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L’VIV, Ukraine — During this multinational training exercise, she was the voice of law for both simulation and real world situations. When a commander or staff member had a question on how to legally achieve their goals, she provided both references and answers. She is the judge advocate.
Capt. Karen M. Berggren of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command augmented the 18th Multi-National Brigade as the operational law judge advocate during Rapid Trident 15 at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center July 19 to 31.
Berggren provided the 18th MNB, comprised primarily of U.S. Army forces from the 21st TSC’s 18th Military Police Brigade, with legal advice on funding of simulated humanitarian aid projects within the exercise. She provided real-world legal advice for the simulation, even in ambiguous situations with limited information available. In each situation, typically involving a simulated population of displaced persons, Berggren explained which non-government organizations would assist in real life and how each operation should be funded.
“I want my commander and the staff here to know what to expect if they ever face this kind of situation in the future,” Berggren said. “In a real-world situation like this, the commander and the staff would be experiencing interaction with the U.S. State Department and non-government organizations to receive support. Since those organizations did not exist within this exercise, we created them and simulated their interaction. I tried to bring an element of reality to these situations.”
Throughout the exercise, officers from multiple partner nations including Poland, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine and Canada sought out her expertise. Berggren said her interactions with coalition military members demonstrated their dedication to the mission and their versatility in working effectively with the U.S. military.
“Every component of this coalition is hard working, dedicated and passionate about what we are doing here,” Berggren said. “Their drive and motivation, I think, motivated us to work even harder.”
She also learned about various aspects of foreign military legal standards.
“It was interesting to hear about how some of our foreign partners handle military law and discipline while I was here,” Berggren said. “For instance, in Ukraine, if a Soldier is absent without leave for more than 10 days, they can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Those kinds of facts are fascinating to me.”
In addition to helping the 18th MNB staff and providing legal advice for the exercise, Berggren also serves as a legal adviser to the 18th MP Bde. command team for any real-world situations arising during the exercise.
“Even though the 18th MP (Bde.) command team is here on exercise, they still have a brigade back in Germany that faces challenges requiring legal advice,” Berggren said. “While the commander and command sergeant major are here, I provide them with that advice.”
As the exercise came to a close, the 18th MNB and the 18th MP Bde. command sergeant major expressed the importance of having a legal expert on these exercises.
“As the simulated aspects of this exercise developed, it was very important to have a legal representative here in order to provide that guidance to the brigade commander and ensure we don’t violate any treaties or laws, even in simulation,” said Command Sgt. Maj. James W. Breckenridge. “She has been a valuable asset to the team since she has been here, and I don’t think we would have been as successful as we have been without her.”
