Maj. Gen. Christopher Eason , The Judge Advocate General of the Air Force, has implemented several initial reforms across the Department of the Air Force military justice system and the JAG Corps . Together, the changes are designed to reduce avoidable trial delays, increase procedural consistency and transparency, and optimize judicial resources, all while safeguarding constitutional protections for all parties.
Three of the military justice reforms took effect Sept. 29 through updates to Department of the Air Force Instruction 51-201, Administration of Military Justice.
“We are taking a hard look at the military justice system against the backdrop of due process and the Constitution,” Eason said. “The question is how we make it more effective, more efficient and a system commanders want to use to maintain good order and discipline, because that is what supports readiness.”
Preliminary hearing officers now participate virtually in Article 32, Uniform Code of Military Justice, preliminary hearings unless specific circumstances require an in-person appearance (DAFI 51-201, para. 12.9.1).
New operating procedures set strict, standardized timelines for notifying the Central Docketing Office within the Air Force Trial Judiciary and for confirming attorney schedules once charges are referred to trial (DAFI 51-201, paras. 14.6.1 and 14.6.2).
Courts-martial also now formally take precedence over administrative separation boards when defense and trial counsel schedules conflict (DAFI 51-201, para. 14.6.3). This change eliminates avoidable delays caused by routine administrative proceedings and allows attorneys to focus on criminal cases involving potential confinement, punitive discharges and significant liberty interests.
According to Eason, significant delays undermine good order and discipline, command prerogatives, and resolution for victims and accused members. To sustain momentum on military justice reform, Eason chartered a Total Force Military Justice Working Group of active-duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve legal personnel to identify future procedural improvements.
Beyond courtroom procedures, Eason launched wider institutionalized focused on force development, recruiting and senior leader governance. He established the Judge Advocate General’s Advisory Council of Colonels and Chiefs, an advisory body made up of Total Force colonels and chief master sergeants from the field with a direct line to The Judge Advocate General that focuses on issues of JAG Corps-wide significance.
He also created the Law School Ambassador Program to strengthen JAG Corps recruiting. Rather than relying solely on company grade officers from the nearest installation, the program pairs judge advocates directly with their alma maters to leverage existing institutional ties. Under the new program, recruiting is an enterprise-wide responsibility shared by every judge advocate. The JAG Corps has already seen robust and enthusiastic participation from volunteers across the global force.
In the coming months, Eason expects to announce updates to the court-martial expert request and authorization process, modernization of the court-martial docketing process, more opportunities for judge advocates and paralegals to gain operational training and experience, and an official Operations Law development program for Department of the Air Force judge advocates.
These efforts focus on developing JAG Corps personnel, making military justice processes more efficient, upholding good order and discipline, and remaining good stewards of taxpayer dollars while supporting the warfighter and safeguarding constitutional due process. DAFI 51-201 is available at https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_ja/publication/dafi51-201/daf51-201.pdf.