More than 56 paralegal (27D) Soldiers from over five United States Army Reserve (USAR) Commands participated in the annual Paralegal Warrior Training Course (PWTC) hosted by the United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) from July 21 to August 03, 2024, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

Participants of the PWTC spent a week in the classroom learning about paralegal competencies, and about another week conducting field training exercises that ranged from establishing an Office of the Staff Judge Advocate to area security operations.

The PWTC allows paralegal Soldiers in the ranks of Pvt. to Master Sgt. from the United States Army (Regular Army), USAR, and Army National Guard (ARNG) to enhance their technical and tactical skillsets, with a focus on integrating Army regulations and policies into Large-Scale Combat Operations.

“The PWTC is crucial in ensuring that reserve and active component commanders have multi-faceted paralegals ready to support their missions,” said Sgt. Maj. Brenda Hallows, command paralegal NCO for USARC. "When we evaluate the total amount of paralegals within the Regular Army, USAR, and ARNG, the USAR and ARNG contain 50 percent of paralegals, which essentially mirrors the number of paralegals in the Regular Army. Therefore, PWTC improves the interoperability of all paralegals, particularly paralegals from the USAR and ARNG.”

USARC commands all USAR units and is responsible for overseeing unit staffing, training, management, and deployment. For the USAR, the PWTC allows paralegals to achieve unit training readiness requirements by demonstrating individual and collective task proficiencies, that aligns with the Mission Essential Task Lists of all USAR Commands.

“Paralegals in the USAR who attend PWTC get the premier and most current updates on legal processes and practices,” said Col. David Barrett, acting commander for the Unites States Army Reserve Command Legal Command. “The PWTC provides a unique opportunity for paralegals to cultivate knowledge and mentorship networks with their instructors and fellow students to become versatile stewards of the legal profession.”

PWTC is composed of two segments–the basic course and advanced course. The basic and advanced course focused on topics in various disciplines to include legal assistance, military justice, national security law, contract law, administrative law, and knowledge management tools. Specific to this PWTC, students were immersed into topics and given practical exercises on the Office of the Special Trial Counsel, Army People Strategy, suicide investigations, and Department of Defense Ethics.

“PWTC has allowed me to expand my critical thinking skills on how to effectively navigate the legal processes outlined in the Regular Army, USAR, and ARNG regulations,” said Spc. Johnna Nadeau, paralegal for the 351st Civil Affairs Command. “The instructors encouraged everyone to ask questions and I appreciated their insights on how they approached certain legal issues.”

The instructors of PWTC came from the Regular Army, USAR, and ARNG, which provided cross-cutting best practices associated with operating in the dynamic legal sphere.

“Being an instructor at PWTC is of true importance to me as it allows me to contribute knowledge to paralegals that continue to strengthen our ability to prevail on the future battlefield,” said Sgt. 1st Class Angie Trejo, command paralegal NCO for the United States Special Operations Command. “PWTC is a course that prepares paralegals to become more data-centric and adaptable in conducting legal operations within garrison and contested environments.”

“PWTC is the only course that offers a multitude of acquired knowledge sets and training for all Army paralegals and continues to serve as a building block for career progression in the legal field,” said Master Sgt. Steven Rafanan, course developer for the U.S. Army Reserve Command Legal Command. PWTC is held annually by USARC in the month of July. Contact your training NCO and chain of command for more information on registering next year.