Mary Walker
Mary Walker is the controversial General Counsel of the Air Force and chief legal officer of the Department of the Air Force in the Bush Administration. She first gained notoriety in the Air Force Academy sexual abuse coverup scandal, and later ignited a firestorm of controversy heading a U.S. Department of Defense group that issued controversial report Legal Arguments for Avoiding the Jurisdiction of the Geneva Conventions in March 2003.
An anonymous JAG officer told The American Lawyer magazine, "We've always had some problems with political appointees," he says, "but it's unusual to have someone who totally disregards military experience." Another lawyer with decades of Pentagon experience says, "Walker is the most political GC I've ever seen." [1]
A devout Evangelical Christian, Walker co-founded a San Diego group called Professional Women's Fellowship, an offshoot of the Campus Crusade for Christ. The Professional Women's Fellowship removed all mention of Walker from their website once her involvement in the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib became public.
Ironically, Walker gave an interview to the Christian management journal Ipriority a month before the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in which she declared "I am in the people stretching business". [2]
Contents
Involvement in Air Force Academy
The Denver Post reported that despite 142 allegations of sexual assault at the Air Force Academy between 1993 and 2002... Walker concluded "there was no systematic acceptance of sexual assault at the academy."[3]
Political Highlight
Walker successfully lobbied Air Force Secretary James Roche to have him give her control of the career military Judge Advocate General staff of the Air Force.
Career Highlights
- U.S. Air Force, 2001-present, General Counsel
- Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison, Partner, 1995-2001
- Luce, Forward, Hamilton and Scripps, Partner, 1991-1995
- U.S. Department of Energy, 1985-1988, Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health
- U.S. Department of the Interior, 1984-1985, Deputy Solicitor
- U.S. Department of Justice, 1982-1984, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division
Education
- Bachelors of Arts, University of California - Berkley.
- Juris Doctor, Boston University School of Law.
External links
- Vivia Chen, "Interrogation Memo Puts Air Force Counsel in Hot Seat", The American Lawyer, June 8, 2004.
- Mike Soraghan and Erin Emery, "Air Force brass 'well aware' of assaults: Academy commission assigns blame, names officials who ignored scandal", Denver Post, September 23, 2003.
- Pam Zubeck, "Air Force General Counsel barred from lawyer inquiry, The Air Force Gazette, October 2, 2004
