This United States Army publication, Field Manual FM 1-04 Legal Support to Operations June 2020, is the Army's manual for operational legal doctrine. This manual provides authoritative doctrine and practical guidance for commanders, judge advocates, legal administrators, and paralegal Soldiers across the spectrum of conflict. It outlines how The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) will be organized in accordance with the Army's modular force design. It also discusses the delivery of legal support to the modular force.
The principal audience for FM 1-04 is all members of the profession of arms. Commanders and staffs of Army headquarters serving as joint task force or multinational headquarters should also refer to applicable joint or multinational doctrine concerning the range of military operations and joint or multinational forces. Trainers and educators throughout the Army will also use this publication.
FM 1-04 applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and U.S. Army Reserve unless otherwise stated.
This manual establishes a foundation for Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) personnel to build upon to provide principled counsel and mission focused legal support to the operational Army. It establishes an understanding of the roles and responsibilities that JAGC personnel have both between different legal offices at different levels of command and between the legal section and the staff of the supported command; all in support of the commander and the Army.
The purpose of this manual is to assist commanders and judge advocates in assigning roles and responsibilities for legal support in the unique areas of operations encountered in this era of persistent conflict. This manual is not intended to provide detailed guidance on every situation that judge advocates will encounter in a deployed environment whether overseas or within the United States. That is not the goal. Just as Army leaders and forces must respond to a broad range of threats under conditions of uncertainty by exercising operational adaptability to accomplish missions, so too must judge advocates.
Operational adaptability requires judge advocates, legal administrators, and paralegal specialists to understand the situation in width, depth, and context, and then to assist the command by providing sound legal advice and support across the core legal disciplines. Every operation is different, and each one requires its own unique legal support. As such, commanders and judge advocates will have to work together to task organize legal support for operations in a way that makes sense and helps accomplish the mission.
This edition of FM 1-04 provides doctrine on legal support across the range of operations and the provision of legal support in specific types or aspects of operations. The appendixes supplement the chapters of this manual.