Mission:
The mission of the Air Force Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program, administered by the Dispute Resolution (GCD) directorate of the Air Force General Counsel's Office, is to match individual ADR needs with Air Force ADR resources, training, and experts, and to continue to serve as the flagship ADR Program of the federal government. This award-winning office maintains a close partnership with the Judge Advocate General and JAGs around the world. The GCD also created and supports the AF Negotiations Center of Excellence to provide ADR skills development to the Total Force.

People:
The ADR Program is comprised of civilian attorneys and a professional staff led by the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Air Force. Our attorneys develop ADR policy and regulations and provide advice, assistance, and training in resolving disputes without resorting to litigation. Areas of expertise include: workplace (EEO, MEO, and labor), acquisition/contract, environmental, and international.

Our professional staff schedules mediations; arranges logistics for trainings and mediations; provides case support for our attorneys; maintains our comprehensive website on ADR in general and the ADR Program in particular; and works to expand the scope of our program through building relationships with top experts in the fields of law and ADR.

Air Force ADR Program Overview:
The Administrative Disputes Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA) requires each agency to designate a senior official to be the agency Dispute Resolution specialist. The ADRA also requires each agency to adopt agency-wide policy and procedures and to provide training on a regular basis for employees involved in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). A number of other statutes, executive orders, regulations, and policies require the Air Force to take steps to promote its use.

The Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) recognized that these mandates cut across all functional areas, to include workplace, contract, acquisition, and environmental matters, and that the key to a successful ADR program would be the integration of ADR efforts across functional lines. As a result, the SECAF issued Air Force Policy Directive 51-12 to formalize the role of the Office of the General Counsel (SAF/GC) in promoting ADR in all functional areas in the Air Force. Among other things, AFPD 51-12 requires the General Counsel's office to develop Air Force-wide ADR policy, programs and procedures to ensure the Air Force develops an integrated approach to implementing the myriad mandates to increase the use of ADR.