Stuart W. Risch is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

who last served as the 41st

Judge Advocate General of the United States Army The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army (TJAG) is the senior officer of the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. Under Title 10 of the United States Code, the TJ ...

. He was previously the

Deputy Judge Advocate General of the United States Army The Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Army (DJAG)
10 USC 5149 Office of the Judge Advocate General: Deputy ...

and before that the commanding general of the United States Army Legal Services Agency.

Early life and education

Raised in Orange, New Jersey, Orange and

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

, Risch graduated from the

Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. It was the first school in New Jersey to offer the International Ba ...

in 1980. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in government, law and history from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

in 1984. Risch participated in Lafayette's

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

program and was commissioned as a field artillery officer the same year. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Ma ...

in 1987. While in law school, he was a

platoon leader A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...

, executive officer and company commander in the 78th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Reserve. He entered

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. Indian The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the largest active service forces in the world, with almost 1.42 million Active Standin ...

service as a member of the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...

in 1988.

Career

He received his LL.M. degree from

The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

in 1996. He also completed a master's degree in strategic studies at the Army War College in 2007. In June 2021, he was nominated for promotion to

and assigned to replace Charles N. Pede as the Judge Advocate General of the US Army. He assumed his present rank on July 12, 2021, with his promotion ceremony taking place on July 16, 2021.
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References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Newark Academy alumni Lafayette College alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Essex County, New Jersey The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Military personnel from Orange, New Jersey People from West Orange, New Jersey Military personnel from Essex County, New Jersey 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century United States Army personnel 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century United States Army personnel {{US-Army-bio-stub