WASHINGTON — The Congressionally mandated Office of Special Trial Counsel officially stands up today with independent prosecution and referral authority for 13 UCMJ offenses known as “covered offenses.”

“Today marks a historic day for the Army as the Office of Special Trial Counsel begins exercising its independent decision-making and prosecution authority for sexual assault, domestic violence and other serious offenses,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. “The Office of Special Trial Counsel will execute its mission to seek justice in the best interests of the Army community and build trust in the military justice system by employing a worldwide team of highly skilled and specially trained attorneys and legal professionals.”

Col. Rob Rodrigues, acting lead special trial counsel, will bring 22 years of courtroom experience, serving as a prosecutor, defense counsel and supervisor of military justice practitioners.

“The creation of our office has been years in the making and was born out of the recognition that the Army needs to improve the way it processes and prosecutes serious crimes,” he said. “We have taken the lessons learned of the past 20 years and built an organization at the direction of Congress designed to improve decision-making and the handling of cases at every phase of the military justice process.”

The Office of Special Trial Counsel is headquartered on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and operates 28 field offices across the Army.

Beginning today, the office will become responsible for making independent decisions about serious offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence and murder. This includes the authority to send a case to a court martial. This authority was traditionally held by commanders.

“This change will ensure that each case is evaluated by an independent and objective legal expert,” he said. “If we determine a case should go to trial, the attorneys who work in our office, known as Special Trial Counsel, will be responsible for prosecuting the case.”

Maj. Amanda P. Beckham is a Special Trial Counsel attorney at the Fort Jackson field office.

“This independence means that the attorneys, much like in a civilian district attorney office, are deciding which cases go forward to trial based upon the case’s evidence,” she said.

Rodrigues said the most important feature of this initiative is the exercise of independent decision-making regarding the disposition and prosecution of cases by the OSTC.

“Our office has been empowered to independently evaluate and prosecute cases based on the facts and evidence, free from outside influence,” he said. “Our goal is to seek justice in every case. We will evaluate cases based on the evidence and apply an expert legal review to determine which cases should go forward to trial. We will ensure this process is fair for all involved in the military justice process.”

The Secretary of the Army said it will be a collaborative approach among the commanders and the special trial counsel.

“While the Office of Special Trial Counsel assumes some of the authority previously held by commanders with regards to the disposition of allegations, commanders still retain the overall responsibility for the well-being of Soldiers and mitigating the impact of these incidents within their units,” she said.

Rodrigues said the OSTC has two main goals. The first is to seek justice in every case.

“We will evaluate each case on the merits and apply a rigorous review to determine which cases should go forward to trial,” he said. “We will make disposition decisions in light of the evidence, the interests of the Army, which includes the alleged victim, all while respecting the due process rights of Soldiers accused of misconduct.”

His team’s second goal is to restore and promote trust for the military justice system.

“We will accomplish this by employing a team of highly trained and qualified expert prosecutors, paralegals and support personnel who are the best at what they do in the Army,” he said. “We will treat victims with respect and care. Throughout every phase of the case, we will communicate with victims and ensure they are informed and have the opportunity to provide input into our decisions. We will hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and ensure the rights of accused Solders are always respected.”

Beckham said the Special Trial Counsel will provide victims with honest, clear communications.

“A victim may be more willing to come forward if he or she knows that the Special Trial Counsel may exercise authority over potential misconduct,” she said. “One of our goals is to have a personal meeting with each victim to inform them of case progress or case disposition.”

“I want victims to know that our office is fully committed to seeking justice and earning back trust in the system,” Rodrigues said. “If you report a crime, it will be thoroughly investigated, and our office will make the best decision we can based on the evidence. You will have the opportunity to provide input about your case directly to our prosecutors. You will be treated fairly and with compassion throughout the entire process, regardless of the final outcome of your case.”

Rodrigues said his office is the largest, best trained, most experienced group of prosecutors the Army has assembled into one organization in the 22 years he has served.

“Each Special Trial Counsel prosecutor has been hand-selected and certified to serve in our office,” he said. “Supporting them are our NCO paralegals and Special Victim liaisons, who will provide compassionate support to victim throughout each case. I’m in awe of the talent we have in this organization that truly represents the best of Army legal professionals.”

By Shannon Collins

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency’s ability to recruit and retain top talent is key to meeting the demands of the future, agency Director Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, said today.

Nakasone said the rapid evolution of technology continues to reshape the national security landscape and how his agency responds to new threats, but people remain central to the NSA’s mission.

“A lot of times we think about the incredible technological capabilities and the high-speed computers that are there, but, at the end of the day, what makes us the agency that we are is our talent,” he said during a discussion in Washington hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a trade organization focused on public-private national security partnerships.

Earlier this year, the National Security Agency launched its largest hiring surge in three decades with a goal of hiring more than 3,000 new employees by the end of 2023.

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Nakasone said the NSA is “moving very quickly” to meet that goal, but said numbers are only part of the overall objective.

