320th Air Expeditionary Group Contact: Theresa A. Keene Captain, United States Air Force Staff Judge Advocate or Antoinette M. Patterson Technical Sergeant, United States Air Force Law Office Manager 320th Air Expeditionary Group Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 711 Nelson Drive, Ste 118 Offutt Air Force Base, NE E-mails: theresa.keene@offutt.af.mil and antoinette.patterson@offutt.af.mil Law Day in the Desert Activity Summary: The 320th Air Expeditionary Group Legal Office soared with an unusual mixture of activities to allow over 2,000 personnel to celebrate Law Day 2001. Proudly serving in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH south of the Iraqi border, Eskan Village enjoyed law-related movies, law-related foods, a Fun Run and law-related library book displays all on a one-mile square compound in a hostile fire, combat zone. Also, the Legal office took Law Day 2001 to the American International School in Riyadh to encourage students to celebrate their freedom with a glimpse at the future opportunities available to them. Activity Narrative: In honor of Law Day 2001, the 320th Air Expeditionary Group celebrated the day despite thousands of miles separating Saudi Arabia and the United States. Together, we brought Law Day to a captive audience of 2,000 combatants and non-combatants serving in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH ensuring Iraqi compliance with the no-fly zone. To celebrate, the following activities were planned and executed: Visit to American International School in Riyadh: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is home to many Americans with high-school aged children who attend the American International School. At the school, we worked with the principal and Administrator to schedule a Law Day 2001 briefing. In advance of the briefing, we prepared interactive materials ranging from the rights of an accused in Saudi Arabia versus the United States to information about applying to law school and military service academies. Following the briefing, students expressed surprise to see military women serving in Saudi Arabia, a country which requires women to completely cover in a black drape known as an “abaya.” Additionally, one student was able to obtain a summer internship with the Army with the help of our Law Office manager, TSgt Patterson. Living in conditions that virtually prohibit travel into downtown Riyadh except under unusual circumstances, we planned to bring Law Day to the personnel serving at Eskan Village through the following innovative methods which were publicized in advance of and after Law Day. Law-Related Foods: We worked with the Mirage Dining Hall staff to “name” all the mirage foods in honor of law for lunch and dinner. Law-Related Movies: With few television channels available in English, the 320th Air Expeditionary Group Services Squadron airs movies on three channels for Eskan Village. In advance of Law Day, we worked with the Services staff to air only law-related movies for Law Day 2001. Library Law-Related Book Display: We worked with the Library to set up numerous law-related book displays. We created bookmarks to highlight Law Day and hung flyers all over the library and passed both items out at all staff meetings. Law Day Fun Run: We volunteered to sponsor a Law Day Fun Run on 5 May 2001 to more than 100 participants who ran both 5K and 10K. Intranet Website: Available only to Eskan Village personnel, we installed the first-ever Legal Office Web site in anticipation of Law Day 2001. The Web site is now a permanent fixture at Eskan Village and offers a wide range of legal information and links. Law Day 2001 expanded awareness of the rule of law in ways that might seem humorous, but reached all Eskan personnel. Serving in a country that has very different concepts of “freedom,” while living on a square mile gave us the opportunity to remind both the high school students at the American International School in Riyadh and Eskan Village that freedom is a tenet that cannot be forgotten. Fighting to preserve the protection of freedom, military personnel at Eskan Village respected and deeply understood the personal sacrifices they make to protect freedom every day. Our efforts on Law Day 2001 increased awareness of the services offered by the Legal Office. Specifically, aside from viewing the Legal Office as a detached entity mainly assisting and advising commanders, military personnel of all age groups and ranks viewed our office as approachable and proactive. In a deployed environment close to Iraq, we believe we delivered Law Day 2001 to a population who would have otherwise had no exposure to Law Day without our efforts. Serving as the unstoppable judge advocate/paralegal team, we accomplished outreach to over 2,000 personnel with only two people, no budget and limited resources. It has been our honor to bring inspiration and cheer to the desert of Saudi Arabia in the form of Law Day 2001 while serving our nation with pride. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization