Lawyer Finds Fulfillment in Leadership Role in Washington

Gordon Tanner is a lawyer and Air Force veteran who currently serves as the Advocate general of aeronautics. He had an active role and civil roles in aviation and is passionate about leadership. Gordon holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Alabama and his JD at the Vanderbilt University School of Law. Then he continued to serve in the JAG body as an active agent in the Air Force.
Here are some insights on Gordon and the work he does as a general consultant for the Air Force.
1. What did you want to be when you were a boy? Do you always want to be a lawyer?
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was growing up. I knew I wanted to be a leader in some field. The public service was important to me from a First age. I knew we were put on earth to do more than make money (or spend). My parents, my church and the community have taught me the importance of leaving a better place because you’ve been there. I also believe in our country. For me, it was important to make a difference. It wasn’t until the university that I realized that being a lawyer could create those kinds of opportunities.
This time of discernment persists also in the law school. Many of my classmates seemed very confident of their career path and legal specialties. Not me. The law school was a time to consider the full range of opportunities offered by legal practice and to choose the ones that most reflected my personal goals.
2. Was it always your plan to join the military?
No. My first experience with the military was through the ROTC, a compulsory course for my first two years in college. While a member of ROTC, I competed and received a full scholarship, which came with an active service commitment of four years. I worked as an active Air Force officer and lawyer for those years. After that, I chose to stay in the aeronautical reserve part-time, while I entered the practice of private law with a large legal firm based in southeastern United States.
As a uniform and civil advocate of Air Force I have been deeply honored to work with uniformed service members around the world who have put their lives online every day to preserve our liberties.
3. You are the Advocate general of the Air Force. What exactly does that mean?
The Director general of the Air Force is a presidential appointed, which requires confirmation of the Senate. The General Council is both the first legal officer and the main official of the Air Force ethic. Like the other lawyers, the Office of the General Council serves its client, the Department of the Air Force, providing its members with counsels and counsels, impartial and independent, a careful defense and a creative solution of the problems, on mission The Air Force to “fly, fight and win in space and cyberspace.” As a general counsel, they supervise around 1 500 lawyers worldwide engaged in specialist practices by law of acquisition to space law.
It is also important to understand that the general counsel is included in the most advanced political discussions in aeronautics. The “critical thinking skills” that we have learned in law school are just as important to make sensitive national policy decisions as in providing articulated legal advice.
4. What is a typical day like for you?
As with most lawyers, there is no typical day. That said, my day always starts with security briefings classified on world events in the previous 24 hours. Then I see the main newspapers and social news media for the elements related to my work. I spend a little time each day meeting with senior aviation leaders-both civilians and uniforms-as we develop policies to improve the lives of our planes and their families, the readiness of balance for the fight today with our preparation To the challenges of the future and finally to make sure that we make every dollar for the sake of our nation and its taxpayers.
My program often includes meetings with members of the Congress and the Senate to discuss the pending legislation affecting the Air Force, as well as issues related to finance and the Air Force’s policy requirements. Finally, I travel around the world to talk to our planes and their families to make sure we are doing our best to provide the support they need to do their job.
5. What are you reading?
The Hidden History: The Secret Origins of the First World War
by Gerry Docherty and Jim Macgregor. This book defines a theory of the historical and social movements and the figures that set in motion the forces that triggered the First World War. Many of Mideast’s current conflicts have arisen from the way the region was divided and organized into states-nations after World War I. The origins of the First World War and its consequences affect us now much more than I had realized. 6. What advice could you give to young lawyers or law firms?
First, beware of debt. If you have student loans or other debt, pay it off as quickly as possible. I know too many young lawyers who are forced to do jobs that they simply don’t want because they are deeply indebted and bound by “golden handcuffs.” “Get your financial home so you can have the choice to do what’s important to you.
Once you have checked your financial situation, don’t put out the opportunity to do the important things in your life. While we are all surrounded by social pressures to act in certain ways or do certain things, it is your life, and you are responsible for it. Claim. Life is “cliché” is not a test of dress “is completely true. If you do not take the opportunity and focus on your goals now, you may find that you are following your dreams too late and will never be reached.