LT. COMMANDER RYAN SANTICOLA ’05 has lived and worked in five countries during his eight years as a Navy JAG Corps attorney, including in Iraq, Greece, Cuba and his current assignment in Japan. During that time he has served as a legal adviser to Navy commanders as well as an appellate defense counsel. “The Navy JAG Corps is like a very large law firm, with about 700 lawyers,” he said. “The work is similar to being a legal counsel for a corporation. It exposes me to a wide range of cases and situations. It makes JAG officers well-rounded lawyers. It’s hard to imagine a more interesting and dynamic organization in which to work.” He has an identical twin brother, Lt. Commander Ian Santicola ’05, a classmate at Albany Law who also joined the Navy as a JAG officer. Ian is stationed in Washington, D.C. “I like to think I had the idea first because of my early JAG internship in Germany,” Ryan said, “but my brother is the better officer and lawyer. We stay close. We talk at least once a week by video chat or e-mail and visit each other when we “We released them after can. It can be a blessing and a they took a pledge not to curse having two people who look so similar. We were both engage in any insurgent stationed at the same location activity. The Iraqis are a in Washington for awhile and it was strange to be mistaken for people of their word and one another.” they seemed to take that Ryan’s current assignment to the commander of the patrol very seriously.” and reconnaissance task force of —Lt. Commander the Navy’s 7th Fleet at a base in Atsugi, Japan, means he advises Ryan Santicola on legal issues that might arise with Navy aircraft patrolling the vast western half of the Pacific Ocean. “I advise on the law of the sea as it applies to international air navigation and rules of engagement, as well as military justice cases, government ethics and rules that govern what commanders can and cannot do with outside entities.” During the Iraq War, he was assigned to an office with about 15 other lawyers that advised on the legal and policy issues relating
to about 25,000 Iraqi detainees. He advised commanders on detainees who should be considered for release because there was insufficient evidence to hold them. He was in Iraq leading up to and during the volatile troop surge and worked for the commander responsible for transferring deposed President Saddam Hussein to the Iraqis prior to his 2006 execution by hanging after he was convicted of crimes against humanity. He also worked closely with a program that released detained juveniles to their families after an investigation revealed there was not enough evidence to continue to hold them. “I went to the gate of the detention center with these kids and there were a lot of tears when they were reunited with their parents,” he said. He also helped set up a review process to consider releasing individual detainees. “We released them after they took a pledge not to engage in any insurgent activity. The Iraqis are a people of their word and they seemed to take that very seriously. Seeing that process up-close was fascinating.” While he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Santicola advised the Navy base’s commanding officer on a range of issues regarding a Navy installation in a foreign country. The issues ranged from disciplining sailors to determining how the base could be used consistent with international agreements and which groups could operate there. He also was involved with the inter-agency program that temporarily houses Cuban migrants on the Navy base prior to resettlement in other countries. Some of these Cuban migrants swam to the base and others were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard. “It doesn’t get as much attention as the detainees, but it was a fascinating program,” said Santicola, who collaborated on migrant issues with staff from Homeland Security and the State Department. He learned the importance of preparation from his professors at Albany Law, particularly Patrick Connors and Timothy Lytton. “I was always amazed at how well-prepared they were for their classes and they offered extraordinary road maps that were very helpful,” he said. “Their courses were a great foundation for my work as a lawyer and JAG officer.” Santicola and his wife, who is a consultant for community development financial institutions, have a 3 ½ year-old daughter, and they’ve embraced moving to a new assignment every couple of years. “Personally, we’ve had amazing experiences and, professionally, the sense of mission and the people I work with would be hard to replicate in another job,” he said.
New Student-Alumni Veterans Group
Future JAG Lauren McCormick ’14 Lauren McCormick ’14 will be entering the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate General. 28
MAGAZINE Summer 2014
Albany Law School is forming the Student Alumni Veterans Association to build a network for Albany Law veterans and their immediate families. Albany Law will be contacting alumni veterans shortly with details about the group, which will be led by James Faucher ’16 and Joshua Bennett ’14. If interested in joining the group, email the alumni office at alumni@albanylaw.edu.