Faces of AFRICOM | Office of Legal Counsel

The "Faces of AFRICOM" project is a recurring series that aims to provide greater insight to different positions across U.S. Africa Command and how those roles support U.S. and African partner shared goals. This edition sheds light on the role of the Office of Legal Counsel from the perspective of Sandra Franzblau, a civilian attorney at U.S. Africa Command. Legal advisors are essential to U.S. Africa Command as they guide commanders and their staff on making informed decisions in accordance with the law. Their goal is to provide advice in a timely and accurate manner to ensure operations and missions are rewarding for both the U.S. military and its partners. "We are not like a traditional legal office, where we are providing legal opinions on other staff's plans. Instead, we are working as staff officers ourselves, providing guidance to the command on security cooperation activities designed to address our partner's capacity and capability gaps," Franzblau said. The Office of Legal Counsel provides legal guidance in various areas, including international law, operational law, administrative law, legal engagements, military justice, ethics/ standards of conduct, personnel matters, fiscal law, and contract law. Almost everything at U.S. Africa Command goes through the Office of Legal Counsel. "We provide essential support to the exercise program, engaging with African military legal partners on how they exercise consistent with the law. We have our own two signature legal engagements - the African Military Law Forum and the Accountability Colloquium. It is one of the most gratifying professional positions that I have ever held," said Franzblau. U.S. Africa Command is one of seven U.S. Department of Defense geographic combatant commands. The command is responsible for all U.S. military operations, exercises, security cooperation, and conducts crisis response on the African continent in order to advance U.S. interests and promote regional security, stability, and prosperity.