Photo By Capt. Rick Scoggins | (From left to right) North Carolina National Guard State Judge Advocate, Col. Rick...... read more read more
Subscribe
RALEIGH, N.C. – For the third time since 2008, the North Carolina National Guard’s Staff Judge Advocate’s office received a national award for their legal services operations.
This is the second time the NC National Guard has won the Army Chief of Staff's Award of Excellence in Legal Assistance. The office previously won this award in 2008, and in 2010 the office won the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Assistance to Military Personnel "Distinguished Service Award." It is the only National Guard legal office to have won the Army Chief of Staff and the ABA award.
The Army Chief of Staff Award evaluates different Army SJA legal assistance operations worldwide. The organizations are evaluated on their legal assistance support for mobilization/demobilization of units, service member and family member legal assistance, new innovations in legal assistance and preventive law efforts and publications.
"This award means a lot to us," said Col. Rick Fay, North Carolina National Guard Staff Judge Advocate. "We strive to provide superior customer focused assistance and believe the programs our legal assistance team has developed provide unsurpassed service and accessibility for the Soldiers, Airmen, family members and retirees we serve. While this recognition is fantastic, we won't stop here."
Though all states and Army Reserve legal offices are eligible to compete for this recognition, not all states submit their application. The NCNG’s SJA office received the award for best Army Reserve Component legal assistance.
The NCNG’s SJA provides a wide range of legal services in the areas of estate planning, family law, consumer law, land lord tenant, immigration, and military administrative law. The state office also provides a valuable resource of free tax return preparation and electronic filing by certified IRS volunteers.
A representative of the office said that the wide variety of free legal services available to NCNG members helps relieve them of the burden of civil legal matters and allows them to focus on their war fighting mission.
These services also support the various subordinate commands statewide by improving readiness, morale and the overall quality of the organization.
“Our office takes a client-centered approach by addressing acute legal needs while providing external resources such as Family Programs and the North Carolina Integrated Behavioral Health System which helps to mitigate the risk of future legal issues,” said Army Capt. Robert Hogarth, a legal adviser in the state’s SJA office.
The legal services, coupled with the added resources from family programs and IBHS help make the organization a stronger and more resilient force.
The NCNG’s state office was thankful and humbled overall to be singled out for such an award.
“We are extremely proud of the hard work that our staff puts into providing the best possible legal services to our eligible clients,” said Hogarth. "Coupled with the great support we receive from our Adjutant General and the entire Command team, we will continue to expand and improve our services."
| Date Taken: | 08.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2013 12:19 |
| Story ID: | 112276 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 430 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NC Guard Staff Judge Advocate receives national award, by CPT Rick Scoggins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT