Colonel (ret) John P. Galligan ("JP")

Colonel John Galligan retired from the US Army in June 2001.

At the time of his retirement, he was serving as the Chief Circuit Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit, Fort Hood, Texas.

Born in 1949 at Fort Bliss, El Paso,Texas, Colonel Galligan spent his childhood as a military dependant, accompanying his parents on remote military assignments to Fort Churchill,Canada, Taipel, Formosa, and Istanbut, Turkey.

Upon Graduating from Georgetown University ( school of Foreign Service) in Washington,DC, in 1971, Colonel Galligan was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the military intelligence branch.

To fulfill his regular Army commission responsibilities, he served as a combat arms officer in the infantry branch,initially as a platoon leader and later as a company executive officer and the Brigade Courts and Boards Officer, with the 41st infantry, Combat Developments Experimentation Command, Fort Ord, California.

Selected for the US Army Excess Leave Program in 1973, Colonel Galligan received his J.D. (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Puerto Rico in 1976. From 1976-1979, he served as a Defense Counsel and later as a Trial Counsel in the 1st Armored DIvision, Federal Republic of Germany. From 1979 until 1981, Colonel Galligan served as an Appellate Counsel with the Government Appellate Division, US Army Legal Services Agency, representing the government in cases before the US Army Court of Military Review and the Court of Army Appeals.

 After completing the Graduate Course at the Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia, Colonel Galligan was selected to assist in developing the Trial Counsel Assistance Program, designed to assist military prosecutors in developing trial advocacy skills.

Colonel Galligan twice served in the US Army Litigation Division, First as a Branch Chief from 1988 until 1991 and later as the Division Chief from 1992 until 1994. He had two tours with the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, first as the Dupty Staff Judge Advocate from 1985 until 1988 and as the Staff Judge Advocate from 1991 until 1992. From 1992 until 1994, Colonel Galligan served as the Staff Judge Advocate, US Army South, in Panama.

 In 1997, he assumed duties as a Ciucuit Judge at Fort Hood and , in 1999, took over responsibilities as the Chief Circuit Judge for the third Judicial Circuit, one of the largest and busiest jurisdictions in the Army.

In 1983, Colonel Galligan was selected to participate as a member of a Judicial Reform Assessment Team, Coordinated by the US Department of State, to consult with high level governmental officials and members of the legal community in El Salvador and Honduras on issues related to legal reform, with particular emphasis on the area of criminal prosecution and military justice. In 1999, he participated as an instructor with a DILLS team dispatched to Bogota, Columbia, to perform similar functions.

Colonel Galligan is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Washington, DC. and Texas. He is admitted to the highest courts in those jurisdictions. as well as being a member before the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Claims Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He served as the Vice- Chair and later as the Chair for the Military Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

In addition to the usual Basic and Advanced Courses for his Branch, Colonel Galligan is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College (1985) and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces ( 1995).

His Medal ( with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Legion of Merit ( with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Colonel Galligan's hobbies are reading , Sailing, and Music. He has played the Cello since the age of  five and , as a teenager, was awarded various State and National Music Scholarships.

He actively participated as a Cellist in various amateur orchestras, instanbul Amateur Symphony, McLean Orchestra, McLean Symphony, as well as with local Orchestra groups during his assignment to Fort Hood in 1991- 1992.

Colonel Galligan is a former member of the Belton Chapter of Rotary Club International, Following Retirement from the US Army, He established a private Law Practice in downtown Belton.

Colonel Galligan is married to the former Harriett Mechiko Despretter (" Harr"). Their sons, Michael and Timothy, reside in California.