MONROVIA, Liberia – The Armed Forces of Liberia graduated 23 students from a military justice administration class at Camp Ware, Aug. 31.

U.S. Army Capt. Camille Horne, deputy general counsel with the Michigan National Guard’s 177th Military Police Brigade, taught the class along with U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Steven Schultz, Michigan National Guard Joint Force Headquarters’ senior paralegal.

The two instructors came to Liberia to assist Operation Onward Liberty in its mission to mentor and assist the AFL as it seeks to develop a national military that is responsible, operationally capable, and is a force for good among the Liberian people.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Hatton, Operation Onward Liberty’s legal mentor, said visits like this one help him in his role as a mentor.

“The class provides a foundation of knowledge upon which the AFL soldiers can build their skills,” he said. “We, as mentors, try to cultivate those skills by helping them take what they learn in the classroom and put it into practice.”

This was the second visit to Liberia for Capt. Horne, whose first visit was in early 2011.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement since I was last here,” she said.

Capt. Horne’s first visit focused on providing basic knowledge about the administration of military justice, and this second visit was aimed at teaching students how to implement the skills learned and assist their commanders in administering military justice.

“The students have taken the information learned from my first visit, and started applying them over the last year,” she said. “This year we’re getting feedback on what works and doesn’t work for their system.”

The class consisted of legal officers and clerks from the AFL and focused on the topics of the non-judicial punishment process, AFL disciplinary boards, legal reasoning and oral advocacy.

Maj. Hatton explained the importance of the class topics.

“It was George Washington who said, ‘Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all,’ we can’t expect to have mission success without good order and discipline.”

Sgt. Schultz said he has enjoyed coming to Liberia and was impressed to see such a young group of soldiers taking the information provided and applying it in their daily work.

“It’s very encouraging to come here and see the progress the AFL is making,” said Sgt. Schultz. “The students are very talkative and engaged in the information.”

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