Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army
| United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 29 July 1775 – 1 June 1802 2 March 1849 – present |
| Country |
 United States of America
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Role | Military law |
| Motto(s) | "Soldier first, lawyer always" |
| Colors | Dark Blue and White |
| Engagements |
Revolutionary War American Civil War Spanish–American War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War Gulf War Somali Civil War Kosovo War War in Afghanistan Iraq War |
| Website | Official Website |
| Commanders | |
| TJAG | LTG Flora D. Darpino |
| DJAG | MG Thomas E. Ayres |
| Notable commanders |
LTC William Tudor BG Joseph Holt MG Enoch H. Crowder MG Blanton C. Winship MG Kenneth J. Hodson LTG Scott C. Black |
| Insignia | |
| Branch Insignia |  |
| Distinctive unit insignia |  |
The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army is the legal arm of the United States Army. The Corps is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at all levels of command, and also includes legal administrator warrant officers, paralegal noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted personnel, and civilian employees. The Judge Advocate General is a lieutenant general. All military officers are appointed by the U.S. President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, but the Judge Advocate General is one of the few positions in the Army explicitly provided for by law in Title 10 of the United States Code, and which requires a distinct appointment. Officers who have already been appointed to another branch of the Army are administratively dismissed and simultaneously recommissioned anew as judge advocates, rather than merely transferring branches.
General George Washington founded the U.S. Army JAG Corps on 29 July 1775, with the appointment of William Tudor as the Judge Advocate General. The Army Judge Advocate General's Corps is the oldest of the judge advocate communities in the U.S. armed forces – as well as the oldest law firm in the United States. The Judge Advocate General, who is referred to as TJAG (pronounced "tea-jag"), serves a term of four years. Lieutenant General Flora D. Darpino, appointed on 4 September 2013, is the thirty-ninth Judge Advocate General and the first female to serve in that position. The appointment of then-Major General Scott C. Black, to the grade of lieutenant general on 11 December 2008 brought the billet into parity with the Army's Surgeon General and Chief of Engineers.
Judge advocates occupying the position of staff judge advocate (SJA) serve on the special and personal staff of general officers in command and who are general court-martial convening authorities (in other words, who have the authority to convene a general court-martial). Staff judge advocates advise commanders on the full range of legal matters encountered in government legal practice and provide advice on courts-martial as required by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Subordinate judge advocates prosecute courts-martial, and others, assigned to the independent United States Army Trial Defense Service and United States Army Trial Judiciary, serve as defense counsel and judges. The almost 2,000 full-time judge advocates and civilian attorneys who serve The Judge Advocate General's Corps comprise the largest group of attorneys who serve the U.S. Army. Several hundred other attorneys practice under the Chief Counsel of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Command Counsel of the United States Army Materiel Command.
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Wikipedia