MLDP participants meet U.S. Senator Whitehouse outside
his Capitol Hill office.

International military students participating in the DIILS Military Law Development Program (MLDP) visited the offices of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) during their class visit to Washington, DC, 20-25 May.

MLDP is a 10-week program held annually at Naval Station Newport Rhode Island, with visits to New York City, Boston and Washington D.C.  It includes the MLDP seminar, the three-week DIILS Law of Armed Conflict and Human Rights (LCHR) course and the three-week International Law of Military Operations (I-LOMO) course.  Together, these three courses offer partner military legal advisors a comprehensive military law curriculum, including military justice and operational law.  The operational law component covers international law, human rights law, law of armed conflict, and rules of engagement.  Participants practice providing legal advice to commanders in role-playing exercises.  The military justice component of the course features advanced legal concepts in criminal law, procedural due process, and a comparative analysis of the military laws of other nations.

In Washington, MLDP participants met with Ms. Lacy Dwyer, Senator Whitehouse's Senior National Security Policy Advisor.  They discussed the role of congressional staff, security threats posed by climate change, implementation of human rights agreements in Europe, refugee relief efforts in the Middle East and recent changes to the U.S. military justice system.  The meeting was followed by a tour of the U.S. Capitol.  The MLDP visit to the Washington area also included observing a court martial at Marine Corps Base Quantico and a visit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.  The next offering of MLDP is 13 October to 18 December 2014.

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and DIILS MLDP class on Capitol Hill.

MLDP participants discuss defense issues with Senator Whitehouse’s
National Security Advisor.