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    LAMP Awards

    LAMP Distinguished Service Award - Winners

    Award Winners

    Each year the Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel has the honor of selecting recipients of the LAMP Distinguished Service Awards. Those chosen for the Award are individuals and units judged to have set the bar for military legal assistance, by pushing themselves and their practices in extraordinary ways.

    Many Americans seem to assume the Judge Advocates only practice in the areas of military justice and operational law—an impression long reinforced in film, television and the media. But the average servicemember knows and appreciates that most military legal services performed by JAG officers and their civilian-lawyer counterparts fall under the legal assistance banner. These civil-law legal services address the same everyday consumer law, family law, landlord-tenant and other legal problems that entangle civilians, with the added complication that deployed servicemembers are entitled to extra legal protection when deployed thousands of miles from their home jurisdictions, and the understanding that unresolved legal issues imperil military morale and readiness.

    To the average servicemember, then, the most important military lawyer is the one who works to get him or her out of a jam with a creditor, a landlord, a former spouse or a civilian court, or who makes sure his or her estate is in order before deployment.

    The LAMP Distinguished Service Award program shines a light on those blazing paths in military legal assistance, that others might follow. This year as in years past, all of the nominees of the two uniformed services for the LAMP Distinguished Service Award deserve credit for outstanding performance. The Committee has selected the following recipients of the LAMP Distinguished Service Award.

    View Past Award Recipients

    2023 Award Winners

    Army

    .Fort Irwin Legal Assistance Office

    In 2023, the Fort Irwin Legal Assistance Office provided high quality legal assistance services for soldiers on post, on rotation, and outside California. With an office wide-staffing shortage, Fort Irwin continued to prioritize clients, aligning their hours with the installation’s operations tempo, addressing complex immigration matters, developing a robust pro se divorce program, providing filing assistance for uncontested divorces, housing walk-throughs, and implementing and maintaining weekly walk-in hours. Fort Irwin educates clients by providing in-depth worksheets and articles to service members and their families on common legal issues such as immigration naturalization, estate planning, and the California divorce process. Fort Irwin Legal Assistance attorneys are uniquely qualified to assist crime victims, as all attorneys are dual legal assistance attorneys and full-time Special Victim’s Counsel. In 2023, their civilian attorney was among a select group of competitive applicants chosen to participate in the Civilian Special Victim’s Counsel Pilot Program.

    LTC Ruth A. Cresenzo

    Lieutenant Colonel Ruth A. Cresenzo is a Judge Advocate who is instrumental in successful advocacy for resourcing for the National Guard to provide representation to victims of domestic violence and their dependents, as well as those subjected to sexual harassment. A thoughtful leader and advanced comprehensive specialist in victim rights advocacy, she has been a leader in the development and classification of positions to expand legal assistance to survivors, many of which have been filled. She has successfully pursued every opportunity to share her knowledge and expertise with her subordinates; state National Guard leadership and her home state of North Carolina; active component counterparts, and the civilian legal/victim support community. In 2023, she worked for the North Carolina National Guard Staff Judge Advocate to develop a visionary framework, key functions and roles and responsibilities for the new Special Legal Adviser, who was to be the expert in legal processes, policy, domestic violence representation and proceedings in special matters in the states and territories. She was also appointed as an Advisory Member to the North Carolina State Bar Legal Assistance for Military Personnel.

