Diana Woodward Hagle, 27 Years of Duty

Colonel Diana Woodward Hagle

Since I was always a reservist during my 27 years of service in the California Army National Guard and the US Army Reserves, I also had my day job as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice.  California is something like the 8^th largest economy in the world, so the State Military Office is like that of a small country, with an Army Guard, an Air Guard and—for a while—a Navy Militia.

My assignments

• Defense Counsel, 40^th Infantry Division (Mech), CALARNG
• Staff Judge Advocate, HQ, 175^th Medical Brigade, CALARNG
• Staff Judge Advocate, STARC HQ(-), CALARNG
• Command Judge Advocate, 6045^th Garrison Support Unit, USAR

My job in all these assignments was to brief commanders and the troops on military legal matters: the Law of War (Geneva Convention, Rules of Engagement, etc.); the UCMJ; military-civilian issues (e.g., one of our units was deployed to Los Angeles during the Watts riots; our Huey helicopters—the medical brigade had 26 Hueys and crews—were activated during Desert Storm, fires and other natural disasters; service-connected deaths).  Our MEDSOM (medical supply, optics and materiel, our logistics unit) was also deployed to Desert Storm on short notice at Christmas time, so I wrote wills, powers of attorney, and guardianship papers non-stop.  The week of September 10^th, 2001, I was scheduled to be on duty with my staff at Camp Roberts, part of the mobilization team for National Guard soldiers deploying to Kuwait for Patriot missile duty; Tuesday September 11^th, of course, was the day when the world changed forever—I felt that day that I was in exactly the right place for me to be. 

The photo shows a Medevac exercise with our subordinate unit, the 126th Med Co (AA) with their 26 Hueys. I’m probably in this picture as the patient in the litter—there were only two people in our medical HQ who were not “medical” or “religious” under the Geneva Convention: myself and my legal assistant, so we were often strapped into litters, carried and loaded into the Hueys and then flown somewhere as training for the medics and pilots.

 

The “capstone trace” (then-current military speak for a reserve unit’s duty station if deployed) of the Medical Brigade was Korea, to support troops in the event of war on the Korean Peninsula.  Therefore, I—either individually or with HQ—spent a lot of time in northern Japan (Camp Chitose Higashi, Hokkaido, and Sendai) in January of each year training with our counterparts in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.  In Korea, we trained with ROK soldiers and US Army active duty troops and yearly as part of Exercise Team Spirit, an Army-wide operation.

Also, I spent a month at Camp Zama in Tokyo, doing routine legal work for US troops—not just Army—stationed in the area.  I qualified as a Military Judge in 1996 (resident course at the JAG School at the University of Virginia), and spent a month at Fort Bragg getting an additional MOS as Civil Affairs Officer.  I completed US Army Command and General Staff College and US Air Force War College.

I could write a book about each of these assignments, the incredible people I worked with, and the history I witnessed firsthand.  As a bonus, I met my husband, Richard Hagle, DVM, in the medical brigade; he passed away in 2018.

I was the first female JAG officer in the National Guard in the country.  (I always forget about that because I don’t consider it much of an accomplishment…but there it is.)

Also, my last unit, the 6045^th GSU supported Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County. I was the legal officer for the base.  Fascinating and huge place, many square miles, used for specialized air and ground training, abutted Hearst Castle properties, had one of the California Missions (San Antonio de Padua), the old home that Hearst built for his lover, public hunting and fishing opportunities, plus Hollywood used it for movie shoots. 

My military experience was very good to me and for me. I met and worked with people I never would have otherwise met or worked with.  I did things I never would have done or had the opportunity to do. I traveled to places I never would have gone to otherwise or which were closed to civilian travelers.  I worked with foreign nationals toward a common goal.  I was placed in a leadership role that I never would have had otherwise and I learned things that I never would have dreamed of learning.  And, I flew between here and Asia in cargo planes with no windows, slingseats and a porta-potty in the back.

Editor’s Note: Diana’s story was first published on this site in November, 2020.