Give your paralegals a smile May 1

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Mark Garney
  • 354th Fighter Wing judge advocate
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  May 1 is Law Day, a day set aside by our nation to recognize the importance of law and legal professionals in our nation.

Years ago when my kids were little, they asked me, "Daddy, so what is your job?" I had to think on that one, and finally I told them, "I help people solve problems." Satisfied, and understanding, they went off to play.

That's really what judge advocates and paralegals do in the Air Force; we help people solve problems.

Your problem may be filing your taxes, managing a problematic troop that needs proper discipline, being accused of misconduct and needing advice, finding you're a crime victim and seeking justice, needing to acquire some piece of equipment or solve a dispute with a service provider, or you may just want to know the best way to raise money for your office Christmas party. We help people solve these kinds of problems.

JAs and paralegals deploy to wherever the Air Force is; we deal with host nation officials in foreign countries to secure necessary agreements for contingency bases. We stand next to weaponeers in the air operations center and help solve the problem of how to take out the enemy in a crowded city and protect the innocent at the same time.

Members of my office were recently in Baghdad working directly to put terrorists in jail. By the direct efforts of these legal professionals, hundreds of bad people will be in jail for a long time where they can't hurt innocent people anymore.

This was accomplished using the law, in a country where the rule of law walks on struggling newborn legs, but those legs get stronger every day.

Because of the rule of law, and its importance in the way our nation works, JAs and paralegals get involved in every aspect of what the Air Force does. People from every Air Force specialty come to us for help with their problems, and we do our very best to get them where they want and need to be.

I'm glad we have rules and people that respect those rules and know how to apply them. Otherwise, everyone might just do whatever they like without regard to what effect that might have on others - in other words, anarchy and terrorism.

Honestly, there are days when being a JA is really hard. But, I'm proud to wear the scales of justice on my chest, I'm proud to tell people "no" sometimes when that's the right answer, and I'm proud to use the law to help people find solutions to their problems.

So this Law Day, stop for a moment and be grateful that we live under law. Realize too, that even though I've shared my thoughts about JAs and paralegals, each Airman that wears this uniform stands every single day to protect the rule of law that gives us all such a great way of life. And if you see a JA or paralegal next Tuesday, give us a smile.