Lieutenant Colonel Kerry Friedewald serves as the Regional Defense Counsel–East, Defense Services Organization, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was commissioned in 2009 upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy. She became a Manpower Officer (0102) after The Basic School and served as Adjutant, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (2010–2013). During this tour, she participated in Exercises Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2011 and 2012 in the Republic of Korea.
Selected for the Funded Law Education Program in 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald began law school at the Georgetown University Law Center in 2013. During the summers of 2014 and 2015, she worked at Judge Advocate Division in the Research and Civil Law section and the Military and Personnel Law section.
Following graduation from law school and completion of Naval Justice School in 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was assigned to the Legal Services Support Team, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. There, she served as a Defense Counsel (2016-2018) and Legal Assistance Officer in Charge (2018–2019).
In 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was assigned as Appellate Government Counsel, Code 46, Office of the Judge Advocate General (2019–2022). As Appellate Government Counsel, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald represented the United States before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF). She argued four cases at the NMCCA and three cases at CAAF.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald completed her L.L.M. in Criminal Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS), Charlottesville, Virginia (2022–2023), where she was a Superior Graduate.
After completion of her L.L.M., Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was assigned as the Team Lead, Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC), Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point (2023–2024). Newly created at the direction of Congress, the OSTC is the independent prosecutor of all sex offenses, homicides, and domestic violence. Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was among the first Team Leads in the OSTC and stood up the installation OSTC at MCAS Cherry Point.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald promoted to her current rank in February 2024 and began her tour as the Regional Defense Counsel–East in July 2024.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009, where she was a four-year varsity letter-winning rower on the Navy Women’s Crew team. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2016 and is a member of the Maryland bar.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and various other unit and service awards.