You have the right to remain silent!

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristin High
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  A Barksdale Airman was just informed he will be receiving an Article 15 and he doesn't know what to do. He heads to the legal office and is told to go to the third floor of Building 4714 to see the Area Defense Council.

The mission of the ADC is to protect an Airman's individual rights and to ensure independent and aggressive representation of Air Force members facing disciplinary actions.

All ADC judge advocates are active duty attorneys and paralegals, but unlike those in the legal office, they do not work for the 2nd Bomb Wing Commander.

"We have an entirely separate chain of command," said Capt. Thomas Greenwood, ADC Judge Advocate. "The legal office is part of the wing staff and more or less answers to the wing commander. The Area Defense Counsel reports to the Air Force Legal Operations Agency in Washington, D.C."

The ADC was established in 1974 to provide defense services independent from the base legal office, taking away any conflict of interest when representing Air Force clients against the Air Force, he added.

"Sometimes people don't see the distinction between the legal office and us. People request assistance over matters in which the military has no jurisdiction, so we are limited in the services we can actually provide."

The assistance of the ADC is a free service provided to Air Force members facing any number of administrative or judicial actions. Those actions include courts-martial, Uniform Code of Military Justice rights advisement, administrative discharges and non-judicial punishment proceedings. They also include letters of counseling and reprimand, mental health evaluations, unfavorable information files and control rosters. The ADC provides services such as officer and enlisted performance report referrals, promotion propriety actions, selective re-enlistment issues, reports of survey and line of duty determinations.

"Preparation for trial is not usually something done overnight," said Greenwood. "It can take many weeks or sometimes months depending on the nature of the case. The defense often doesn't know things until charges are actually preferred against an Airman."

Preferral is a process during which an Airman is called in to meet with his commander and told he is being charged with certain crimes, he added. Once that process starts, the ADC JA have an idea of what the Airman is facing and we can determine how best to proceed, he added.

Often times ADC judge advocates have multiple cases going on at the same time, sometimes from different bases they service such as Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. and Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

"We try to touch each case daily and make sure we're progressing accordingly," said Greenwood.

Barksdale's ADC often goes to other bases in the region when there are conflicts in cases. If multiple parties are involved at another base in the region, the ADC will be sent on temporary duty to help.

"We make sure Air Force members are being heard," said Tech. Sgt. Kellie Ford, ADC paralegal. "We ensure no one is being erroneously charged with something that can potentially affect their military life and career, as well as their civilian life on the outside."

One of the most important rights afforded a military member is their right against self-incrimination under Article 31 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Article 31 states a military member cannot be forced to answer questions or make statements, oral or written, that would incriminate them. A military member has the right to consult with military counsel prior to answering questions or making statements.

For more information, contact the Barksdale ADC at 456-8355.