Marine Corps Air Station New River Military Lawyer
MCAS New River sits at the heart of one of the largest concentrations of military aviation power on the East Coast, home to Marine attack helicopter squadrons, tiltrotor aircraft units, and the operational support infrastructure that keeps II Marine Expeditionary Force moving. The servicemembers stationed there, and those assigned to the adjacent Camp Lejeune installation complex, face a distinct set of legal pressures that grow directly from the mission tempo, the culture, and the administrative machinery of the Marine Corps. A Marine Corps Air Station New River military lawyer needs to understand that environment from the inside, not just read about it.
Whether a Marine at New River is facing a court-martial, a fitness-for-duty evaluation, an administrative separation board, or a medical review that could strip away years of benefits, the outcome of that proceeding will ripple through the rest of that person’s life. Disability ratings, characterization of service, security clearances, career trajectories, VA access – all of it hangs on how the case is handled. That is not an abstract observation. It is the daily reality for the men and women who call Citizen Soldier Law when they need representation they can trust.
Citizen Soldier Law handles military legal matters on a national basis. Servicemembers at MCAS New River and the broader Jacksonville, North Carolina military community can reach our team regardless of where the case is ultimately adjudicated. Our attorneys have served in uniform, argued before military boards, and navigated the same Title 10 administrative systems your case will move through.
What a Military Attorney at New River Actually Handles
- Courts-Martial Defense: Marine Corps courts-martial proceedings at and around MCAS New River are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and processed through the II MEF legal structure. Charges ranging from AWOL and drug-related offenses to assault and fraternization carry consequences that include federal conviction, punitive discharge, and the loss of all veteran benefits tied to honorable service.
- Medical Evaluation Boards (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Boards (PEB): Marines and Naval aviators at New River who are injured or develop conditions that affect their duty performance may enter the Integrated Disability Evaluation System. An MEB documents the condition; a PEB determines fitness and, if the servicemember is found unfit, sets a disability rating that determines separation or retirement pay. These ratings are frequently contested and often undervalued without legal representation.
- Administrative Separation Boards: The Marine Corps uses administrative separation as a tool for misconduct, performance failures, and medical processing. An other-than-honorable or general discharge characterization from a separation board can permanently close the door to VA healthcare, the GI Bill, home loan benefits, and civilian employment in security-clearance fields.
- Officer Administrative Actions: Officers at New River facing show cause proceedings, non-judicial punishment at senior grades, or adverse fitness report actions need representation that understands the difference between the officer and enlisted administrative systems and how each proceeding affects promotion eligibility and retirement.
- Enlisted Administrative Actions: Non-judicial punishment under Article 15, letters of reprimand, and adverse evaluations can derail an otherwise strong military career. Marines have rights during these proceedings that are too frequently waived without understanding what is actually at stake.
- Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC): Marines separated from service with combat-related conditions may qualify for CRSC, which allows concurrent receipt of both disability retired pay and VA compensation. Qualification criteria are specific and the application process is adversarial in practice, even when it does not feel that way on paper.
- Discharge Upgrades and Records Corrections: Marines who separated with less than fully honorable characterizations, or whose records contain errors that affected disability ratings or benefit eligibility, have avenues for correction through the Board for Correction of Naval Records. These applications require both legal and medical expertise to be effective.
Why Citizen Soldier Law Serves MCAS New River Servicemembers
Citizen Soldier Law was founded in 2013 specifically to represent servicemembers and veterans in the legal proceedings that military life generates. The firm’s founding attorney, Thomas Roughneen, earned his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and later completed a master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. Roughneen has served as both an active duty and reserve JAG attorney, which means he has sat on the government’s side of these proceedings and understands how military legal machinery actually operates from the inside out.
The firm brings over one hundred years of combined military service across its attorneys and staff, including veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. That depth of experience matters in military law because so much of what happens in a court-martial defense, a PEB appeal, or an administrative separation board depends on understanding unit culture, command climate, and the practical realities that formal legal rules never fully capture. The team also includes a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO, and Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D., a board-certified physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who works directly on cases involving physical disability evaluations. Having a physician embedded in the legal team changes what is possible in MEB and PEB representation. Medical arguments that other firms outsource or skip entirely become a central part of how this firm builds a case.
Citizen Soldier Law is a national practice for military and disability matters. Marines at MCAS New River do not need to find a local Jacksonville attorney who handles military cases occasionally. They can work with a firm whose entire identity is built around this population and these proceedings.