    Navy

    Ms. Cricket Tryon

    Ms. Cricket Tryon's primary duty is provision of advice and representation to eligible victims of domestic violence perpetrated by servicemembers subject to prosecution under the UCMJ. Ms. Tryon helps her clients best position themselves for successful acquisition of protective orders and leads Navy Domestic Violence (DV) attorneys with a 100% success rate for issuance of protective orders. Representing 143 clients in 2023, she also had the largest case volume of any DV attorney in the Navy. Recognized as RLSO SW's Fiscal Year 2023 Third Quarter Senior Civilian of the Quarter after less than a year on board, Ms. Tryon has become the go-to subject matter expert (SME) for difficult family law cases due to her expansive knowledge and experience. She has developed and presented training for legal assistance practitioners at the Marine Corps Legal Assistance Symposium at Camp Pendleton. Outside of her routine duties, Ms. Tyron took the initiative to train new and inexperienced attorneys and paralegals. One of only four Navy DV SMEs, Ms. Tryon routinely goes above and beyond the basic requirements of her job and has established a new foundation for legal assistance practice at RLSO SW and the Intimate Partner/Family Law DV program across the Navy enterprise.

    Air Force

    628th Air Base Wing Legal Office (628 ABW/JA), Joint Base Charleston, SC

    The 628th Air Base Wing Legal Office (628 ABW/JA) is a small office that shoulders a considerable workload, ensuring the success and continuity of Joint Base Charleston. Taking lessons learned from the pandemic, the office has developed and refined online tools that provide clients with educational resources on common topics, maximizes virtual appointments for the convenience of the client, and partners with community luminaries to enhance legal services for the JB community. The team has perfected lasting strategies for top-notch remote legal services; clients are no longer confined to specific meeting times for in-person visits and are to be able to speak unhindered with an attorney within hours rather than days of a requested appointment, for which the feedback has been near universally positive. Despite continued disruption from high operations tempo resulting in increased active-duty deployments, in 2023 the 628 ABW/JA assisted 1,730 legal assistance clients, totaling well over 1,450 hours of superior legal service. The team produced nearly 3,500 legal documents and notarized nearly 2,100 signatures. The 628 ABW/JA has delivered superior legal assistance services to a total force of over 70,000 military members, dependents, and retirees in the greater Charleston area, all while continuing full-spectrum legal support in the “new normal” of current operations.

    Captain Kelsey Knitter

    Captain Kelsey Knitter, Hill Air Force Base, has provided exceptional service to the Armed Forces legal assistance effort by significantly expanding the scope of services offered related to immigration. The partnership she established with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other base agencies lead to a 90% improvement in application processing times and a 63% increase in immigration clients helped. She organized and hosted the first-ever naturalization ceremony on base which was attended by over 50 service members, including multiple squadron and wing commanders. She also led the first-ever Immigration Q&A Event which allowed members to speak directly to immigration officers in charge of processing applications. Given the complexity of immigration law, she has taken steps to educate both legal assistance attorneys and clients through trainings, drafting advisory documents, appearing on a Public Affairs interview, and hosting a Legal Assistance Podcast on immigration. She is even working to change immigration policy at the congressional level by working with different Senators to highlight the hardship faced by service members when stationed abroad with non-citizen dependents.

    Marine Corps

    Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma Legal Assistance Office (LAO)

    The MCAS Yuma LAO supported the personal legal needs of individual Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and their family members in the Yuma area, increasing their personal readiness and thus unit readiness in 2023. The LAO provided legal advice and assistance in family law, estate planning, powers of attorney, naturalization, landlord-tenant disputes, consumer law, the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (SCRA), bankruptcy, and other personal, civil legal matters. For the calendar year, the LAO assisted more than 2024 personnel in total, including over-the-counter services, such as notarizations, and represented over 125 clients. During this year, the LAO provided nine legal readiness briefs to over 400 deploying Marines and Sailors, educating them in the benefits of wills, powers of attorney, childcare powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and their rights under the SCRA. The Yuma LAO was able to accomplish these services even though, for most of the year, there was only one dual­hatted legal assistance attorney and no more than two full-time legal assistance clerks serving at any one time. Despite the MCAS Yuma LAO's geographic and jurisdictional isolation and its small and rotating pool of almost entirely dual-hatted personnel, it has nevertheless succeeded in providing top quality legal advice to individual servicemembers, retirees, and their dependents.

