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New JAG comes to Grissom

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Rachel Barton
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
The 434th Air Refueling Wing has a new full time staff judge advocate general.

Maj. Jonathon Hoover from Air Force Reserve Command JAG Corps was assigned to Grissom in July.

Prior to coming here, Hoover was a senior SJA stationed at Nellis, Air Force Base, Nev.

“I was at Nellis for the last two years as the chief of military justice, which is essentially the chief prosecutor, and the chief of operations law,” said Hoover. “What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas and it was a really interesting base where I saw a lot of diverse cases.”

Hoover says he welcomes the change of scenery. An Ohio native, being back in the mid-west for this tour of duty puts him closer to family. It represents an opportunity to expand his areas of expertise.

“I have a lot of experience in military justice,” Hoover said. “Here I do labor law, environmental law and contracts, the exact opposite of everything I specialized in before, but that is by design because the Air Force wants its JAGs to build skills in all areas of legal practice.”

Legal support for labor and contract law is in demand because operations at Grissom rely heavily on civilian personnel and contractors to meet mission requirements.

“Team Grissom is comprised almost exclusively of civilians and contractors between UTAs,” said Hoover. “It is an amazing opportunity to work with civilian personnel, contracting and commanders as the lead JAG ensuring we are taking care of our teammates every day and setting up our reservists to execute the mission whenever, and wherever our nation calls.”

Hoover will work alongside the reserve staff of the 434th legal office, which is comprised of several military lawyers and paralegals as well as his full-time civilian paralegal.

“He is a welcome addition to the JA office here at Grissom,” said Lori Schumacher, paralegal and law office manager for the 434th legal team. “In the short time period since his arrival, we have worked together on many complex legal issues.

We have already established a great collaborative relationship as attorney and paralegal for the legal needs of the mission. I am looking forward to our continuing endeavors working together.”

Hoover began his military career in 2008, when he commissioned into the Marine Corps as an air defense control officer. While assigned as a reservist in the Marines, he obtained a Juris Doctor of Law and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toledo in 2015.

Following two back-to-back deployments, Hoover returned and passed the bar in 2016, and ultimately decided to pursue a commission in the Air Force.

Grissom’s legal office also provides notary services, powers of attorneys, ethics advice, Uniformed Code of Military Justice briefings, and legal assistance to eligible members, based on availability of staff.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. The Citizen Airmen from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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Public Affairs Staff

Material contained on the Official Grissom Air Reserve Base Internet Web Site is written and produced by members of the 434th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office. The award-winning staff includes:

Douglas Hays
Chief, public affairs

Maj. Elias Zani
Public affairs officer

Josh Weaver
Public affairs operations chief

Master Sgt. Josh Weaver
NCOIC of public affairs

Master Sgt. Rachel Barton
Staff writer

Tech. Sgt. Alexa Culbert
Staff writer

Senior Airman Alexis Morris
Staff writer

Airman 1st Class Elise Faurote
Staff writer