Awards

Keithe E. Nelson Distinguished Service Award (Writing)

This award recognizes authors of exceptional, published, literary efforts which advance and serve interests and understanding of military law or enhance status of lawyers in the Armed Forces.

Nomination Deadline: April 4, 2025

View the Official Rules for details about the submission requirements, entry procedure, and selection process.

2024 Keithe E. Nelson Distinguished Service Award (Writing) Recipients:

• Lieutenant Colonel Susan E. Upward (Marine Corps)
• Empaneling “Fair and Impartial” Members: The Case for Inclusion of an Implicit Bias Instruction at Courts-Martial, Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice (Spring 2023).

Outstanding Military Service Career Judge Advocate Award

This award recognizes excellence in service to the legal profession in the Armed Forces over the nominee’s legal career, as well as service to their community.

Nomination Deadline: April 4, 2025

View the Official Rules for details about the submission requirements, entry procedure, and selection process.

2024 Outstanding Military Service Career Judge Advocate Award Recipients:

• Colonel Tyson D. Kindness (Air Force)
• Colonel Runo C. Richardson (Army)
• Commander Anthony Mark DeStefano (Coast Guard)
• Major Andom Gherezghiher (Marine Corps)
• Commander Denise L. Romeo (Navy)

Law Student Writing Contest of the Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law

The Law Student Writing Contest of the Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law (SCAFL) is a competitive writing contest with the goal of recognizing law students who have exceptional written work that focuses on the military’s application of criminal law—also known as military justice.

View the Official Rules for details about the submission requirements, entry procedure, and selection process. 

2024 SCAFL Law Student Writing Contest Winner:

• Tiffany R. Mitchell, “Unaccountable: Command Responsibility and Army Officers’ Impunity for Subordinate War Crimes”