    Mrs. Lisa Kuhl

    In 2023, Lisa Kuhl of the Legal Assistance Office at Cherry Point demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to her clients' best interests through her extensive workload, long hours, and dedication to providing the best service possible. Mrs. Kuhl's experience and leadership were the bedrock of the office's high quality legal services and compassionate care for clients. Mrs. Kuhl has personally acquired an increasingly complex portfolio of legal services which includes family law, estate planning, immigration, and adoption services, enabling her to provide over two thousand legal services throughout 2023. Additionally, Mrs. Kuhl has drafted more than 2,200 legal documents in 2023, each of a superior, professional quality with a focus on detail that ensures these documents embody the intent of the clients. Beyond servicing those aboard the air station, she has also overseen the provision of services to clients that were either conflicted from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune services or unable to be seen by MCB Lejeune Legal Assistance Office during the overwhelming rapid deployment schedule this past fall. Mrs. Kuhl is unmatched in her dedication to the military families of the Cherry Point area and in the quality of her service. She stands out from her peers and personifies the best that the legal assistance program aims to achieve.

    Coast Guard

    Eleventh Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Team

    The Eleventh Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Team, led by Mrs. Belinda Alcantara, provided truly exceptional service to Coast Guard members, dependents, and retirees throughout California during 2023. Their efforts ensured military clients received critical legal assistance services on over 950 distinct legal matters including Estate Planning, Consumer, Landlord Tenant, Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Taxes, Family Law, Immigration, Special Education, Power of Attorneys, Notaries, and Protecting Individual Rights. Of particular note was the Team’s ground-breaking civil referral to the Department of Justice that resulted in over $50,000 being returned to nine servicemembers and the judgment of $22,500 in civil penalties against a local Bay-Area Property Management Company for violating the SCRA.

    Past Award Recipients

    2022

    OSJA, HQ, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk Legal Assistance Office, LA

    Mrs. Sun Im Yi, Camp Humphreys, Korea

    Region Legal Service Office Midwest, Recruit Training Command, and USCIS Chicago Field Office

    Mr. Manmeet (Manu) Rana, Pearl Harbor, HI

    Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 502d Force Support Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Mr. James Bivens, 502d Force Support Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Capt Stephen Owings, Cherry Point, NC

    Seventh Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Team

    Ms. Taylor Hart, New London, CT

    2021

    Fort Rucker (United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence) Soldier and Family Legal Services Division

    Mr. Yosefi Seltzer, Legal Assistance Attorney, Fort Meade, MD

    Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Western Pacific Legal Assistance Department

    LT Michael Killius, JAGC, USN

    Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 35th Fighter Wing, Misawa Air Base, Japan

    Captain Joyclin Webster, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, SD

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

    Captain Mitchell McCulley, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

    Mr. Richard Harris, District 17 Legal, Kodiak, AK

    2020

    The California Military Department Naturalization Project.

    Mr. Rudolph A. “Rudy” Wartella IV, Chief of Soldier and Family Legal Services, 10th Support Group, Okinawa, Japan

    Region Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic (RLSO MIDLANT), Legal Assistance Department, Norfolk, VA

    Lieutenant Amy Zajac, Staff Judge Advocate, Region Legal Service Office Western Pacific Branch Office Guam

    Office of The Staff Judge Advocate, 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, ND

    Captain Hawar Sabir, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, AR

    Cherry Point Legal Assistance Office, Cherry Point, NC

    Captain Candace R. Valentine, Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Team, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC

    U.S. Coast Guard 2020 Contingency Response Legal Support Teams

    Ms. Belinda Alcantara, Legal Assistance Attorney, Eleventh Coast Guard District, Alameda, CA

    2019

    Army National Guard Legal Assistance Office for Area Support Group, Kuwait/38th Infantry Division

    Captain Matthew Doyle, Chief, Legal Assistance, XVII Airborne Corps

    Region Legal Service Office Southwest (RLSO SW), Legal Assistance Department

    Lieutenant Rosemarie Lombardi, Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office Southeast (RLSO SE), Branch Office New Orleans, LA

