Retired July 01, 2021Maj. Gen. Dan Bunch was the Air National Guard Assistant to The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) of the United States Air Force. He assists TJAG and the Director of the Air National Guard (DANG) by providing leadership and planning for all ANG legal offices, including some 440 judge advocates and paralegals throughout the nation. As the senior member of the ANG JA Council, Major General Bunch ensured that the JAGs and paralegals performing national duties assist the ANG legal community in advancing the priorities of TJAG and DANG.
Major General Bunch earned his commission via direct appointment while attending the University of Virginia school of law. Commissioned as a Navy Judge Advocate, he served two years on the island of Guam, primarily as trial counsel before Navy and Marine Corps courts. He then served two years onboard the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67), an operational aircraft carrier supporting operations in both Bosnia and Iraq. During 1994, Major General Bunch transferred to the Air Force and served four years on active duty, initially at Eielson AFB, AK, where he was Chief of Military Justice. Prior to leaving active duty, he served as a circuit trial counsel on the Western Circuit at Travis AFB, CA, where he handled some of the most difficult prosecutions facing the Air Force. During 1998, Major General Bunch resigned his active duty commission and transferred to the Air Reserve Component where he was an IMA (CAT A) assigned to Elmendorf, AFB, AK and later as a circuit defense counsel on the Western Circuit.
Major General Bunch moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon during 1999 and transferred to the Oregon Air National Guard. He was the Staff Judge Advocate of the 173rd Fighter Wing for nearly ten years. During 2007, Major General Bunch joined the surge in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was a team chief in the Law and Order Task Force. Shortly after his return, he was promoted into the National Additional Duty Program, where he worked various projects. As an Air National Guard Assistant, Major General Bunch has been assigned to Air Force Space Command, Air Combat Command, and the Pentagon, where he was worked for the Deputy Judge Advocate General, before assuming his current role with TJAG.
In his civilian career, Major General Bunch is a state court judge in Oregon, where he has general jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases. Prior to taking the bench, he was a prosecutor in the state of Alaska, a private practice attorney in Oregon, and County Counsel of Klamath County, Oregon. Additionally, he was an adjunct professor for the Oregon Institute of Technology for several years. Major General Bunch has participated in several boards, including Citizens for Safe Schools and was a founding board member of Klamath County’s first Charter school.
(Current as of July 2021)