Air Force Judge Advocate General's School Podcast

In the latest AFJAGS podcast, Maj Alexxa Pritchett is joined by Capt Joseph Ludmir, a recent graduate of Squadron Officer School (SOS), to provide a first-hand account of the newly redesigned SOS curriculum and experience. Captain Ludmir offers his perspective on the shift from traditional classroom instruction to interactive, hands-on war-gaming exercises. He discusses the physical and mental demands of the course, the importance of integrating with other career fields, and how JAGs can leverage their unique skills to contribute to the team.

In this episode Maj Alexxa Pritchett is joined by Maj Aniesha Bell, Chief of Recruiting for the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, for a look at the various accession programs available to civilians, law students, and current service members, including the Direct Appointment Program (DAP), the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP), and the Educational Delay program. Major Bell also provides valuable tips for submitting a strong application and highlights the significant financial incentives offered, such as the Student Loan Repayment Program and JAG Continuation Pay. Have questions about these programs or the application process? Please reach out to Recruiting at 1 (800) JAG-USAF or (703) 614-2385 or send an email to af.jag.recruiting@us.af.mil. Online application can be found here: https://jagusaf.jag.af.mil/. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USAFJAG Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airforcejagcorps

In the 2024 Department of Defense Arctic Strategy, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated about the Arctic, “[t]his increasingly accessible region is becoming a venue for strategic competition, and the United States must stand ready to meet the challenge alongside Allies and partners.” In this episode, Major Laura Wheat interviews Major Keshat Lemberg about the multi-domain legal implications of the Arctic, as well as the current challenges and opportunities presented vis-à-vis Russia and China due to the changing environment, melting sea ice, and opening of shipping lanes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or af.jag.recruiting@us.af.mil. Don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.

Happy 75th Anniversary to the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps! In this special edition episode, Major Laura Wheat interviews various key JAG Corps personnel to give brief overviews on some of the major events over the past 75 years, in chronological order. Special guest speakers include: Lieutenant General Charles Plummer, The Judge Advocate General; Major General Rebecca Vernon, Deputy Judge Advocate General; Chief Master Sergeant Laura Puza, Senior Enlisted Advisor to The Judge Advocate General; Retired Lieutenant General Jack Rives, The 15th Judge Advocate General; Retired Major General William Moorman, The 13th Judge Advocate General; Major General Mitch Neurock, Mobilization Assistant to The Judge Advocate General; Major General Charles Walker, Air National Guard Assistant to The Judge Advocate General; Brigadier General Michael Tomatz, Director, Operations and International Law Directorate; Brigadier General Gail Crawford, Director, Military Justice and Discipline Directorate; Brigadier General Christopher Brown, Lead Special Trial Counsel; Colonel Shelly Frank, Director, Inspections and Standardization; Colonel Andrea Hall, Chief, Military Justice Law and Policy; Colonel Mark Hoover, Director, Legal Information Services Directorate; Colonel Brett Landry, Chief, Trial Defense Division; Colonel Lanourra Phillips, Chief, Victims’ Counsel Division; First Lieutenant Terri Adams, Assistant Staff Judge Advocate; First Lieutenant Jordan Anderson, Assistant Staff Judge Advocate; First Lieutenant King Tsang, Assistant Staff Judge Advocate; Airman First Class Pita Qiolevu, Paralegal; and Airman First Class Mason Walch, Paralegal. ------------------------------------------------------------ Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or af.jag.recruiting@us.af.mil. Don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.

In this episode, Major Laura Quaco talks with Lieutenant Colonel Dane Horne and Major Allison Gish about their experiences serving as judge advocates in the United States Air Force, and more specifically, working in military justice and discipline capacities. Over the coming months, there will be two more episodes in this "JAGs on the Job" series--one episode will be focused on civil law and the other on operations and international law. -------------------- Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or af.jag.recruiting@us.af.mil. And don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.

In this episode of the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s School Podcast, Major Laura Quaco continues her conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Sandra O’Hern and Dr. Andy Akin, discussing operations and international legal principles related to Russia and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. You can go back to Episode 73 to hear the first part of the conversation in which they discuss Russian history and the relationship between Russia and Ukraine leading up to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or airforcejagrecruiting@gmail.com > . Don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.g.

In the words of General Curtis LeMay, the fifth Chief of Staff of the Air Force, “at the very heart of warfare lies doctrine.” In this episode, Major Laura Quaco and Major Victoria Smith sit down with Colonel Richard Major and Lieutenant Colonel Derek Rowe to discuss doctrine. Col Major and Lt Col Rowe are the Vice Commander and Staff Judge Advocate, respectively, at the LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. During the interview, they discuss the background and importance of doctrine, its development, and provide resources for learning more about doctrine. They also discuss legal doctrine, specifically, and the role of judge advocates in an operational environment. For resources discussed in the episode, visit https://www.doctrine.af.mil/. To contact the doctrine team at the LeMay Center, you may email their organizational box at usairforcedoctrine@us.af.mil. Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or airforcejagrecruiting@gmail.com. And don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.

This episode is a continuation of our National Security Law Competition (NSL) series. In this episode, Maj Hedden sits down with Capt Matthew Ormsbee to discuss way in which the United States can take advantage of our existing treaty with Taiwan to help prevent Chinese Gray Zone activity in the South China Sea. The NSL competition is a writing competition hosted by AFJAGS and sponsored by The JAG School Foundation. This year’s topic was How National Security Law Impacts America’s Strategic Competition in the Gray Zone.

This episode is a continuation of our National Security Law Competition series. Maj Erin Davis sits down with Maj Jessica Tirado to discuss how recent advancements in space technology have opened the door for our strategic competitors to take advantage of gaps in space law. Maj Tirado examines the potential for updating the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) and humanitarian laws to bridge this gap.

This episode is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Maj Alan Serrano. In this episode, we discuss Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Association and Religion within the military. Interested in learning more about the Air Force JAG Corps? Have questions about our programs or the application process? Please contact us at 1-800-JAG-USAF or airforcejagrecruiting@gmail.com. And don’t forget to check out our website at airforce.com/jag.

In this episode, as part of the Great Powers Competition series, Maj Davis and Maj Hedden sit down with Air War College professor Dr. Liz Woodworth and AFJAGS Law Chair Lt Col Charles Gartland to review The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. The Good Earth is a novel set in early 20th century China and describes the life of Wang Lung, a peasant farmer, and the privations his family overcomes while maintaining their ancestral connections to the land and agriculture

In this episode we review A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich, a novella by Nobel laureate Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. Set in a soviet labor camp in the 1950s, the visceral one-day account of that life was one of the first widely available portraits of life in the Gulag. As such, we review it for what we can learn about our great power competitor Russia by examining this part of that nation’s history and culture.

In this episode, we talk with Capt Matt Ormsbee about his article titled "Lawcraft: China's Evolving Approach to International Law and the Implications for American National Security," which was published in Fordham Law Review. The article analyzes China's apparent attitudes toward international law, and how that has evolved over the last few decades and what means for the interests of the United States and other nations going forward.