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Jag Corps Poised For New Defense Missions: Human Rights Training In Peru, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

The National Command Authority has cited the dissolution of the Soviet Union as cause for the United States Military to expand its role. In addition to its traditional role of fighting wars, the military will take on new nontraditional roles promoting human rights and the rule of law throughout the world. These new military missions will include peacekeeping operations, humanitarian interventions, disaster relief missions, counter-drug activities, and nation-building activities.

As part of this initiative, the United States Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) provides legal assistance to the militaries of several emerging and struggling democracies. A number of foreign armies and …

The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Of My Lai: A Time To Inculcate The Lessons, Jeffrey F. Addicott, William A. Hudson Jr

Faculty Articles

The spring of 1993 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the My Lai massacre and is an appropriate time to reinforce the lessons learned from the event. Each and every grave breach of the law of war represents a horrible scar on the credibility of the American military, as well as the civilized democracy it protects. In this context, My Lai stands as the greatest emblem of American military shame in the twentieth century. Nothing provides a greater vehicle for inculcating the necessity for strict adherence to the law of war than the lessons from the massacre at My Lai.

While …

Operation Desert Storm, R. E. Lee Or W. T. Sherman?, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

History has shown that one of the most important elements in a successful combat operation is the quality of the commander. The success of Operation Desert Storm confirmed that American commander, General Norman Schwarzkopf, was no mediocre leader. By extension, the war also paid tribute, albeit a silent one, to a man who is arguably the greatest military leader the United States has ever produced—Robert E. Lee. Not only in the sphere of battlefield tactics, but also in ensuring strict adherence to the laws regulating warfare, Generals Lee and Schwarzkopf had much in common.

Unfortunately, however, many are unaware of …

Codification Of The “Special Forces Exception”, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

For the past eight years, Army Special Forces units have conducted training and operations with friendly foreign forces outside the United States. The Army has obtained funding for these operations under what has been termed the “Special Forces exception” to a 1986 General Accounting Office (GAO) opinion regarding permissible funds appropriations for foreign exercises.

With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992–1993, Congress has finally codified the Special Forces exception. Subject to a guiding principle regarding the purpose of operations, the commander of Special Operations Command and select others may draw on the Department of …

Military Justice For The 1990’S: A Legal System Looking For Respect, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

Noting that the American military justice system is often the subject of criticism and derision, the author explores the criticisms often leveled at the military justice system and targets a number of areas where the system seems most vulnerable, such as size and composition of the courts-martial, the role of the commander in the system and offers suggestions for reform.

The Twentieth Annual Kenneth J. Hodson Lecture: Military Justice For The 1990'S - A Legal System Looking For Respect, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

The Kenneth J. Hodson Chair of Criminal Law was established at The Judge Advocate General’s School on June 24, 1971. The chair was named after Major General Hodson, who served as The Judge Advocate General from 1967 to 1971. General Hodson retired in 1971, but immediately was recalled to active duty to serve as the Chief Judge of the Army Court of Military Review. He served in that position until 1974. General Hodson served over thirty years on active duty. During that time, he was active in the American and Federal Bar Associations, and he authored much of the military …

Developing A Security Strategy For Indochina, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

Serious thought must be given to the complex problem of U.S. military retrenchments in the Pacific Rim. One of the most troubling issues is the impact of significant military reductions on those developing nations in the Asian Basin that currently have no garrison of U.S. troops, but are nonetheless friendly to and necessary for American interests. Almost all of friendly Indochina is affected, with Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia being of particular significance.

Accordingly, the time has come for policymakers to begin to formulate a post-reduction security strategy for Indochina. Without such a strategy, the cumulative effect of an erosion of …

Proceedings Of The First Center For Law And Military Operations Symposium, 18-20 April 1990, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

The First Center for Law and Military Operations Symposium was held from 18 to 20 April 1990. It was conducted by the Center for Law and Military Operations of The Judge Advocate General’s School of the United States Army. Sixty participants, representing the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of State attended the symposium.

The symposium covered number of topics including operational law (OPLAW), legal considerations regarding psychological operations (PSYOP), Operation Just Cause, military changes taking place in Europe, the DOD Counternarcotics Mission, and the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements. The …

When Soldiers Are Defendants, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

In O’Callahan v. Parker, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted a “service connection” requirement for court-martial subject matter jurisdiction. For almost two decades that requirement caused numerous problems of interpretation and application. In Solorio v. United States, the Court overruled its decision in O’Callahan. While assigned to a Coast Guard unit in Juneau, Alaska, the accused committed numerous acts of sexual abuse against two minor daughters of other Coast Guard members. The crimes were not discovered, however, until after he had been transferred to Governors Island, New York, where he committed additional acts of sexual abuse on other daughters of Coast …

Court-Martial Jurisdiction: An Expansion Of The Least Possible Power, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

This article examines the statutory and judicial developments that have apparently expanded military jurisdiction. Serving as the core for this discussion is the amendment to Article 2, UCMJ, and the Court of Military Appeals’ decision in United States v. Trottier, 9 M.J. 337 (C.M.A. 1980), dealing with subject matter jurisdiction of courts-martial over drug-related offenses by service members.

The Court-Martial: A Historical Survey, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

In this article, Captain (P) Schlueter describes the development of the legal tribunal known as the court-martial. Beginning with the use of this form of trial in the armies of imperial Rome two thousand years ago, the author traces its evolution through the Middle Ages, to Britain from the Renaissance to the American Revolution. The focus then shifts to the United States, and the focus then shifts to the present day.

Personal Jurisdiction Under Article 2, Ucmj Whither Russo, Catlow, And Brown?, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

The question of personal jurisdiction for military courts in cases of invalid enlistment creates several legal issues. Invalid enlistment cases exist in a legal gray area due to the uncertainty of whether the cases should be tried by civilian or military courts. The age and competence of the enlistee are material to determining jurisdiction. The conduct of the recruiter directly affects whether the enlistee was competent. Congress amended Article 2 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in order to address these problems. The amendment resolves many of the lingering jurisdictional issues created by Russo and Brown, but fails to …

The Enlistment Contract: A Uniform Approach, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

The author explores the history of various jurisdictional and administrative issues that arise under consideration of a service member’s enlistment contract. He proposes a change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice to codify the constructive enlistment doctrine for establishing personal court-martial jurisdiction over service members whose enlistment contracts and entry onto active duty were facilitated by recruiter misconduct. The proposal later became part of amendment to Art. 2, U.C.M.J..