    502d Security Forces Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, TX

    Captain Adam Zenger, 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess Air Force Base, TX

    Camp Pendleton Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Section (LSSS), MCI-W, San Diego, CA

    Captain Benjamin N. Goodrich, Legal Services Support Section, MCI-PAC, Okinawa, Japan

    Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown Legal Assistance Office, Yorktown, VA

    Mr. Benjamin McCarty, Legal Assistance Attorney, USCG District One Legal Office, Boston, MA

    2018

    502d Force Support Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Ms. Memory Heaton, 2d Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, LA

    Stuttgart Law Center Legal Assistance Office, Germany

    Ms. Barbara Wold, Legal Assistance Attorney, I Corps Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base Lewis-McChord Legal Assistance Office, WA

    Camp Foster Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Section (LSSS), MCI-PAC, Okinawa, Japan

    Captain Kevin S. Estes, Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Team (LSST), LSSS MCI-PAC, MCAS, Iwakuni, Japan

    Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Hawaii, Legal Assistance Department

    Mr. Jason Lawrance, Branch Head and Legal Assistance Provider, Region Legal Service Office Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia (RLSO EURAFSWA) Branch Office London, United Kingdom

    United States Coast Guard 2018 Hurricane Legal Support Teams

    2017

    Staff Sergeant Brent W. Johnson, 355th Fighter Wing, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ

    Special Victims' Counsel Division, Air Force Legal Operations Agency, Joint Base Andrews, MD

    Ms. Traci J. Voelke, Legal Assistance Attorney, Fort Belvoir, VA

    Fort Gordon Legal Assistance Office, Fort Gordon, GA

    LA Office, LSSS, MCI-East: Legal Assistance Office, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Captain Robert McManimon, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Legal Assistance Office, LSSS, MCI-PAC, Okinawa, Japan

    Region Legal Service Office Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia (RLSO EURAFSWA)

    Ms. Cynthia Catalan-Rodriguez, Legal Assistance (LA) Attorney, Region Legal Service Office Southeast (RLSO SE) detachment Mayport (Det Mayport)

    Eleventh Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Team, Alameda, CA

    2016

    673d Air Base Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK

    Mr. James Bivens, Jr., 502d Force Support Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX

    The Baumholder Legal Assistance Office

    Ms. Dorothy Edgerton, Chief Legal Assistance, Fort Jackson, SC

    Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Team, Legal Service Support Section, Marine Corps Installation-West, Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, CA

    Captain Joseph Lewis, Officer in Charge, Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Support Team, Legal Service Support Section, Marine Corps Installations-Pacific, Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan

    Region Legal Service Office Southeast

    Mr. Luis Martin Mesa, Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) EURAFSWA

    2015

    81st Training Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, MS

    Captain Travis P. Brinton, 633d Air Base Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA

    Mr. Brian J. Novak, 502d Security Forces and Logistics Support Group, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

    The Fort Bragg Tax Center, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Legal Assistance Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC

    Captain Tanya Mayes, Military Justice/Administrative Law Judge Advocate General, 80th

    Thirteenth Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Team (D13), Thirteenth Coast Guard District, Seattle, WA

    Mr. James Nicholson, Legal Assistance Attorney/Legal Service Command (LSC), District 5, Norfolk, VA

    Legal Services Support Team, Legal Assistance Office, Camp Pendleton, CA

    Captain Adam LoCascio, Defense Attorney, Defense Services Office, Legal Assistance Support Team, 29 Palms, CA

    Legal Service Office (RLSO) Naval District Washington, Legal Assistance Department, Washington Navy Yard, DC

    Lieutenant Sarah A. Aguero, Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Southeast, Branch Office Corpus Christi, TX

    Mr. Daniel G. Jones, Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Northwest, Branch Office Bangor

    Office of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG), Code 16, Disability Evaluation System (DES) Counsel Program, Formal Physical Evaluation Board (FPEB) Section, Washington Navy Yard, DC

