Transitioning of the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment

Honorary Colonels, along with Honorary Warrant Officers and Honorary Sergeants Major of the Regiment provide an invaluable link with history and traditions for today’s Soldiers. The primary mission of these special appointees is to perpetuate the history and traditions of our Regiment, while also serving as mentors, thereby enhancing unit morale and esprit de corps. There can only be one Honorary Colonel appointed at any given time. As such, it is our honor to give thanks to Colonel (Ret.) Dick Gordon, who has served as the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment (HCOR) since 2017, and warmly welcome Colonel (Ret.) Lisa M. Schenck, who assumed the position effective 13 September 2021.

 

Colonel (Ret.) Dick Gordon attended Florida State University for both undergrad and Law School. He graduated from the 96th Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course in October 1981. Among his many notable duty assignments and locations, he served as: the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) for 4th Infantry Division, Fort Benning, and Army Central Command/Coalition Forces Land Component Command; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate (DSJA) for the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry); and Command Judge Advocate for Joint Task Force Somalia. Prior to retiring from military service in October 2007, he served as the Military Judge for the 2nd Judicial Circuit. Until retiring from civilian service in 2018, Dick was the Chief of Administrative & Civil Law for the Fort Benning Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. A National Security Law expert, he wrote the Military Annexes for the Dayton Accords signed in November 1995, and served as a legal advisor for several high-profile events to include: arms control agreements between Bosnia, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslavia; Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and Anti-Personnel Mines; and the Abu Ghraib investigation into detainee abuse. He also served as legal advisor for the ground component commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). During his tenure as the HCOR, COL Gordon served as guest speaker for various official JAG Corps functions, led Leadership Development Program (LDP) events, hosted promotion ceremonies, and contributed to The Army Lawyer, our academic magazine. His service was simply put extraordinary.

 

Colonel (Ret.) Lisa M. Schenck is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professorial Lecturer in Law, and Director of the National Security Law Program at George Washington University Law School (GW Law). In 1983, she graduated from Providence College and commissioned in the Army’s Signal Corps. In 1986, she received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Through the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP), she graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1989. She subsequently received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) (1998) and a Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) (2007) from Yale Law School and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Providence College (2018). During her military service, COL Schenck served in a variety of duty positions to include: Supervising Special Assistant U.S. Attorney; Trial Counsel; Brigade Legal Advisor; Chief, Military Justice, Claims, Legal Assistance, Administrative & Civil Law, and HQDA Criminal Law Division; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate; and Assistant Professor (USMA). In 2002, COL Schenck was appointed as a military judge on the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2003, she received the Judge Advocates Association Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney Award (Army). In 2005, she became the first woman appointed as a Senior Judge on that court, where she served until she retired in 2008. She concurrently served as an Associate Judge on the U.S. Court of Military Commissions Review (2007-2008) and was reappointed in 2019. After retiring in 2008, she served as the Senior Adviser to the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services, before joining GW Law in 2009. She was awarded GW University’s Valor Excellence Award (2014) and the Robert A. Chernak Spark a Life Award for Staff Member of the Year (2015). In 2020, Dean Schenck received the U.S. Navy Superior Civilian Service Award for service on the Executive Review Panel for the Comprehensive Review of the Navy and Marine Corps Uniformed Legal Communities. She has authored Modern Military Justice: Cases and Materials (3rd Ed.) (West Academic 2019) and numerous articles. She also teaches military justice at GW Law as a professorial lecturer in law. Lisa is clearly well suited to serve as the HCOR.

 

We extend our most sincere and heartfelt thanks to COL Gordon and his wife, Ellen, for their continued service and stewardship as the HCOR. We look forward to the extraordinary contributions COL Schenck will make during her tenure. Until then, “all Honorary Colonel of the Regiment policies and procedures remain in effect.” Great start, Lisa!

 

 

STUART W. RISCH

Lieutenant General, USA

The Judge Advocate General