 350 civilian attorneys, 1,400 enlisted paralegals and 500 civilians in the Total Force Judge Advocate General's Corps worldwide. He also serves as the legal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and all officers and agencies of the Department of the Air Force, and he directs all judge advocates in the performance of their duties.
According to Maj. Lynn Sylmar, 65th ABW, TJAG conducts frequent inspections of military legal offices. Some of the mission areas inspected include military justice and criminal law, administrative law (including military personnel law), procurement law, labor and employment law, medical-legal jurisprudence, and legal assistance.
"The inspection is called an 'Article 6 inspection,' because it is conducted in accordance with Article 6, UCMJ, Title 10 USC 806,' said Major Sylmar. "During the inspection, as with other inspections, the TJAG reviews all of our programs, metrics and assesses the legal office overall."
Lajes was last inspected 11 years ago, but the team of lawyers and paralegals at Lajes were well prepared. Before the inspection, the team reviewed its programs for compliance, conducted two additional Self Inspections, reviewed all its records, and conducted updates on all its programs.
"We identified several strengths and took the opportunity to highlight the responsible individuals," Major Sylmar added. "As a part of the inspection, the chief of each legal section briefed TJAG on their area of responsibility. Because all of our programs (from military justice to environmental) and office records were being reviewed, we prepared over 80 slides to lay out each program and how it was performing. As an office, we reviewed the information and identified benchmark programs, weaknesses and potential areas for improvement."
While doing all these, the Lajes legal office team did not forget about teamwork, which is vital to the outcome of the inspection.
They worked closely with other supporting units on base, such as the Lajes Protocol office, and the first sergeants and commanders, to provide a relevant and enjoyable itinerary, which highlighted JA's role in supporting Team Lajes.
During his visit, General Harding also visited various units and shook hands with Airmen getting the job done.
Major Sylmar said the entire Lajes team supported the effort, and "that effort was reflected in TJAG's comments that the overall performance was 'fantastic.'" |
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