    2014

    87th Air Base Wing (87 ABW/JA), Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ

    Captain Morgan Christie, Chief of Legal Assistance & Civil Law, 97th Air Mobility Wing (97 AMW/JA), Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Altus Air Force Base, OK

    Legal Assistance Office, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, CA

    Mr. Bradley J. Huestis, Chief of Client Services, 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command (7A JMTC), Grafenwoehr, Germany

    Legal Assistance Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Legal Services Support Team-Twentynine Palms, Palms, CA

    Captain Mika’il Ali, Officer-in-Charge, Legal Assistance Section, Legal Services Support Team-Twentynine Palms, Palms, CA

    Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Japan

    Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Northwest

    Mr. Nicholas King, Assistant Department Head, Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Southwest

    2013

    502d Force Support Group, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base San Antonio –Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Captain Donald “Rick” Weeks, III, chief of Legal Assistance, 96th Test Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Eglin Air Force Base, FL

    The Fort Sill Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Legal Assistance Office, Fort Sill, OK

    Mr. Russell H. Putnam, Jr., Legal Assistance Attorney, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA

    Fourteenth Coast Guard District Legal Office, Fourteenth Coast Guard District, Honolulu, HI

    Mr. Stephen Crawford, Legal Assistance Attorney, Coast Guard District Eight, New Orleans, LA

    Camp Foster Okinawa Legal Assistance Office, Legal Service Support Team, Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa

    Captain Nicholas Mull, Officer-in-Charge, Camp Foster Legal Assistance Office, Legal Service Support Team, Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa

    Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Hawaii, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, HI

    Mr. Dwain Alexander, II, Senior Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, VA

    Commander Andrew R. House, Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General for Legal Assistance, Deputy Chief of Staff, Victims Legal Counsel, Office of the Judge Advocate General (Code 16), Washington Navy Yard, DC

    2012

    31st Fighter Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Aviano Air Base, Italy

    Captain Joe Ahlers, Chief of Legal Assistance, 97th Air Mobility Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Altus Air Force Base, OK

    Joerg C. Moddelmog, Senior German Attorney–Advisor, Kaiserslautern Legal Services Center

    Mr. Stephen Lynch, Legal Assistance Attorney, Ninth District Legal Office, Cleveland, OH

    Legal Assistance Office, Legal Service Support Team, MCRD Parris Island, SC

    Captain William Morrison, Officer–in–Charge, Legal Assistance Office, Camp Foster Okinawa

    Region Legal Service Office Southwest

    Ms. Sarah Courageous, Legal Assistance Attorney, Region Legal Service Office Hawaii

    CAPT Kevin Patrick Flood, JAGC, USN (Ret.), Law Office of Kevin Patrick Flood, Jacksonville, FL

    COL Mark E. Sullivan, USAR (Ret.), Law Offices of Mark E. Sullivan, P.A., Raleigh, NC

    2011

    35th Fighter Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Misawa Air Force Base, Japan

    Lieutenant Andrew Coffin, JAGC, USN, Naval Legal Service Office Pacific (Guam)

    Coast Guard District Seventeen Legal Office, Juneau, AK

    Ms. Elizabeth K. Fuglestad, Legal Assistance Attorney, Thirteenth District Legal Office, Seattle, WA

    Joint Legal Assistance Office (LAO), Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA

    Ms. Leah Copeland, Legal Assistance Attorney, 633d Air Base Wing, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE), VA

    Mr. Michael Archer, Director of Legal Assistance, Marine Corps Installations East, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Naval Legal Service Office Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia (NLSO EURAFSWA)

    Mr. Terry Spearman, Paralegal, XVIII Airborne Corps, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Legal Assistance, Fort Bragg, NC

    2010

    Mr. Charles P. "Chuck" Koutras, Legal Assistance Attorney, US Army South, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Reserve Judge Advocate Command Support Section, Legal Services Support Section, Marine Forces Reserve (RJACSS)

