Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Site

Who Is Entitled To Legal Services?

The following persons are eligible to receive legal assistance pursuant to AR 27-3:

1. Active duty members of the Armed Forces of the United States and their family members,
2. Reserve component members of the Armed Forces who are serving on active duty pursuant to orders for more than 29 days and their family members,
3. Reserve component members of the Armed Forces who are serving on active duty pursuant to orders for 29 days or less and their family members, as approved on an individual basis by the Chief, LAD. Assistance will only be provided for premobilization issues and personal legal problems and needs that may adversely affect readiness or that have arisen from or been aggravated by military service, including military administrative matters,
4. Military retirees and their family members,
5. Surviving family members of active component and retired members of the Armed Forces (see para 2-5 a(5)),
6. Department of Defense civilian employees for assistance with reports of survey. Additional assistance will be available on a case-by-case basis as approved by the Chief, LAD for those DOD employees who are classified as mission essential or emergency essential IAW AR 27-3, para 2-5a(6)(e),
7. Primary next of kin for matters relating to the settlement of the estates of active and reserve component Soldiers who die while in a military duty status and for DOD civilians who die while serving outside the U.S. with the Armed Forces,
8. Fiduciaries, including those who hold powers of attorney, for active and reserve component Soldiers and DOD civilians serving in a combat zone or on a contingency operation. This assistance is limited to those services normally provided to the client if he or she was physically present,
9. Members of other military forces while serving in the U.S. and their family members who accompany them, and
10. Prisoners who, although discharged from military service, still remain confined in a U.S. military confinement facility.