The Office of Special Trial Counsel
How Article 24a, UCMJ — enacted in the FY 2022 NDAA and effective 27 December 2023 — created the Office of Special Trial Counsel and stripped commanders of authority over covered offenses.
· 5 min read
Faith, Law, and the Free Society
Faith. Service. Law.
This is where I think out loud about the things that matter most — how faith shapes public life, what the law demands of us, and why community is worth the work.
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Army JAG School: A Complete Guide to the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course
The Army's Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (JAOBC) at TJAGLCS in Charlottesville: schedule, curriculum, daily life, and a week-by-week firsthand account.
· 9 min read
The Yale Divinity School Application Guide: Acceptance Rate, Essays, Degrees, and What to Expect
Yale Divinity School's acceptance rate is roughly 23% for the 2025–2027 cycles. A recent M.Div. graduate's complete 2026 guide: degree options, essays, full-tuition aid, and what to expect.
· 18 min read
What I Write About
Thoughtful writing at the intersection of faith, public service, and constitutional principles.
New Here? Start With These
A curated introduction to the ideas and themes I explore most.
Faith and Public Life
1 Samuel 13:8–14: Why Saul Lost the Kingdom by Half an Hour
1 Samuel 13:8–14 explained: why Samuel’s response to Saul was so harsh, why the army was scattering, and how the rejection relates to 1 Samuel 15.
Service and Sacrifice
JASOC: The Complete Guide to Air Force JAG Training
Everything you need to know about JASOC—the Air Force Judge Advocate Staff Officer Course at Maxwell AFB. Schedule, curriculum, and firsthand tips from a former JAG officer.
Rule of Law and Liberty
The Article 32 Preliminary Hearing
How the Article 32 preliminary hearing works after the FY 2014 and FY 2015 NDAA reforms — narrower scope, paper-based practice, waiver, and the OSTC interaction.
Community and Place
The Inhospitable Table: On Political Hatred and the Death of Civic Courtesy
Governor Sanders was asked to leave a Little Rock restaurant. This essay examines what the Croissanterie incident reveals about political hatred, tolerance, and the slow death of civic life in America.
Recent Writing
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1 Samuel 13:8–14: Why Saul Lost the Kingdom by Half an Hour
1 Samuel 13:8–14 explained: why Samuel’s response to Saul was so harsh, why the army was scattering, and how the rejection relates to 1 Samuel 15.
· 40 min read
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle: Nathanael, Pantaenus's India, and the Armenian Tradition
A scholarly Catholic account of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle — the Nathanael identification, the Eusebius–Pantaenus trace to India, the Armenian Apostolic tradition, and the witness of Catholic liturgy.
· 85 min read
Saint Philip the Apostle: 'Come and See' and the Two Philips of Hierapolis
A scholarly Catholic account of Saint Philip the Apostle—his four Johannine scenes, the Two Philips problem at Hierapolis, and the witness of Catholic liturgy.
· 72 min read
Mary, the New Eve: How the Earliest Christians Read the Annunciation as the Undoing of the Fall
The Eve–Mary parallel begins with Justin Martyr around 155, deepens in Irenaeus and Tertullian, runs through every century of the Christian tradition, and was retrieved at Vatican II. A reference-length essay on the typology, its primary sources, and what it does and does not commit a reader to.
· 30 min read
Pope Saint Telesphorus: The Eighth Pope, the First Martyred Successor, and the Long Backdrop to the Easter Quarrel
Telesphorus is the eighth pope and the first Roman bishop after Peter whose martyrdom rests on a primary source. The legendary Christmas Mass and seven-week Lent the Liber Pontificalis later credited to him are a different matter.
· 35 min read
Saint James the Greater: First Martyr of the Twelve, Son of Thunder, and the Long Road to Compostela
A scholarly account of Saint James the Greater—son of Zebedee, brother of John, Boanerges, the first apostle martyred by Herod Agrippa, and the apostle Spain has claimed for twelve centuries.
· 64 min read
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