    355 FW/JA, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Legal Office, Tucson, AZ

    Mr. Brian Novak, Chief of Legal Assistance Division and Tax Center Manager, 502 Air Base Group, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Naval Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic (NLSO MIDLANT), Norfolk, VA

    LT Matthew C. Cox, JAGC, USN,  Naval Legal Service Office Pacific (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii)

    North Carolina National Guard (NCNG), NC

    2009

    Coast Guard Legal Assistance Field Response Team for Lost CG-1705 Aircraft, Alameda, CA

    Legal Assistance Division, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Maneuver Center for Excellence, Fort Benning, GA

    3d Infantry Division and Fort Stewart Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Legal Assistance Team, GA

    Consolidated Legal Service Office, Camp LeJeune, NC

    86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany

    LT Garrett S. Snow, JAGC, USN, Naval Legal Service Office Pacific, Yokosuka, Japan

    LtCol Adam E. Torem, USAFR, 11th Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK.

    2008

    6th Air Mobility Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida

    Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

    Mr. George Sabga, Volunteer, Naval Legal Service Office Southwest

    Naval Legal Service Office Pacific


    2007

    Lieutenant Graham C. Winegeart, JAGC, Naval Legal Service Office Pacific,  Detachment Guam

    Lieutenant Michele V. Rosen, JAGC, Region Legal Service Office, Europe and Southwest Asia, Naples, Italy

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina

    48th Fighter Wing, Legal Assistance and Preventive Law Division, RAF  Lakenheath, UK

    Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, General Law Branch, Legal Division


    2006

    Lieutenant Colonel Ferah Ozbek, Patrick AFB, FL

    Legal Assistance Office, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) & Fort Campbell, KY

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Beaufort, SC

    Naval Legal Service Office North Central, Washington, DC


    2005

    Major Michael R. Martinez, Fort Carson, CO

    81st Training Wing (81 TRW), Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Keesler Air Force Base, MS

    Third Infantry Division and Fort Stewart, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Legal Assistance Office, Fort Stewart, GA

    Coast Guard Hurricane Response Legal Assistance Team

    • CG Academy, New London, CT
    • CG Headquarters (COMDT G-L-6), Washington, DC
    • CG MLCA Legal Division, Norfolk, VA
    • CG MLCP Legal Division, Alameda, CA
    • Eighth CG District, New Orleans, LAFirst CG District, Boston, MA
    • Integrated Support Command Kodiak, Kodiak, AK
    • Ninth CG District, Cleveland, OH
    • Seventh CG District, Miami, FL
    • Thirteenth CG District, Seattle, WA

    Naval Legal Service Office Central, Pensacola, FL

    Mr. Dwain Alexander, Navy Legal Service Office (NLSO) Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, VA

    2004

    Ms. Lisa J. Johnson, Paralegal, Navy Legal Service Office (NLSO) Southeast, Jacksonville, FL

    Captain Eric S. Montalvo, Trial Counsel, OSJA, MCB, Quantico, VA

    Captain Luisa Santiago, Chief, Legal Assistance/Foreign Claims, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Headquarters, Combined Joint Task Force 73, Bagram, Afghanistan

    Lieutenant Jonathan Scott Simpson, Branch Head, Naval Legal Service Office Europe and Southwest Asia, London, UK

    “TEAM PACAF”: Headquarters, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), 15th Airlift Wing (PACAF), 354th

    Fighter Wing (PACAF) and 154 Wing (Hawaii Air National Guard), Hickam Air Force Base, HI

    2003

    Mr. Kenyon E. Luce, Washington State Bar Association

    Captain Pete Seidler, Head, United States Coast Guard Office of Legal Policy & Program Development

    Lieutenant Jeremy Kimball Call, NLSO PAC, Yokosuka, Japan

    Lieutenant Edward K. Westbrook, NLSO SW Branch Office, Naval Air Station Leemore, California

    311th Support Command Corps (COSCOM)

    2002

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego CA

    Naval Legal Service Office Southeast, Jacksonville, FL

    Captain Brandy Falk

    Colonel George Hancock

    Mr. Stephen Lynch

    Captain Samuel F. Wright

    2001

    Joint Services Family Assistance Center Legal Team

    September 11th Pro Bono Legal Relief Project

    Colonel John S. Odom, Jr.

