Talks Will Examine Challenges of Transitioning to Civilian Life, Courts’ Roles in National Security

Nov. 12 Events Recognize Rutgers University-Newark Student, Employee Veterans

Some 300 military veterans are now part of the Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) student community, thanks to improvements in veterans educational benefits. In addition to these student veterans, many faculty and staff members have served their country as well.  On Nov. 12 an afternoon of free public programs at RU-N will address issues of interest to veterans of all eras, and offer an opportunity for the campus community to recognize and thank those who have served.

The programs begin with “The Mission Continues: A Women’s Perspective on Transitioning from Military Service,” a talk by Rachel McNeil, a former sergeant. The program concludes with, “What Process Is Due: The Role of Courts in National Security,” featuring James E. Baker, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

“The Mission Continues” talk begins at 2:30 p.m. McNeil, a former sergeant,  enlisted in the Army Reserves at age 17 in 2002 and was deployed to Iraq with the 983rd Engineer Battalion from December 2004 - December 2005. In the summer of 2005, her unit was relocated from Tikrit / Samarra to Ramadi, and her primary duty was as a driver or gunner. She also served in Panama in 2007, working on school, clinic, and road development in the Bocas del Toro region.  Since her medical retirement in 2010, she has been involved in the Warrior Writer’s project, which publishes veterans’ stories and artwork. McNeill also is active in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the first and largest veteran's organization dedicated completely to improving the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

 McNeil’s talk is in Room 231, Paul Robeson Campus Center, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

“What Process Is Due: The Role of Courts in National Security” begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Baker Court of the Rutgers Center for Law and Justice, 123 Washington St.  The talk is this year’s Annual Judge Leonard I. Garth Lecture, sponsored by the Rutgers School of Law-Newark. Baker, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, was first appointed by President William J. Clinton for a 15-year term in September 2000.  Baker, who graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, was an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, and also has served as special assistant to the President and legal advisor to the National Security Council, deputy legal advisor to the National Security Council, counsel to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board, and attorney advisor in the Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of State.

Media contact: Carla Capizzi, capizzi@rutgers.edu