New Bradley Chair

John D. Altenburg Jr. Named The Omar N. Bradley Joint Chair in Strategic Leadership

Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg Jr., retired United States Army deputy judge advocate general and a principal in an international law firm, has joined Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College as the latest recipient of the General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Joint Chair in Strategic Leadership.

He joined the Washington, D.C., office of Greenberg Traurig following an illustrious 28-year legal career in the Army. In his role as deputy judge advocate general, he advised senior military and civilian leaders on critical legal and policy issues and directed the day-to-day operations of approximately 1,800 civilian and uniformed attorneys and 3,000 National Guard and Army Reserve attorneys in providing legal services to more than one million commanders, soldiers and civilians in the Army worldwide. His law practice focuses on contract litigation, primarily in the national-security and homeland-defense sectors and in international law, representing corporations and the government. Altenburg, who retired from the Army in 2002, also served as a consultant to the president of the World Bank Group before joining Greenberg Traurig. In 2004, he took a public-service leave from the law firm following his selection by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to serve as the appointing authority for the system of military commissions that the Bush administration created to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who were charged with war crimes.

Named for World War II hero Omar Bradley, the chair offers a visiting scholar the opportunity to explore with students and faculty at Dickinson and the Army War College, the nature of leadership and how it can best and most ethically be exercised in a world transformed by globalization, technology and cultural change. The joint chair also strives to enhance the study of leadership and to encourage civilian-military dialogue. Previous chair-holders include retired United States Navy four-star Admiral Dennis Blair, who also served as director of national intelligence, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Rick Atkinson.

While serving as the 2010-2011 Bradley Joint Chair in Strategic Leadership, Altenburg will teach a course on Law and National Security at Dickinson.

Altenburg has extensive international experience, having worked with high-level government and corporate officials from around the globe.  For many years, Altenburg was the U.S. member of the panel of experts advising the International Institute for Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy.  He has lectured frequently in Europe, Asia, Latin America and numerous U.S. law schools on topics as diverse as leadership and mentoring, trial advocacy, legal aspects of peacekeeping and combat operations and other national-security issues. Altenburg is the author of "Rhetoric or Reality:  Winning the Battle of Ideas," Barry Law Review (Fall 2006) and "Just Three Mistakes!" Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law (Winter 2009) and the co-author of "Terrorism, State Responsibility and the Uses of Military Force," Chicago Journal of International Law (Spring 2003).

Altenburg has experience in both military justice and operations law including service or legal oversight in Vietnam (1969-1970, 9th Infantry Division), Special Operations (1974-1978, 5th Special Forces Group), Operation Desert Storm-Kuwait/Iraq (1990-1991, 1st Armored Division), Operation Restore Hope-Somalia (1992-1993, XVIII Airborne Corps), Operation Uphold Democracy-Haiti (1994, Joint Task Force 180), Operations Joint Endeavor/Guard-Bosnia and Joint Guardian-Kosovo (1995-2001, Army Staff).

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and international studies from Wayne State University, a Juris Doctor from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law and a Master's of Military Art and Science in military history from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. A graduate of the National War College, Altenburg's decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2), the Bronze Star Medal (2), Master Parachutist Badge, Combat Diver's Badge and Special Forces Tab. 

Published June 5, 2013