    Captain Bruce E. MacDonald

    Captain Jerry Alonzo Stevenson II

    Captain Steven Fromm

    2000

    Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Legal Office, Georgia

    Task Force Falcon Legal Assistance Office, Office of the Legal Advisor, Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo

    Mr. Paul K. Davis, Southeast Regional Office, Federal Trade Commission, Georgia

    Maintenance & Logistics Command Pacific Legal Assistance Program, California

    Joint Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California

    Naval Legal Service Office Southwest, San Diego, California

    1999

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA

    Mr. Lou Sherman and the Fort Polk Legal Assistance Division, Ft. Polk, LA

    3WG/JA Legal Assistance Program, Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK

    Captain James Key, USAF, Anderson Air Force Base, Guam

    Mr. John McHenry, Naval Legal Service Office Southwest, San Diego, CA

    1998

    Naval Legal Service Office Northwest, Naval Base Seattle, WA

    Task Force Eagle Legal Assistance Office, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Tuzla, Bosnia Herzegovina

    Mr. Jim Brennan, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Eustis, VA

    Legal Assistance Section, Client Services Division, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Lieutenant Brandon S. Keith, JAGC, USNR, Naval Legal Service Office, Southeast Detachment, Mayport, FL

    Captain Theresa Bruno, USAF, Peterson Air Force Base, CO

    1997

    Captain Aaron E. Kornblum, USAF, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, WY

    Mr. Kenyon E. Luce, Washington State Bar Association

    Ms. Robin Coll, Civilian, Naval Legal Service Office, Mid-Atlantic

    1996

    US Army 2nd Infantry Division Tax Center

    Lieutenant Commander Ronald Johnson, JAGC, U.S. Navy, Naval Justice School, Newport, RI

    Legal Assistance Office, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, NE

    Legal Division, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic

    Mr. Richard Arkow, Chief, Marine Corps Legal Assistance Consolidated Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

    Legal Assistance Division, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Benning, GA

    Legal Assistance Office, Joint Law Center, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Santa Ana, CA

    Legal Assistance Office, Legal Services Center, Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe, HI

    1995

    Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Block, USA, Chief, Legal Assistance Branch, The U.S. Army Judge

    Advocates Generals' School, Charlottesville, VA

    Elisa Holland, Eighth Coast Guard District Legal Office, New Orleans, March, 1995

    Angel Caldwell, Eighth Coast Guard District Legal Office, New Orleans, March, 1995

    Joint Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA

    Naval Legal Service Office, Southeast Jacksonville, FL

    1994

    Lieutenant James Walsh, JAGC, USNR, Naval Legal Service Office Northeast, Groton, CT

    Lieutenant Colonel George Hancock, USA, The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School, Charlottesville, VA

    Captain Samuel W. Morris, USA, 1st Infantry Division (Mech) and Fort Riley, Fort Riley, KS

    Mr. Jerry E. Shiles, Chief, Legal Assistance Division, 21st Theater Army Area Command Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC

    Naval Legal Service Office, Europe and Southwest Asia

    Colonel Alfred F. Arquilla, USA, Chief, Army Legal Assistance

    1993

    Captain Laurel L. Wilkerson, USA, Legal Assistance Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U. S. Army

    Major Mary L. Hostetter, USMC, The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School, Charlottesville, VA

    Captain Kerry M. Wheelehan, USA, Chief of Legal Assistance, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC

    Captain Janet K. Mansfield, USA, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, HQ, I Corps and Fort Lewis, WA

