Major Shane Stewart may have survived relatively unscathed for 12 months in Iraq, but financially he “was destroyed.”  The military has its benefits, said Stewart, such as a monetary allowance that paid his rent, but taking a 70 percent cut in pay was devastating—although even that was secondary to the personal upheaval brought to his life.  

After receiving notice of his impending active duty in November of 2003, Stewart had only 60 days to reassign 130 clients, close two Concord law offices and hire someone to monitor his mail and supervise his financial matters here in the States.  “I knew the possibility was there [to be deployed] but I didn’t put much thought into it until I received the message from my First Sergeant,” said Stewart.

Going through the process of putting his entire life in storage for a minimum of 12 months “was surreal,” Stewart said.  Within a two-month period he had to delegate ten years of accumulated contacts, clients and court appearances to his peers.  Operating a solo practice since 1994, Stewart did not have the luxury of back-up partners to cover his caseload.  “I was handling a big toxic waste case along with attorneys Bob Morgan and Marcus Hurn.  There were over 100 plaintiffs—and Bob and Marcus had to take that over completely.  Tony Tarbell took over several smaller cases.

Stewart also had to say goodbye to his 13-year-old son Luke.  “That was hard—but we kept in constant contact.  I sent him something in the mail almost every day—at least four times a week—pictures, cards, notes.  The Post Office tent was only about 50 yards from my ‘office’ tent and I was a regular there!”

Stewart’s private practice primarily dealt with real estate development, personal injury, criminal defense, and some guardian ad litem work.  At Camp Cedar, in Central Iraq, Stewart, the lone attorney on the base, was given the task of prosecuting criminal cases, advising the command, providing legal services to soldiers, teaching law of war and everything else the 4,000 troop base came up with.  Part of Stewart’s job was also to create bidding and construction contracts from scratch, which became templates for his successors.

As a judge advocate in the Army National Guard, Stewart saw a different side of practicing law.  “As a prosecutor, you are not only building a case, you are pursuing justice for both the victim and the accused,” said Stewart.  JAG lawyers are competitive and, therefore, prepared—“they do their homework;” many have type-A personalities, according to Stewart.  “Being a lawyer is who I am; I am just as comfortable practicing law in a uniform (as in a suit),” he said.

The courthouse Stewart litigated in was seven hours from his base; he found himself traveling to hearings with the accused, the victim or both at the same time. “Due to military necessity, defendant and prosecutor often traveled in the same convoy,” Stewart said.  On one particular occasion, arriving at the courthouse Stewart found himself sweaty, dirty, sleep-deprived and nauseous.   It was not like walking into an air conditioned New Hampshire courthouse dressed in a suit and tie carrying a briefcase; Stewart could not escape the heat and carried 40 pounds of gear, complete with an M16 weapon and hundreds of rounds he never had to use.

No personal vehicle waited to whisk Stewart from his office, which initially was a privacy-lacking tent, to courtroom, so he had to hitch rides with heavily armed convoys from which he did some of his preliminary casework.  “I felt safest on the midnight runs,” said Stewart, who liked being on the road out of the office. He kept his bags with him at all times while traveling.  Stewart said, “You never know if or when you will see the other humvees again.”

In December of 2004 Stewart had to make a quick trip to the States, to California.  “My brother, Sean, died on December 10th and I went to his funeral—then flew back to Kuwait and then into Iraq. I was getting pretty burned out by then. I could tell the signs: having a hard time focusing, losing my patience— being aware helped me control the symptoms. But by the time I came home, I was worn out.”

In Iraq life consisted of 130 degree temperatures, exhaustion and an endless waterfall of paperwork.  An injury to the median nerve in his right arm should have made Stewart unable to work the hours he was used to, but he suffered through the next few months, taking minimal care of himself.  “At some point you realize that you are only eating and sleeping to get through the day, not for enjoyment, not for any other reason than to just stay alive long enough to get your work done,” said Stewart.  Although the attacks on the base and threat of attack in the convoys he traveled in were stressful, Stewart was more focused on the workload, “I sometimes felt overwhelmed by the duties I faced. It was also comforting to know the soldiers running the convoys and manning the weapons were skilled professionals.”

As Stewart wound up his hectic tour of duty, the break-neck pace at which he had been pushing himself for over a year took its toll.  When I got home in mid-February, I realized I was ‘idling’ at a very fast rate.  I had to consciously slow down.”

Stewart remains loyal to his fellow soldiers.  Physically fit, he plans on continuing his military experience “for as long they want me and I can contribute.  One of our doctors, Dr. Zahn, was 60—physically it was a little harder for him, but we needed his wisdom and experience.  So I’ll stick around as long as I’m needed.”

Before Stewart is eligible for retirement at the 20-year mark, he can expect to be deployed twice more. 

Without an active law practice to keep him busy when he first arrived home, Stewart agreed to work two days a week at the Concord Army National Guard. The NH Guard has seen a 300 percent increase in their workload, according to Lt. Colonel Swan, Legal advisor to the Adjutant General.   Major Stewart has been an integral part of the office’s ability to meet their enlistees’ needs.

In the five months since Stewart began resurrecting his life, his workload has gone up to 80 percent of what it was pre-deployment. “The work is there, but different,” Stewart said.   Until recently, the large toxic waste case mentioned previously kept him busy.  Stewart was able to step back into that case and continue working with the 100 or so clients he represents in Strafford County.

Stewart’s type-A personality was responsible for the smooth transition from civilian life to full-time military officer. “Bring less civilian clothing,” was the only change that Stewart stated he would make if facing another deployment.  “All you need is your uniform and a computer,” he said.  Monitoring his financial accounts, paying bills and managing lingering questions about cases he turned over to various attorneys were all made possible via the Internet.  

Stewart credits his fellow attorneys for helping him transition back into civilian life.  Some of the delegated files were handed back to him upon his arrival home.  Some cases were resolved before he came home and along with the returned files, a check was waiting for him.  Stewart feels he will be ready if called again and will follow the same proven steps he took with this deployment.

Catherine Courtemarche is a freelance writer from Bennington, NH. This is her second article for Bar News. Associate Editor Beverly Rorick also contributed to this article.

The Bar News will continue to report on the experiences of NH Bar members in the National Guard and Reserve who have been actively deployed. Contact dwise@nhbar.org if you have information or are interested in helping these Bar members upon their return.