What Marines at New River Face Before and During Legal Proceedings
The operational tempo at MCAS New River is high. The Marine Corps aviation units based there, including assault support and attack helicopter squadrons, deploy frequently, train continuously, and operate in conditions that generate both physical injury and behavioral stress. That environment produces a specific pattern of legal situations.
Physical injuries from aviation operations, training accidents, and prior combat deployments push Marines into the MEB system, often while they are still trying to continue their service. The IDES process – the Integrated Disability Evaluation System – is supposed to evaluate a servicemember’s fitness for duty and assign appropriate disability ratings. In practice, it frequently undercounts conditions, misses secondary diagnoses, and produces ratings that do not reflect the actual severity of what a Marine is living with. The window to challenge those ratings is narrow, and the consequences of accepting an inadequate rating last a lifetime.
On the disciplinary side, the culture of accountability in Marine aviation units is intense. Incidents that might be handled informally in other branches or other services tend to generate formal proceedings in the Marine Corps. A Marine who requests mast, faces NJP, or is referred to an administrative separation board needs to understand that these proceedings are not informal conversations. They produce permanent records. A military attorney serving New River-area clients understands that distinction and knows how to respond accordingly.
Security clearance issues are also particularly acute at an aviation installation. Many billets at MCAS New River require Secret or Top Secret clearances. Adverse actions, drug-related findings, financial problems, or misconduct that results in a formal proceeding can trigger a security clearance review. That review, if it results in revocation, can effectively end a career regardless of whether the underlying military case is resolved favorably. Representation that addresses both the primary proceeding and the clearance implications simultaneously is not optional in those situations.
When to Contact an Attorney and What to Do First
If you are a Marine at MCAS New River and you have been notified of pending NJP, referred to a medical evaluation board, served with separation paperwork, or told that your case is being investigated by NCIS, the time to call is now rather than after you have already made decisions that cannot be undone. The most common and most damaging mistake servicemembers make in military proceedings is responding to the command or the legal office before consulting independent counsel. Government-assigned military defense counsel are often competent and genuinely trying to help, but they carry enormous caseloads and cannot dedicate to your case what a private attorney can.
Military justice proceedings at MCAS New River flow through the installation’s Staff Judge Advocate office and, for more serious charges, through the II Marine Expeditionary Force legal chain. Administrative actions are processed through the relevant command and ultimately reviewed at higher headquarters. Understanding where your proceeding sits in that structure affects how quickly you need to act and what responses are available to you.
For servicemembers entering the MEB and PEB process, the critical step is getting an independent medical review of your records before the MEB report is finalized. Once the MEB narrative summary is submitted, the factual record becomes much harder to change. Dr. Tzeng’s involvement at Citizen Soldier Law means that the medical portion of an MEB or PEB challenge is handled with the same rigor as the legal portion, which is exactly what these cases require.
Marines pursuing discharge upgrades or corrections through the Board for Correction of Naval Records should understand that the BCNR is located in the Washington, D.C. area but accepts applications from servicemembers and veterans anywhere in the country. Applications require a complete and documented legal argument, not just a written statement. Gathering service records, medical records, and supporting documentation early in the process makes a meaningful difference in the outcome.
Questions Marines and Their Families Ask About New River Military Legal Representation
Can I hire a private military lawyer instead of using the military defense counsel assigned to my case?
Yes. You have the right to retain private counsel for courts-martial proceedings and for most administrative actions. The government-assigned defense counsel remains available to you, and some servicemembers choose to work with both. In practice, private representation allows for more time, more strategic preparation, and independent judgment that is not subject to the same institutional pressures a government attorney operates under.
What happens if I am found unfit during the PEB process at New River?
A finding of unfit by the Physical Evaluation Board triggers a rating determination. If the rating is below a threshold set by the IDES rules, you are separated rather than retired. The difference in long-term financial and healthcare benefits between a medical separation and a medical retirement is substantial. That rating can be challenged through a formal hearing before the PEB, and having legal and medical representation during that challenge significantly improves the outcome for most servicemembers.
Does a nonjudicial punishment (NJP) show up on my civilian background check?
NJP under Article 15 is not a criminal conviction and typically does not appear on a civilian criminal background check. However, it becomes part of your official military record, which can affect promotions, reenlistment eligibility, and security clearance reviews. Depending on how the NJP is recorded in your service file, it may also influence a future administrative separation board’s deliberations.
My disability rating from the PEB was much lower than my VA rating. Is that a problem?