    Consolidated Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Mr. Gunter D. Filippucci, Chief of Legal Assistance, Southern Law Center, Mannheim, Germany

    Mr. Daniel McKernan, Fort Bliss, TX

    1992

    Mr. Juan J. Turull Echevarria, Coast Guard Greater Antilles Section, San Juan, PR

    Legal Division, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic Legal Office, 7th Coast Guard District

    Legal Assistance Office, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY

    Captain Michael McWright,USA, 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA

    Captain Kurt D. Schmidt, USA, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC

    Captain Julie Schrenk, USA, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC

    Office of the District Counsel, Jacksonville District, South Atlantic Divison, US Army Corps of Engineers

    Air Force legal personnel involved in the Hurricane Andrew relief efforts

    1991

    Naval Legal Service Office, Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines

    Legal Assistance Offices, Clark Air Force Base, Philippines and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam

    Naval Legal Service Office, Jacksonville, FL

    1990

    Legal Assistance Office, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Warner Robins, GA

    Lieutenant Commander Jay J. Kessler, JAGC, USN, Naval Legal Service Office, San Francisco, CA

    The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army

    The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy

    The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Air Force

    The Director, Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps

    The Chief Counsel, U.S. Coast Guard

    Lieutenant Colonel Gregory M. Huckabee, USA, Deputy Chief, Army Legal Assistance

    Major James P. Pottorff, Jr.,USA, The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School, Charlottesville, VA

    1989

    Captain Anthony M. Cacavio, USAF, Eglin Air Force Base, FL

    Naval Legal Service Office, San Diego, CA

    Family Law Center, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, HI

    Major Bernard P. Ingold, USA, The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School, Charlottesville, VA

    1988

    Naval Legal Service Office, Naval Base, Charleston, SC

    Major General Hugh R. Overholt, USA, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army

    1987

    Major Richard H. McCall, Jr., USA, Chief, Legal Assistance Division, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC

    The Office of the Attorney General, State of North Carolina

    Chief Petty Officer Stephen C. Bowles, USCG

    1986

    Captain Joseph P. Dugdale, USMC

    Major Steven K. Mulliken, USA

    Legal Assistance Office, U.S. Army, Berlin

    1985

    Consolidated Legal Assistance Section, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC

    Major Charles W. Hemingway, USA

    Gander Legal Assistance Support Team, U.S. Army

    Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA

    Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, NY

    1984

    Elmendorf Base Legal Office, Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK

    1983

    Legal Assistance Office, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Dix, NJ

    Joint Legal Assistance Office, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA

    Major Harlan M. "Mike" Heffelfinger, USA

    1982

    Captain Timothy J. Grendell, USA

    Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, RAF, Alconbury, England

    Major J. Edward Reaves, Jr., JAGC, USAF

    Captain Steven H. Muse, USA, Chief of Legal Assistance Office, Fort Sam Houston, TX

    Legal Assistance Office, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Sam Houston, TX

    1981

    Legal Assistance Office, U.S. Army Air Defense Center and Fort Bliss, Fort Bliss, TX

    Legal Assistance Office, Air Force Systems Command

    Lieutenant Byron C. Rhodes, JAGC, USNR

    Nellis Law Center, Nellis Air Force Base, NV

    Legal Assistance Branch, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 7th Infantry Division and Fort Ord, CA

    Lieutenant Leonard F. Villa, JAGC, USNR, Naval Service Office, Norfolk, VA

    1980

    Legal Assistance Office, Naval Legal Service Office, San Diego, CA

    Mrs. Elizabeth F. Buchanan, Legal Assistance Attorney, Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa

    1979

    Legal Assistance Office, Patrick Air Force Base, Satellite Beach, FL

    Mr. James Costello, Legal Assistance Attorney, Seventh Coast Guard District, Miami, FL

    Legal Assistance Office, 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX

    Other Awards

    Outstanding Legal Assistance Student Award