Flora Diana Darpino (born 1961) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and military lawyer who was the 39th Judge Advocate General of the United States Army. She was the first woman to hold that position, which she held from September 4, 2013 to July 14, 2017.

Education

Darpino graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, and received her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from Rutgers Law School in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, in 1986. She later received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in military law from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. She is a member of the

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and Pennsylvania Bars.

Career

Darpino received a direct commission into the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps in January 1987. Her first assignment was to

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII R ...

in Stuttgart, Germany, where she was a trial defense counsel and chief of the civil law division. She was later the training officer and assistant operations officer for the United States Army Trial Defense Service; litigation attorney, litigation division, United States Army Legal Services Agency; chief, Administrative Law,

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; assistant executive officer, Office of The Judge Advocate General; chief, Judge Advocate Recruiting Office; staff judge advocate, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas and Tikrit, Iraq; deputy staff judge advocate,

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

at Fort Hood; chief, Criminal Law Division, OTJAG; staff judge advocate,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

, in Heidelberg, Germany; and staff judge advocate,

United States Forces – Iraq United States Forces – Iraq (USF-I) was an American military sub-unified command, part of U.S. Central Command. It was stationed in Iraq as agreed with the Government of Iraq under the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement. USF–I replaced ...

, in Baghdad, Iraq. She served as the commander of the United States Army Legal Services Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and as the commander of the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School.

Awards and decorations

Personal life

Darpino is married with two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darpino, Flora D. Living people American military lawyers United States Army generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Judge Advocates General of the United States Army Female generals of the United States Army 1961 births The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) 21st-century American women