Paralegal reaches JA milestone

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nathan Maysonet
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  For airmen, the tenet, 'excellence in all we do', is something to strive for daily, and for one airman serving in Laughlin's Legal Office, this couldn't be more true.

Airman 1st Class Trevor Mckey, 47th Flying Training Wing Judge Advocate legal assistant, has helped Laughlin accomplish what no other Air Force wing in 2013 has done: meet 100 percent of the Air Force's Article 15 metrics designed to ensure investigations are proper and swift.

"The legal office does a lot of great things for the base such as powers of attorney, contract law, labor employment and more," said Maj. Matthew Winfrey, 47th FTW staff judge advocate. "Especially important is assisting commanders with keeping order and discipline. McKey managed our Article 15 program while his seniors were on temporary duty assignments or maternity leave. Mckey stepped up even though he was junior in experience, and still in upgrade training, to keep the mission going."

Mckey arrived at Laughlin in July 2012 and immediately found himself taking on considerable responsibilities from day one.

"Here at Laughlin, the size of the office means I get to touch everything from demotions and Article 15s to courts-martial and more," said Mckey. "I'm doing all of it, and I'm usually the first eyes on. The workload was something to get used to, but it's all I've ever known here, so it's what I expect."

There was no room for complaints, explained Mckey, and his supervisors did everything they could to train him and prepare him for the job. A Good thing too, because it wasn't long before Mckey's supervisors were either deployed or on maternity leave, leaving Mckey to handle a bit of everything that fell into JA's hands.

"The biggest hurdle was learning to stay on top of things," said Mckey. "You have to get things done, and you can't let anything pile up. It's all about meeting deadlines."
It's for this reason that JA's 100 percent accomplishment rating regarding Article 15s is an accomplishment, explained Winfrey.

"The Air Force has a standard that says legal offices across the Air Force must meet a goal of 80 percent regarding three core metrics that govern the administering of Article 15s," said Winfrey. "Half of the wings in the Air Force fail to hit that mark, including both larger and smaller bases than Laughlin. Mckey was practically alone, and he surpassed the mark."

The goals are simple but difficult to meet, explained Winfrey. The first step requires that JA reviews and collects information regarding the Article 15 and then advise the commander on the situation, and if need be, offer the Article 15, all within 10 days of the offense. The second step is to close the Article 15 within 20 days of its administration. Lastly, the third step is to ensure that the whole process from discovery to closer is within 30 days.

"These steps are important because it prevents the Article 15 from hanging over a member's head,' said Winfrey. "We appreciate that there are consequences to our actions, but we want to be able to move on with our lives and not have it sit there."

The lack of manpower was the greatest hindrance to the shop meeting the metrics. Normally there would be a captain and two paralegals devoted to an Article 15. Because of Laughlin's size, the assigned captain was usually engaged in multiple items and Mckey was the only paralegal. Sometimes there wasn't even a captain.

"Most of our junior enlisted know how difficult it is to work up the chain of command," said Winfrey. "Mckey has had to do this by constantly going back and forth with supervisors, first sergeants and commanders to get the info needed to speed up the process. I credit Mckey with the unprecedented accomplishment of meeting 100 percent of the Article 15 metrics."

As Mckey explains it, he did not set out to surpass the standards. He simply saw no reason why they couldn't be met by just doing his job.

"We have a small and great office here and everyone does so much that makes it possible to work and for me to find the answers I need," said Mckey. "It's an awesome feeling to know that the hard work through the year is being recognized. It's all about timely justice and upholding standards and meeting our core values."