The Camp Lejeune area has two locations for walk-in counseling services – Building 50 aboard Camp Lejeune and Building AS-216 aboard MCAS New River. Officers and SNCOs are encouraged to schedule an appointment to be seen outside ordinary walk-in hours. Walk-in counseling for Marines E-5 and below are first-come, first-served.
Camp Lejeune (Walk-ins and reception)
Building 50
50 Lucy Brewer Avenue
Camp Lejeune, NC 28547
910-451-5351
910-451-3030
Camp Lejeune Auxiliary Office (Attorney offices only, no walk-ins)
Building 59D (directly across from the Reception Center)
Molly Pitcher Drive
Camp Lejeune, NC 28547
Marine Corps Air Station New River
Building AS 216, Second Deck
Bancroft Street
910-449-6169
Directions from the Main Gate
1. Head southeast (straight through the Air Station) on Curtis Road toward the Station Theater and Chapel.
2. Turn right onto Bancroft St. just past the Station Post Office and just before the Station Gym.
3. Take a Left on Campbell St.
4. Take your next left into a parking lot (not the roundabout) and park in that lot. Our building entrance is on the southeastern edge of Building AS216. Take the stairs to the second deck and knock on our hatch. If no one answers the door, please call our Lejeune Office.
- GPS: 34.719901, -77.446123 (plugging this into Google Maps should bring you to the correct parking lot)
- The first deck of Building AS-216 is where the offices for legal assistance and the staff judge advocate are. If you mistakenly enter on the west side of Building AS-216, make your way to the second deck and follow the signs down the hallway to our office.
Senior Defense Counsel
Major Lauren Neal
Camp Lejeune Telephone
910-451-5351
910-451-3030
MCAS New River Telephone
910-449-6169
Times and dates for walk-in counseling at the two locations are as follows:
Camp Lejeune (Building 50)
Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 0700-1000
MCAS New River (Building AS 216)
Tuesday and Thursday from 0830-1000
Any exceptions to these rules will be addressed individually by the Senior Defense Counsel (SDC) or Defense Trial Team Leader. Commands and/or servicemembers may contact the branch office in order to request alternative meeting times based on the availability and scheduling of the defense attorneys.
Walk-in counseling includes providing confidential and privileged legal information to Marines and Sailors facing non-punitive or administrative corrective actions such as nonjudicial punishment, summary courts-martial, “fast track” disposition packages, adverse entries into their service record books, notifications of initiation of administrative separation processing, or other similar administrative procedures. It also includes providing privileged and confidential legal information to Marines and Sailors who have been advised of their Article 31(b) rights and have elected to exercise their right to consult with counsel.
Unless the defense attorney has been authorized to form an attorney-client relationship with the accused, a defense attorney will not advise the Marine or Sailor being counseled to accept or refuse nonjudicial punishment/summary court-martial, to request an administrative board, or whether or not to make a statement to investigators. To allow the Marine or Sailor to make an independent decision, the defense attorney will, based on the information provided, present the risks and benefits of either accepting or refusing nonjudicial punishment/summary court-martial, requesting an administrative board, or making a statement to investigators.
The charge sheet, administrative separation notification or similar documents; pages 11 and 12 of the Service Record Book; and a summary of the evidence that will be used at the hearing, if applicable, must be provided before a defense counsel will be made available to provide walk-in counseling – whether done in-person or remotely. If a Marine or Sailor comes in for walk-in counseling and does not have these materials, a member of the DSO may contact the command in order to obtain those documents. Without these required materials, the SDC or Defense Trial Team Leader may determine that the individual Marine can not be adequately counseled. Please see CDC PM 2-13 for further guidance.
If you are suspected of an offense, you have the absolute right to remain silent and to consult with an attorney. These two rights are different. The Article 31(b) rights advisement does not have to be in writing and you don’t have to sign anything to waive them. They can be read to you verbally and you can waive your rights verbally.
If you desire to exercise your right to remain silent or to consult with an attorney, you must explicitly state your desire to do so. For example, if the DNCO, 1stSgt, or PMO suspect you of misconduct and ask you “What happened here?” It is perfectly okay for you to respond with, “I respectfully wish to remain silent and I would like to see a lawyer.” Even after you see an attorney, you still have the right to remain silent and not make a statement. Whether you make a statement is up to you, but you should speak with an attorney to discuss the pros/cons of making a statement before you do so.
If you choose to make a statement, whether written or oral, it can be used against you. This includes conversations with law enforcement, chain of command, friends, family, Facebook, and email. Any statement you make must be truthful. If any part of it is false, you may be subject to further prosecution for making a false official statement.
You don’t have to consent to searches or seizures of your property. For example, if the DNCO, 1stSgt, or PMO asks you, “Is it okay if we search your room / look at your iPhone/ take your computer/ etc.” or “Do you mind giving us a urine sample” it is okay to refuse and to require them to get authorization from your CO (similar to a warrant).
During an interview, law enforcement officers are permitted to be untruthful with you and to embellish the facts in order to get you to incriminate yourself. This means that they can say your accomplice confessed when he didn’t, that they have your DNA when they don’t, that they have you on camera when they don’t, and many other things.
Law enforcement officers may offer you an opportunity to take an “exculpatory polygraph” to prove you’re telling the truth. The majority of the time, the results indicate deception or are inconclusive; the results rarely indicate truthfulness. Just like remaining silent and refusing consent, you have an absolute right to refuse a polygraph. You should speak to an attorney to discuss the pros/cons of polygraphs before you submit to a polygraph.