A new Department of the Air Force office for investigating and prosecuting certain major violent and sexual crimes is now fully operational, the department announced Jan. 10, with six field locations scattered around the globe.
The Office of Special Trial Counsel will be responsible for deciding whether to prosecute 14 different offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including:
- Murder
- Rape
- Kidnapping
- Domestic violence
- Stalking
- Sexual harassment
Lawmakers dictated the creation of the office of the special trial counsel in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. It marked a major change to the military justice system, taking decisions about prosecuting such offenses out of the chain of command as the Pentagon seeks to stamp out sexual assault in the ranks and ensure offenders are punished.
“I am committed to the success of this path forward,” Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in a statement. “That success depends on the willingness of victims of these crimes and others to report offenses when they do occur. We know this can be an extremely difficult decision. We will do everything we can to ensure victims are supported and justice is done.”
Guidance issued by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III required that each department’s office be fully operational by Dec. 27, and the Pentagon announced Dec. 28 that it reached that milestone.
On Jan. 10, the Department of the Air Force issued its own release noting that it has established six “districts” to cover all Air Force major commands and Space Force field commands.
- District 1 covers Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Air Force District of Washington and has a location at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
- District 2 covers Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command and has a location at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
- District 3 covers Space Operations Command, Space System Command, Space Training and Readiness Command, Air Force Global Strike Command, and U.S. Air Force Academy and has a location at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
- District 4 covers Air Education and Training Command and also has a location at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
- District 5 covers U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa with a location at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
- District 6 covers Pacific Air Forces and has a location at Kadena Air Base, Japan
“This allows each district the opportunity to not only prosecute the cases across a specific domain, but also allows them to track trends in misconduct involving covered offenses and provide consistent training for younger counsel on that command who will sit second chair,” a senior Air Force official told reporters during a Pentagon briefing.
The official added that the office has 40 prosecutors and six paralegals. By fiscal 2027, those numbers will increase to 66 and 14, respectively.
“Every OSTC litigator is personally selected, specially trained and qualified, and vetted from nomination through certification,” Brig. Gen. Christopher Brown, lead special trial counsel, said in a statement. “This process ensures our counsel are experts in the execution, management and supervision of complex litigation.”
The office also has agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations on its staff to coordinate with local law enforcement when working a case.
“Notwithstanding OSTC’s independent authority, commanders remain a crucial stakeholder in the military justice system with the ultimate responsibility for command climate and good order and discipline within their units,” Brown added. “Commanders of victims and accused are uniquely suited to provide input to OSTC disposition decisions, and we welcome their perspective.”