Rockwell in one of the U . S . Air Force ’ s air operations centers . Photo by U . S . Air Force . leadership roles as chief counsel for major military installations around the world . He has lived on three different continents and relocated his family 15 times over the past 30 years , and he remains passionate about serving alongside his fellow service members .
“ In terms of time , half of my career has been spent overseas , and in terms of location , I ’ ve probably been to more countries than I haven ’ t been to ,” he says . “ Service and country connotes team and being part of something that represents something bigger than oneself . As part of that team , every member has an important role in bridging disciplines , expertise , diversity of views and history . With regard to the last , as one of the elders in a force made up of much younger generations , I do have more of a historical perspective from serving during the Cold War , two Gulf Wars and in operations involving the Balkans , East Timor and Libya . Bridging this span of time , capturing lessons learned and evolving to the future is important . As for the practice of law itself , while time has given me experience to share and teach the law , the young airmen and JAGs have a lot to share and teach us elders about facts , particularly in an age of information and technology . There is also a bridging that occurs with practicing the art of law in a predominantly STEM organization like the Air Force . It ’ s fascinating to reconcile the differences in disciplines , approach and analytical thinking .”
Over the course of his career , Rockwell has authored various national security laws
and articles , advancing Department of Defense ( DoD ) and U . S . government interests in military justice , government liability for civilian use of global positioning systems , customary international law , European Union law , rule of law development in Romania , the solidarity movement in Poland , interagency legal capability for rule of law development and state building and the politics of strategic aircraft modernization . He also wrote several chapters in the DoD Law of War Manual , Army Operational Law Handbook and Air Force Operations and the Law Handbook .
Before becoming deputy JAG , he served as the senior legal advisor to the Air Force Special Operations Command , U . S . Air Forces in Europe and Air Force Space Command — three of the 10 major Air Force command organizations . He has also served as the commander of the Air Force Legal Operations Agency , which provides full-spectrum legal support to commands worldwide , including criminal justice and civil law litigation expertise , and legal education to the force through the judge advocate general ’ s school .
Rockwell has been highly decorated during his service , receiving awards and honors such as the Legion of Merit , Defense Meritorious Service Medal , Department of State Medal , Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with four oak clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster . While he has clearly carved out a successful career , he maintains that the success has little to do with him personally .
“ Before I joined the greatest Air Force in the world 30 years ago , I attended the greatest university in the world for seven years . Before that , I was raised by the greatest parents , grandparents and family in the world . Along the way , I married the greatest woman in the world , and we had the two greatest children in the world ,” he says . “ I ’ m a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell ’ s thesis in his book , ‘ Outliers ,’ positing that environment , opportunity and mentoring lead to individual success . Any success I ’ ve experienced has little to do with me individually . It ’ s the environment I ’ m blessed to be part of , provided by my family , my education and the organization and service I belong to .”
While he has traveled the world and currently resides in Washington , D . C ., Rockwell is still loyal to his alma mater , West Virginia University ( WVU ), where he received a bachelor ’ s degree in accounting and his Juris Doctor from the WVU College of Law . He also earned master ’ s degrees in air and space law from McGill University in Montreal and national security studies from the National Defense University ( NDU ) in Washington , D . C .
“ McGill and NDU are fantastic institutions , but I would have attended WVU for all of my formal education if I could have ,” he says . “ I ’ m a Mountaineer through and through . My wife and I are from southwest Pennsylvania , about 25 miles from Morgantown . We ’ re both Mountaineers , and we ’ ll always be Mountaineers .” •
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