Captain Marc S. Brewen, USN (Ret.)

Captain Marc S. Brewen, Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Navy (Ret.) commissioned into the Navy's JAG Corps in March 2000 and served for 24 years. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1971 and is a member of the Tennessee State Bar. Marc attended Washington College from 1989 to 1993, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management. At WC, he was a member and served as President of the Phi Sigs. After graduation, Marc attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas earning a Juris Doctorate in 1996. Marc also graduated with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center in 2013, earning a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in national security law and a certificate in international human rights law.

Marc joined the Navy three years after completing law school. He returned to Knoxville after law school and worked in insurance defense for a small firm. Although happy to again be living close to family, Marc quickly found his professional life unfulfilling. Seeking a change, he applied for a commission in the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, believing it would serve as a tremendous personal experience and a professional steppingstone. But by the time he completed initial officer training and basic legal training in early 2000, Marc knew his decision to join the Navy was far more significant and that the Navy may become his career.

Marc reported to his first duty station, Naval Legal Service Office Pacific, in July 2000. The command was in Yokosuka, Japan, about an hour south of Tokyo by train. Judge advocates assigned to the command were responsible for providing military defense and civil law services to naval personnel and their families throughout the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Northern Arabian Sea regions. Yokosuka is also the home of the Navy's 7th Fleet. Marc was in Japan when the 9/11 attacks occurred and, like everyone serving at that time, was greatly impacted by patriotism and duty as the country instantly shifted to a war-footing. It was only a few months after 9/11 that Marc was assigned to support Amphibious Squadron ELEVEN onboard USS ESSEX (LHD-2), Sasebo, Japan as the ESSEX Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) Staff Judge Advocate (SJA). During a five-month deployment from February to June 2002, Marc was immersed in Navy and Marine Corps amphibious operations, learning the important role a judge advocate plays in an operational command. Marc returned to the United States in the summer of 2002 after this incredible experience, firmly committed to a career in the United States Navy.

A Navy judge advocate is expected to serve as a legal generalist. In this regard, the subject-matter areas of legal practice can change dramatically based upon duty assignment — from one that is naval operations focused, to criminal defense/prosecution, or to serving as a SJA or "in-house" counsel for a shore or installation command. When Marc left Japan he reported to Trial Service Office Southeast Detachment Pensacola, Florida and served as a prosecutor. Over the following two years, Marc prosecuted a high volume of courts-martial involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel in the Florida Gulf Coast region, including acting as lead or co-counsel in 10 contested trials. From 2004–2006, he was assigned as the legal counsel for the Commanding Officer, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia. But the most impactful personal and professional experience during these years occurred when Marc was selected to serve as the legal counsel for Navy SEAL Team TWO during its deployment to Afghanistan and a follow-on two-month period in support of Naval Special Warfare Task Group-Arabian Peninsula (SEAL Team ONE) in Iraq. The experiences gained supporting naval special warfare over this eight-month period in 2005/2006, in two combat theaters, reinforced in Marc the critical role that judge advocates can play in the operational environment — a role he wanted to return to when the opportunity was made available.

Shortly after returning from these deployments, Marc was transferred to the Office of the Navy's Judge Advocate General in Washington D.C. and assigned to the Civil Litigation Division from 2007 to 2010. In this role, Marc principally provided litigation support to Department of Justice attorneys defending the Navy against civil lawsuits in federal courts throughout the United States, though other assistance was often provided. A notable case involved the federal criminal prosecution of the Somali pirate, Abduwali Muse, who led the hijacking of the MAERSK ALABAMA. This hijacking ended with the MAERSK's now famous Captain Phillips being rescued by the United States Navy at sea in April 2009. As the only surviving pirate, Muse was transferred to the Southern District of New York by the Navy for criminal prosecution on numerous charges, including piracy. Marc was detailed to assist the US Attorney's Office prosecutors with the collection of evidence and other documents retained by those Navy commands involved in the rescue and detention, and was present in the New York courtroom when Muse pleaded guilty, receiving a sentence of over 33 years confinement.

Marc's push to get back to the operational side of the Navy paid off when he was assigned to serve as the Command Judge Advocate (referred to as "Judge" by the crew) for the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) from July 2010 to July 2012. Marc was extremely proud to join one of our nation's Capital Ships as its Legal Department Head. The following two years onboard NIMITZ were extremely demanding but, without question, the two best years of Marc's Navy career. The experience remains fresh in his memories and the friends made there years ago are still close today.

For the latter half of his career, Marc's focus principally remained in the area of national security law and he served on the staffs of Navy and joint commands that included United States Northern Command from 2013 to 2016; United States Transportation Command from 2018 to 2020; and the Office of Legal Counsel for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2020 to 2021. Marc capped off a rewarding 24-year career as the counsel for the Commander of United States Naval Forces Central Command, forward deployed to Bahrain, from 2021 to 2023. Marc retired in October 2023 after having attained the rank of Captain. He was fortunate to have served with and in support of the men and women of almost every Navy warfighting community overseas, at home, and at sea.

Sara, Marc's wife of 17 years, also proudly served on active duty in the Navy JAG Corps for 8 years. She then served for more than 11 years as a civilian attorney with the Navy's Office of General Counsel. Marc and Sara like to say they truly were a "Blue and Gold" team during their Navy careers. Today Sara is a senior attorney in the Corporate Division of the City Attorney's Office for Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she, Marc, son Bo (8 yrs old), dog Maddie, and cat Whiskers live. Marc continues to practice in national security law.