Grissom welcomes new face to legal team Published Aug. 27, 2013 By Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- There was Mason, Matlock and now McKissack. While the first two are famous small-screen lawyers, there is nothing fictional about Maj. Jeremy McKissack, who recently took over as the 951st Reserve Support Squadron staff judge advocate here. McKissack took over for Lt. Col. Frank Hollifield, who took an assignment with Air Force Special Operations Command. In his new role, the major will work with closely with Lt. Col. Stephen McManus, 434th Air Refueling Wing SJA, to provide legal service to the base. Grissom's legal office is two-fold with the 434th ARW legal team primarily handling military justice issues during unit training assemblies and the 951st RSS providing the base with a full-time JAG through the week. The major will also support Minneapolis-St Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn., with legal services. In his previous assignment, McKissack served as a senior defense counsel for the Nellis Air Force Base region, which included providing legal defense services for accused Airmen at Nellis AFB, Nev.; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Los Angeles AFB, Calif., Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; March ARB, Calif., and the Presidio of Monterey, Calif. One of the things McKissack said he is most excited about is diving into multiple facets of at the stand-alone reserve base. "Here, it's not just focused on one subject matter like military justice; it looks like it's going to be everything from labor law, contracts, environmental, along with legal assistance," he continued. "My goal is to provide prompt, correct and candid legal advice to the commanders and to anyone else who comes to see me, while offering a full range of legal services to the base community." Throughout his 9-year career, McKissack said he has enjoyed working with Air Force reservists, a relationship that started back in 2005 as Lt. Col. Stephen McManus, 434th ARW SJA, mentored a then Captain McKissack. "I remember Colonel McManus from when I was a young JAG," he recalled. "One of his additional duties is to head the (Training by Reservists in Advocacy and Litigation Skills, or TRIALS,) program, which helps young attorneys improve their courtroom skills, and I remember his team coming to help us at Lackland AFB, (Texas)." Bringing that relationship back full-circle, McKissack said he's looking forward to working hand-in-hand with someone who helped start his JAG career. "It's really going to be a great relationship because of all his experience and because we really share the same mission, which is to provide the best legal services to the community and to the commanders," he concluded. "It shows how small the JAG Corps really is." Grissom is home to the 434th ARW, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command, as well as three Army Reserve units and a Marine Corps Reserve Communications Detachment. Stay connected with Grissom and the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
