NGB Office of the General Counsel
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General Counsel (NGB-GC)

Mission: The General Counsel, National Guard Bureau (NGB) provides strategic level legal support, services, counsel, and opinions to the Chief, NGB, the Vice CNGB, the Director of the NGB Joint Staff, the Directors of the Army and Air National Guard and their respective staffs as well as Service Readiness Centers; State Adjutants General; full-time State Judge Advocates, United States Property and Fiscal Officers; the Offices of the Army and Air Force Judge Advocates General, Army, Air Force, and DoD General Counsel; Federal Agencies including but not limited to: DHS General Counsel, DOJ, White House Legal Counsel, Combatant Commanders, JCS Legal, the Army Judge Advocate General Legal Center and School, the Air Force Judge Advocate General School; combatant commanders; other DoD offices; and other Federal and State agencies (including Congress), concerning operational law, environmental law, contracts, administrative law, and military justice and other areas of the law.

 

NG Judge Advocates In Action
Teams, Divisions, and Programs of NGB-GC
  1. Special Actions Team. The Special Actions Team addresses strategic legal and policy matters with enterprise significance to the National Guard Bureau (NGB) or to the National Guards of the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia. The Special Actions Team also advises National Guard Bureau senior leaders on sensitive legal matters of specific interest to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Director of the Army National Guard, or the Director of the Air National Guard.
  2. Strategic Engagement Division. The Strategic Engagement Division serves the General Counsel, and Army & Air National Guard legal communities by liaising between Department of Defense Offices and the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia to perform three functions: career field management, legal training, and engagement.
  3. Law Office Management Division. The Law Office Management Division, on behalf of the General Counsel, oversees the daily operations of NGB-GC, including the functions of executive services, budget/resource management, Task Management Tracking action management, personnel management, manpower and equipment, and information technology & knowledge management.
  4. Litigation and Employment Law Division. The Litigation and Employment Law Division is responsible for representing the interests of the National Guard in complex civil litigation before State courts, U.S. District Courts, the Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Addresses litigation matters concerning the full spectrum of National Guard operations. Duties relate to the protection of policy interests in vigorously contested cases involving vital issues of national significance, very large sums of money, and legal outcomes having wide-ranging implications for the activities of the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau, and the National Guards of the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia. Serves as the senior employment law division with responsibility for planning and accomplishing varied and diverse legal functions pertaining to a geographically dispersed workforce of over 450,000, including civilian personnel, National Guard technicians, and National Guard military personnel. Provides timely employment law research, advice, and counsel to all organizational elements within the National Guard Bureau and to the various state National Guards, and coordinates with the Departments of the Army and Air Force on employment law matters. Promptly prepares in-depth legal opinions regarding discrimination complaints, prohibited personnel practices, whistleblower protection, labor relations, and proposed adverse- or performance related actions. Represents the National Guard in vigorously contested cases heard in the federal courts and before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Federal Services Impasses Panel.
  5. Directorate Judge Advocate – Army. The Army National Guard (ARNG) Directorate Judge Advocates (DJA-Army), on behalf of the NGB-GC, serves as primary legal advisory team to the Director, Army National Guard and Deputy Director, Army National Guard. The DJAs interact with the ARNG Directorate leadership and “G-staff” daily to coordinate and provide full-spectrum legal services in support of the ARNG Directorate and the Army National Guard Readiness Center. The DJA military justice team advises the ARNG Chief of Staff and Readiness Center Commander to assist with the facilitation of Title 10 military justice and discipline matters within the Military District of Washington. Finally, the DJA plays a principal role in assisting the NGB-GC with Title 32 ARNG outreach programs, to include functional area management matters and issues of interest to the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia.
  6. Directorate Judge Advocate – Air. Air National Guard (ANG) Directorate Judge Advocates (DJA-Air) provides real world, time sensitive legal advice on the full spectrum of title 32 and title 10 legal issues to the Director of the Air National Guard (DANG), Deputy Director of the Air national Guard (DDANG), Executive Director of the Air National Guard (EDANG), Air National Guard Readiness Center Commander (ANGRC/CC), 201st Mission Support Squadron, (201st MSG/CC) and NGB A-Staff. The DJA-Air and Deputy are the ANG judge advocate general and paralegal Functional Area Managers (FAM)s responsible for force management, resource allocation, and advocating for ANG judge advocate interests within the USAF JAG Corps. The staff of the DJA-Air are the legal subject matter experts on all aspects of ANG policy and law for the 54 NGs and 90 ANG Wings.
  7. General Law & Ethics Division. The mission of the NGB Office of the General Counsel, General Law Division is to provide clear, concise, accurate, and timely legal advice and opinions of all aspects of military personnel law, general administrative law, ethics, and national security law. This division also provides legislative counsel support to senior leaders, administers NGB's financial disclosure reports program, and conducts legal sufficiency reviews of complex investigations, administrative investigations, and NGB responses to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
  8. Contract & Fiscal Law Division. Provides counsel and legal advice regarding contract and fiscal law to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau; the Director, Army National Guard; Director, Air National Guard; Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center; NGB's Head of Contracting Activity; NGB Comptroller; NGB-J8; NGB-AQ; NGB's Chief of Resource Management; ARNG-G8; ARNG's Chief Financial Officer; ANG's Director of Financial Management and Comptroller; and the 54 United States Property and Fiscal Officers. Provides expert level contract and fiscal law advice to the SJA offices as needed for the 54. Advises on procurement fraud and Antideficiency Act investigations. Provides fiscal law training across the NG enterprise.  Advises on contractor and vendor engagements. Conducts conference reviews for all NG conferences approved at the NGB level. Evaluates and reviews legislation and regulatory changes impacting the NG budgets, programs, and appropriations for fiscal law related impacts. Provides contracts-related litigation support as required to the Army, Air Force, and DOJ for actions filed in the federal courts, the Government Accountability Office, or the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.
  9. Environmental & Real Property Law. Provides legal review, advice, and counsel services to the Chief, National Guard Bureau, the Director, Army National Guard Readiness Center, the Director, Air Guard Readiness Center, and to Army and Air National Guard components of all 50 States, three Territories, and District of Columbia, in their capacity as reserve components of the active duty Army and Air Force. The Environmental and Real Property Law Division analyzes and evaluates environmental issues as they impact Army and Air Guard interests, specifically the following: Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Wilderness Act, and other Federal, State and local laws and regulations affecting Army or Air Guard activities or their real property interests.
  10. Special Victims’ Counsel Program. The National Guard Special Victims’ Counsel Program’s mission is to provide exceptional legal assistance, counsel and representation to eligible victims of sex-related offenses and domestic violence throughout the 54 States, Territories and District of Columbia. Through professional competency and advocacy, the Program empowers victims and ensures their interests and rights are recognized and protected throughout all proceedings in all forums and forms of justice.