Civilian AFOSI attorney receives Air Force level JAG award

  • Published
  • By Mr. James C. Dillard
  • AFOSI Public Affairs
MCB QUANTICO, Va. --  Captain America is well known for his patriotism, courage and his trademark red, white and blue shield, but despite all of his vaunted attributes, he is simply a comic book hero, and in the real world, it's the everyday people doing extraordinary things who make the world a better place - one such person is Ms. Diana Berg.

Ms. Berg was recently selected as the 2010 Air Force recipient of the James O. Wrightson, Jr. Award, an honor bestowed upon the outstanding civilian attorney of the year in the Air Force Judge Advocate Corps.

Her selection for the award was based off of her work as the chief of information law for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations judge advocate general's office. To receive the award, an attorney must demonstrate excellence, initiative, productive attorney/paralegal teaming and devotion to duty. All civilian attorneys assigned to the Air Force Judge Advocate Corps are eligible for the award.

The Wrightson Award was established in memory of Mr. James O. Wrightson, Jr., who formerly held the position of Chief, Military Affairs Division, U.S. Air Force Office of The Judge Advocate General.

If you walk into Ms. Berg's office in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Headquarters, the first thing you might notice is a colorful assortment of Captain America collectibles. From the miniature Captain America bobble head that never seems to stop nodding, to the Captain America mask and shield mounted on the wall, someone could examine her collection a dozen times and find something new each time.

"When you're at work, you want to surround yourself with things that make you smile," Ms. Berg said. "Captain America is an American military hero, so I also think that fits in with what we do here."

Ms. Berg began her collection 6 years ago, when she was still an active duty Air Force officer. It began with a Captain America figure that's carrying an American flag and steadily grew from there. She describes her collection as unique and patriotic, which is what originally attracted her to Captain America memorabilia.

"I think we all try to be heroes in what we do," Ms. Berg said. "That's a big part of what Captain America is all about."

You don't have to be Captain America, however, to go above and beyond. Ms. Berg proved that with her creative approaches to handling Freedom of Information Act law and her willingness to contribute wherever necessary.

"Diana is a true AFOSI team player," said Col. Jim Bitzes, OSI staff judge advocate. "There's no section in my directorate her efforts haven't touched - no portfolio she hasn't served in the 'pinch-hitter' capacity. Her attitude toward her work, her coworkers and this command has been nothing short of phenomenal."

Among her many achievements recognized with this award was eliminating the largest JA FOIA backlog in the Air Force, reducing five-month FOIA legal reviews into less than one duty day on average, and providing legal review of 416 FOIA requests, equaling more than 34,000 pages.

"We were trying to find ways to streamline the FOIA review process so that we could put out a quality product in as little time as possible," Ms. Berg said. "Mr. Todd Fuss and I worked with everyone in OSI's information release branch to brainstorm ideas and eliminate unnecessary steps. We implemented the best ideas and significantly slashed our processing times."

Ms. Berg started off working with OSI as a special agent, but left the command when the Air Force offered her an opportunity to become a lawyer. When she finished law school, she eventually came back to OSI as a military attorney. When she retired as a lieutenant colonel after 21 years of service, she once again came back to work for OSI, but this time as a civilian.

"I love it here," she said. "I've always felt like OSI was a big family. The camaraderie is incredible. I'm really lucky to have the opportunity to work with such great folks."

Colonel Bitzes recognized that Ms. Berg's selection for the Wrightson Award was due, in part, to the strong teamwork displayed in the OSI JAG office.

"Diana would be the first to acknowledge that she's part of a team here," Colonel Bitzes said. "As teams go, I've never led better, and her recognition reflects positively on all my folks. I am very proud of them all."

Her award also reflects positively on the entire OSI organization as a whole.

"I would like to think that this means nothing but good things for AFOSI," Colonel Bitzes said. "I am convinced that when the folks in the JAG Corps hear or read her citation, they will be awestruck at the really 'cool' work legal professionals at AFOSI get to do on a daily basis. This can only help us attract the 'right' JAGs and paralegals to our door."

In a letter Ms. Berg received from Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, The Judge Advocate General for the Air Force, he said, "I am delighted with your selection as the winner of the 2010 James O.Wrightson, Jr. Award. Congratulations on your selection for this prestigious award."

Like her Captain America collection, Ms. Berg describes her job with OSI as unique, particularly in the JAG world.

"It's a great job," she said. "Once you get here, you realize how extraordinary and broad the AFOSI mission is, to include counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, and defeating cyber attacks, in addition to investigating fraud and other major criminal offenses.

"Each one of these areas has its own body of law. As an attorney, you get to do things here you just don't touch anywhere else. It's an amazing experience."

Ms. Berg will be presented her award in October at the Keystone Leadership Summit in New Orleans, La.