Dayton Docket

By Carole Judge

Skipping classes or disobeying rules was never a possibility in college for Dale Riedel (’04) who attended the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1996. Then, during law school, he took academic responsibility a step further.  He sat in on courses he knew would be on the bar – without credit.

As the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, a position generally the second most senior attorney in legal offices in the Air Force, Riedel’s early work ethic was a fitting drill to prepare him for the complexity of practice that comes with the territory.

“I treated law school like a job,” explains Riedel whose high-level of professionalism equips him for challenging scenarios and cases, from flying on a rescue helicopter to train the crew on “laws of war” to medical malpractice. 

Five years after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy, Riedel was commissioned and working as a military intelligence officer poised for law school. His choice to attend Dayton Law was easy once he was selected for a competitive military legal scholarship program. And although he was stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, he didn’t need to stay.

“Dayton’s additional scholarship was the catalyst,” says the career officer who now earmarks his donations to the law school for special funds that help students in need; because he remembers. 

Not only did Dayton’s Dean’s Scholarship provide the supplementary funds he needed to meet his tuition goal, he also found an environment that facilitated a connection among students, professors and staff who truly cared. 

He also felt fortunate to have found other non-traditional and like-minded friends who treated law school like a job, studying between classes so they didn’t have to study at home at night. Owing a six-year commitment to the Air Force after completing law school, Riedel knew he’d have great opportunities, but he could not have predicted his future.

He began JAG training immediately following graduation and passing the Ohio Bar. It was 2004 and the most visible case was the prosecution of the 9/11 terrorists. Therefore, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was eventually a requisite destination.

Undoubtedly, Riedel’s most interesting challenge was this tour as a senior military prosecutor for the Military Commissions, prosecuting suspected and accused Al Qaeda members for war crimes in violation of International Humanitarian Law, commonly called the Law of Armed Conflict. 

“I tangentially worked on the case against the alleged mastermind and co-conspirators of the 9/11 attacks,” he explains. Riedel was honored to assist that team, yet it’s still in pre-trial almost 17 years later. More information on this case and others being tried at the Military Commissions can be found at www.mc.mil.

Riedel’s career also includes a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2016-2017. As a Staff Judge Advocate there, he oversaw all legal aspects of the only Air Expeditionary Wing directly employing air power in the war from within the war zone, currently called Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. 

“I led a staff of four military legal professionals and we addressed all legal aspects of our presence at three different combat airfields, including operational, environmental, contract, labor, and criminal law,” he humbly states. Riedel finds the breadth of law within the JAG force fascinating.

“Although it’s specific to military practice there’s complexity and exceptional diversity in the areas of law that we address. In 15 years, I haven’t spent my time doing one thing; it’s always different,” says Riedel who explains there’s no limit to the legal issues he must face and evaluate every day. 

“I can be talking to a two-star general about prosecuting a sexual assault case one minute and then transition into a discussion about whether the general can accept a gift from a local community organization, followed up by a brief session on the general’s personal estate plan.

“We literally do it all and have to be prepared for it,” he adds. He also confesses the least appealing aspect of being a military attorney is dealing with the worst in human behavior that sometimes manifests during military service. 

Despite Riedel’s careful planning and hard work, the path to his life’s work was not always clear.

“I recall someone asking me during 1L orientation what area of law I wanted to practice,” he says. “That was the first time I came to realize that there are substantially different disciplines. I did not have an answer, although I was pretty sure that I had no desire to work in the criminal law field.” 

Ironically, that’s the field in which he has worked the most. Throughout his career, Riedel has been involved with criminal investigations and prosecutions, interspersed with stints working criminal defense, environmental law, contract law, tax preparation, estate planning, personal legal assistance, tort law, medical malpractice, insurance claims, ethics, international law, operational (war) law, employment law, and as an appellate court clerk.  

Today he advises students and job-seekers to be able to display a history of proven, ethical performance.

“When I’ve interviewed and selected applicants for the USAF JAG Corps, these are the qualities I looked for most,” Riedel says. “It wasn’t so much a focus on what an applicant had done in the past, but how they handled certain adversities like performing duties they didn’t necessarily want to perform or how they responded to an ethical dilemma.”

He strongly believes, “This will go a long way towards convincing future employers that you’re worth hiring. My personal approach to law school and duty performance has been to excel on whatever project/task is directly in front of me and maintain my integrity throughout at all costs.” This attitude was expressly highlighted during his commencement address at the 2004 law school graduation and has clearly shaped his career and success.
 
Riedel is married to a fellow 1996 Air Force Academy graduate, Jennifer, a veterinarian who practices small animal medicine wherever life takes them. So far, that’s been all over the world.