Military disability ratings from the PEB and VA disability ratings are assigned through different systems with different criteria, and they frequently diverge. A lower PEB rating than VA rating is a common pattern and a common source of financial loss for servicemembers who do not contest it. In some situations, combat-related conditions may qualify a separated Marine for CRSC, which partially addresses the gap. An attorney who handles both PEB appeals and CRSC applications can help you understand what remedies are available and which path makes the most sense for your situation.
I received an other-than-honorable discharge from the Marine Corps years ago. Can it still be upgraded?
Potentially, yes. The Board for Correction of Naval Records accepts applications from former Marines, and the legal standards applied to discharge upgrades have evolved over time, particularly for servicemembers whose conduct was influenced by untreated PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or other service-connected conditions. These applications are not guaranteed to succeed, but they are worth pursuing with proper legal support when the underlying facts support a challenge.
What is CRSC and do I automatically qualify if I was injured in combat?
Combat-Related Special Compensation is a benefit that allows certain retired veterans to receive both their disability retired pay and VA disability compensation without the normal offset that applies under concurrent receipt rules. Qualification is not automatic. The injury or condition must be certified as combat-related through a specific application and review process. Combat-related means the condition resulted from armed conflict, hazardous service, training under conditions simulating war, or an instrumentality of war, and the distinction between combat-related and other service-connected conditions is one the Marine Corps scrutinizes carefully during the application review.
Can an administrative separation board at MCAS New River give me an honorable discharge even if the command wants something worse?
Yes. An administrative separation board is not obligated to follow the command’s recommendation on discharge characterization. The board members hear evidence and argument from both sides and make their own determination. Effective representation at a separation board focuses heavily on building the evidence of a servicemember’s positive service record and presenting mitigating factors that the board would not otherwise hear about without an advocate in the room.
My Marine has been notified of a NCIS investigation but has not been charged with anything yet. Should we wait to get a lawyer?
No. The investigation phase is often where the most consequential decisions get made. Statements made to NCIS investigators before counsel is involved frequently become the foundation of a prosecution’s case. A Marine who invokes the right to counsel immediately and stops talking to investigators preserves options that cannot be recovered after the fact.
How does Citizen Soldier Law handle cases for Marines stationed at New River if the firm is based in New Jersey?
Military and disability law is a national practice area. Courts-martial, PEB proceedings, MEB reviews, BCNR applications, and CRSC determinations all operate under federal rules and involve federal systems that function the same way regardless of where the servicemember is stationed. Our attorneys appear and communicate with commands, boards, and review agencies across the country. Geography is not the obstacle it would be in a state court practice.
What should I bring to an initial consultation with a military attorney about my situation at New River?
Bring everything you have received in writing from your command, the JAG office, or any board or investigative body. That includes charge sheets, administrative separation packets, MEB narrative summaries, PEB findings, letters of reprimand, and any correspondence about your security clearance. Service records and medical records are equally important. The more complete the picture at the outset, the better the assessment you will get about what your options actually are.
Serving the MCAS New River and Broader Military Community Across the Country
Citizen Soldier Law represents servicemembers and veterans on a national basis for military law and disability matters. Our clients include Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and guardsmen stationed at installations throughout the country, including those serving in and around the Jacksonville, North Carolina military corridor that encompasses MCAS New River, Camp Lejeune, Camp Johnson, and the surrounding Onslow County communities of Jacksonville, Richlands, Swansboro, and Sneads Ferry. We also regularly assist servicemembers and veterans in the Triangle area of North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, and Fayetteville, which is home to Fort Liberty and the service population it generates. Our representation extends to Marines and Navy personnel in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Quantico, and the surrounding Hampton Roads region, as well as to servicemembers in Cherry Point, Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, Miramar, and installations across the Pacific and Atlantic commands. Within New Jersey and the greater tri-state area, we represent Guard and Reserve members in Newark, Trenton, Camden, Atlantic City, and communities across Bergen, Essex, Morris, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. Veterans seeking discharge upgrades or records corrections reach us from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and beyond. Military law does not stop at state lines, and neither does this firm’s representation.
Contact a Marine Corps Air Station New River Military Attorney
The legal proceedings that military life generates move fast, and the consequences of a poorly handled case do not reverse themselves. Whether you are a Marine at New River facing a court-martial, a PEB finding, an administrative separation, or a discharge characterization that does not reflect your actual service, you need a military attorney who has been in uniform, understands the systems involved, and has the medical and legal resources to represent you fully. Citizen Soldier Law has served servicemembers and veterans in these exact situations since 2013, and our team of veteran attorneys, former JAG lawyers, and our board-certified physician stand ready to give your case the attention it requires. Call our office and speak directly with someone who understands what you are facing.
