conduct—in other words, that the military justice system had racist elements. T ey also complained that African Americans were assigned to menial and degrading duties on the ship. Twenty-six African American sailors were charged with off enses against good order and discipline. Gunn also says that in cases of all sorts, African
American defendants in military prosecutions often wanted to be represented by African American lawyers, but at that time in the 1970s, there were only six African American Army JAGs in the entire U.S. military presence in West Germany, then a major site for U.S. military bases in the Cold War and a presence that included hundreds of thou- sands of soldiers. “T ere was a recognition by the military of the need for
change,” Gunn says. “Diversity became a national security issue. Without diversity, we were experiencing racial unrest and riots, and we could not have good order and discipline, and without good order and discipline, you can’t have a military.” At the Army, the duty of recruiting more minority
22
lawyers to that branch’s JAG Corps fell to now-retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth D. Gray. In 1972, there were only 16 African American attorneys and only eight female attorneys in the entire Army JAG Corps. Gray, who in 1993 became the fi rst African American lawyer to reach the rank of general in the Army JAG Corps
and held the second-highest-ranking position in the corps, was serving as a young lawyer assigned to the Pentagon in the early 1970s. He worked as a personnel management offi cer and helped launch the process of recruiting African American lawyers to the Army JAG Corps. T e lawyers in the corps, like the JAGs of all the services, not only admin- ister the military justice system but also provide guidance on government contracts, administrative law, environmen- tal law, international law, and many other subjects, and help individual service members, retirees, and their families on a host of issues from wills to leases and personal fi nance. “I thought the programs that we established worked
well,” says Gray, now vice president of student aff airs at West Virginia University. “We entered into an agreement with the National Bar Association, a bar group devoted to the needs of African American lawyers, to help us recruit. We’d set up recruiting booths at their conferences to talk to lawyers and law students. As a result, a military law section was created.” Because of intense eff orts to diversify the Army’s attor-
ney staff , including initiatives by Gray and many others to reach out to African American law students over the decades, at the end of fi scal year 2010 approximately 123, or nearly 7 percent, of the 1,858 Army JAG Corps mem- bers were African American. In 2009, 21.5 percent of Army active duty soldiers were African American.
REAR ADM. NANETTE M. DERENZI
Rear Adm. Nanette M. “Nan” DeRenzi assumed duties as the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy (DJAG) and Commander, Naval Legal Service Command (CNLSC) in August 2009. As the DJAG, she serves as the deputy Department of Defense representative for ocean policy aff airs. As CNLSC, she leads the judge advocates, enlisted legalmen, and civil- ian employees of 17 commands that provide prosecution and defense services, legal services to individuals, and legal support to commands around the world. DeRenzi was born in Philadelphia, and raised in Pennsauken, N.J. She graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University in 1983. She was commissioned through the JAG Corps Student Program and, in 1986, graduated from Temple University School of Law. She later earned a Master of Laws degree (Environmental Law) from George Washington University School of Law. Before her appointment to fl ag rank, she
served as the senior staff judge advocate for Commander, U.S. Southern Command; special
assistant for Legal and Legislative Matters to the Secretary of the Navy; legislative counsel for Environmental Programs in the Navy Offi ce of Legislative Aff airs; and executive assistant to the JAG. In command, she served as com- manding offi cer, Naval Legal Service Offi ce, North Central. Afl oat, DeRenzi served as the Fleet Judge
Advocate to Commander, U.S. 7th and 3rd Fleets, as well as staff judge advocate to Com- mander, Carrier Group 7. DeRenzi began her career as a litigator, fi rst
as a defense counsel and later as a trial coun- sel (prosecution) in Newport, R.I., followed by assignments in appellate defense and civil litigation in Washington, D.C. DeRenzi is admitted to practice before the
courts of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She holds various decorations and awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (four awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards).
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® MAY/JUNE 2012
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