LOAC in Sanremo

In late March, VMI Cadets attended the annual International Competition on the Law of Armed Conflict competition in Sanremo, Italy where Cadets from military academies around the world gather to compete against each other as they provide legal advice as it relates to a conflict situation. Similar in concept to Model UN; however, much more esoteric and recognized within the field of law. This was attractive to Cadet Cassidy Dufour '23 who learned of the competition after working with MAJ Timothy Passmore who led the Cadets to Italy for this year's program. Seeing this competition as a preliminary step, Cadet Dufour has plans to continue her education in law at UVA as she prepares to enter the USAF's JAG Corps. She expressed her appreciation for the trip as apart from the law and competition, her greatest takeaway was how to work together with others as competition teams were mixed between academies and countries. "Everyone comes from different backgrounds and have different ideas and solutions. What are people willing to compromise on and how do we communicate culturally and clearly?" The competition itself consisted of 5 days with the first being an introduction to legal concepts taught by international experts, one of whom was Col. Bob James who initially developed this program at VMI. The next day provides Cadets with time to prepare their ideas and arguments before launching directly into a tense legal situation. These situations do not begin as military conflicts yet after the first day, they are artificially escalated for the purpose of the competition. Once this has occurred, the teams are presented with issues they must solve using international law, citing specific orders and documents from organizations such as the Red Cross. The intent of the competition is that Cadets act as JAG officers advising a unit commander on what they can and cannot do in a legal capacity. The competition is not that of military strategy but one of legal advisory and tact, perhaps even more challenging than the former. In order to prepare for such an in-depth dialogue and heated competition, the VMI Cadets had taken extra classes with MAJ Passmore during the Fall semester before entering the Spring semester where they held two mock competitions per week. Understandably, such a competitive and prestigious program required endless hours of work, something recounted by Cadet Dufour as she reflected on late nights in the BSR with her assigned partner Cadet Brandon Marks '23. Given such arduous hours and adherence to excellence in the subject, the VMI Cadets performed well as individuals and in their teams. Cadet Dufour placed 2nd overall in the individual category while Cadet Justin Miller '23 placed 4th. Cadet Dufour also placed 2nd in the team category as she worked alongside Cadets from the German Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard Academies. Congratulations to those individuals and the Cadets who formed the greater VMI team representing the Institute at a global scale! VMI LOAC Team:Cadet Ridge Clark '23Cadet Fatoumata Diallo '23Cadet Cassidy Dufour '23Cadet Katie Lloyd '23Cadet Brandon Marks '23Cadet Justin Miller '23