Guard legal team working hard

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
For some, the base legal office is a place to take care of wills or powers of attorney, but the office staff here does a lot more than that.

Lt. Col. Brent Wright, an Oklahoma Air National Guard staff judge advocate, and Master Sgt. Mary Alice Rebis, a New York ANG paralegal, are teamed together to provide legal advice and counsel to commanders here. They brief commanders on such topics as military justice, fiscal law issues, and international and operational laws, such as rules of engagement. The pair also offers free legal advice to servicemembers on myriad personal questions.

"We also take on an international flavor where we work with our coalition partners with the acquisition cross-servicing agreement," Colonel Wright said.

When the Air Force provides logistical support to a coalition member, it requests reimbursement for the provided support. Coalition forces who live in tent city pay for their lodging and other support through such an agreement.

"We also become involved when the Air Force trains with our coalition partners," he said. "We cannot use taxpayer money to train foreign forces except in specific exceptions."

For example, an exception might be if the training primarily benefits the U.S. military and also meets a coalition partner's need.

No two days are alike, Sergeant Rebis said.

"We spend most of our time on research," she said.

Today's deployed legal office is high-tech. There are only a few books to thumb through to do legal research, so research is done through a resource compact disc or online at a restricted-access Web site for the Air Force's legal teams stationed worldwide.

Basic judge advocate general-school training lays the foundation, and then follow-on courses help mold military lawyers and paralegals into well-rounded airmen. Personal experience also helps.

In civilian life, Colonel Wright owns a law practice in Tulsa, Okla., and like many people of the reserve component, he brings added experience from the civilian sector that some active-duty airmen do not have.

Both guardsmen served in the Army Guard early in their careers, and that experience has paid dividends now. Being co-located with Army units on an air base has afforded Colonel Wright and Sergeant Rebis the opportunity to work closely with their Army counterparts, and they draw on their understanding of the way the Army works to educate their fellow airmen. (Courtesy of National Guard Bureau News Service)