He said the agency has also focused on improvements to its recruiting and retention practices to ensure it attracts a “future-ready workforce.”

“How do we think about a population that is over 50% today millennials and [Generation Z]?” he said. “Ten years ago, 70% of our workforce was baby boomers. Five years ago, Gen Z and millennials overtook baby boomers. Five years from now, 70% will be Gen Z and millennials.”

“This is the workforce that is coming into our agency, so this is an agency that is looking much differently in how we retain our workforce,” he said.

That approach includes a focus on adapting to work-life balance demands and easing career mobility between the government and private sector.

That workforce will be on the frontlines of significant change as the agency adapts to technologies — such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing — that Nakasone said will have a significant impact on the national security landscape.

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The NSA has been forward-leaning in its approach to game these game changers.

Earlier this year, Nakasone, who also commands U.S. Cyber Command and serves as the chief of the Central Security Service, announced the creation a new entity to oversee the development and integration of artificial intelligence capabilities within U.S. national security systems.

The AI Security Center will become the focal point for developing best practices, evaluation methodology and risk frameworks with the aim of promoting the secure adoption of new AI capabilities across the national security enterprise and the defense industrial base.

The new entity will consolidate the agency’s various artificial intelligence, security-related activities.

Nakasone said on Friday that the AI Security Center has begun bringing together a series of partners to tackle the issues linking AI to national security.

Recently, he said, the group released a report on AI security infrastructure in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters and other organizations.

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“Artificial intelligence is probably the most transformative things that we’re going to experience in our lifetime,” he said. “We have to ensure that the information, the infrastructure, [and] the ability for AI to operate within this nation [is] secure.”

“That’s where the National Security Agency comes in,” he said.

By Joseph Clark, DOD News

FORT CARSON, Colo. — For an entire month, Ivy Soldiers prepare, practice and perfect more than 40 tasks in order to successfully execute a five-day evaluation. Upon sufficing the tasks, Soldiers are able to earn one of three Army-sponsored badges: the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Expert Soldier Badge and the Expert Field Medical Badge.

1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, recently hosted the three badge evaluations, known as E3B, at Fort Carson from December 4-8, 2023.

“This is a great opportunity for Soldiers to hone and sharpen all of their skills,” said Sgt. 1st Class Julian Pacheco, E3B lane noncommissioned officer in charge assigned to 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “Whether you get it or not, there is a positive outcome out of this. Soldiers get an opportunity to come out here and train.”

Each testing lane evaluated is a skill level 10, or entry level, task. Pacheco says the badge helps a Soldier’s career progression regardless of their occupational specialty, however, it is no easy feat.

“There is a very high rate of attrition because it’s very methodical and procedural,” said Pacheco. “It asks a lot of the Soldiers throughout the week in order to get their GOs.”

To put the attrition into perspective, 1,100 hundred Soldiers submitted a packet for E3B. By day 3 of the testing, 252 remained in the running for one of the three badges.

Pfc. Angelina Shabelina, a cavalry scout assigned to 2nd battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div., felt added pressure to her participation as she aspired to gain her ESB.

“I am nervous about earning my ESB because I am the only female from the battalion who is testing for the ESB,” Shabelina said. “It’s a lot of pressure and work.”

Shabelina says there is a lot of preparation behind E3B testing, which consists of events ranging from land navigation to weapon familiarity. The first event started with the expert physical fitness assessment and then moved onto land navigation.

However, the testing doesn’t end there. Throughout the week, Soldiers must pass 10 different stations that tested their knowledge of tactical combat casualty care, weapons functions checks and basic knowledge of different weapon systems, patrolling and tasks associated specifically to the badge they were testing for.

For example, the EFMB conducts three testing lanes with a varying number of evaluated skills. These lanes test the practical ability and keen eyes of candidates while performing evacuation and warrior skills tasks.

“EFMB is a test of a candidate’s attention to detail,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Bland, flight paramedic, 2nd Battalion, 4th General Support Aviation Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Inf. Div. “All of the grade sheets and standards are published and that is really where the rubber meets the road.”

Soldiers are graded on each task to a strict standard. Participants are eliminated if they receive two no-go’s on a task. Soldiers who complete all the tasks perfectly are recognized as earning their “True Blue” for EIB, “Perfect Edge” for ESB and “No Blood” for those who earned their EFMBs with perfect scores.

Despite a plethora of rigor during the first few days of competition, the remaining Soldiers enter the final event, a 12-mile road march completed within three-hours. After crossing the finish line, Soldiers must disassemble and reassemble their weapon within five minutes.

“If you feel like you are losing yourself when you’re training up, you get everything right, you are in line to test out, and your mind goes completely blank, try to remember the Soldiers who are motivating you,” Shabelina said. “For me it’s my first sergeant and my team leader.”

In the end, 172 out of 924 Soldiers earned one of the E3B awards. Ivy Division alumni were able to pin the respective badges onto the recipients during the award ceremony at the conclusion of the final event.

Story by SPC Jason Klaer

Photos by PVT Cecilia Ochoa and SPC Mark Bowman