Arnold Air Force Base Legal Office earns MAJCOM-level recognition for team and individual efforts

  • Published
  • By Bradley Hicks
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  The Arnold Air Force Base Legal Office was recently recognized for its work supporting the base mission. A member of the team was also recognized for the oversight she provides for several programs offered by the office.

The office was named the Air Force Materiel Command Small Legal Office of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2018, and Paralegal Specialist Leslie McGowan was recognized with the Harold R. Vague Award for AFMC Outstanding Legal Service Civilian of the Year for 2018.

McGowan was nominated for the MAJCOM-level award by Lt. Col. Andrew Barker, Arnold AFB Staff Judge Advocate.

“I was a little shocked and surprised because I feel there’s a lot of civilian paralegals out there,” McGowan said. “I’m very happy, and I appreciate Lt. Col. Barker putting me up for the award.”

McGowan has worked at Arnold since 2006. She began her career at the base as a claims examiner before assuming her current role of paralegal specialist.

She has a history of Air Force service, whether active duty or now as a civilian employee. She entered the Air Force after graduating high school. While serving in Japan, she began legal training and served as a military paralegal at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma before her military separation. McGowan then worked as a civilian legal assistant at Altus before joining the Arnold AFB Legal Office.

McGowan currently manages a number of programs offered by the Arnold Legal Office, including its legal assistance program. Through this program, active-duty Air Force and retirees, as well as the dependents of active-duty members, can seek legal advice from those in the office. McGowan also runs the office tax program, in which individuals can schedule appointments to receive guidance needed to help them complete tax forms.

Additionally, she runs the tax program for Rome Laboratory, a small Air Force Base located in Rome, New York, and she acts as the claims examiner for all of Arnold AFB.

Over the past year, McGowan has twice been named AEDC Civilian of the Quarter.

Barker described McGowan as an “outstanding performer” who has excelled in her duties.

“I was delighted that she won, but I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “That’s because Leslie has been a top performer in the legal world for many years who has been recognized many times and is someone who has built good relationships with all the other organizations. She does a great job.”

McGowan competed against 12 other AFMC legal offices for the Harold R. Vague Award. Next month, she’ll vie against other top paralegals across Air Force MAJCOMs for the Air Force Judge Advocate General Award.

While McGowan said she was surprised by her individual award, she was not by the MAJCOM-level recognition earned by the Arnold Legal Office.

“We have a great office,” she said. “We work well together. I can’t say enough good things about what our office does, what the attorneys do.”

The office provides legal support for the command at Arnold AFB, and its efforts impact everything from construction around base to commissary operations. Along with the legal assistance and tax help programs, the office helps with acquisitions for testing and legal review of contracts and agreements.

Working alongside McGowan and Barker in the Arnold Legal Office are Capt. Janet Ashitey, deputy staff judge advocate; Greg Porter, senior attorney advisor; Ryan Mueller, attorney advisor; and Eric Norton, paralegal specialist.

Barker said the Arnold Legal Office is a “great team,” adding he is glad he gets to observe all of the behind-the-scenes work done by its members.

“I’m always glad when this team gets recognized because the legal office has its hand in everything that happens on the base in one way or another through some kind of legal review or approval, and not just the big things like source selection, but lots of small things, too,” Barker said. “These guys work really hard and put in a lot of hours.
“An award like this really helps highlight how important the legal office is and how valuable it is to the efficacy of the base and the base’s mission.”

Five legal offices within the AFMC are considered Small Legal Offices. The office has been recognized before, also having been named the AFMC Small Legal Office of the Quarter in 2017.

Barker said much of the credit for the recognition the Arnold Legal Office has received belongs to leadership across the base.

“The driving force behind our legal office award and also Leslie’s individual award is that we have great leadership here on the base and we have a very important mission, so we are all motivated to support our leadership and the mission here,” Barker said. “They’re good examples, so we strive to make sure that we reach their goals and all that’s expected of us.”