Colonel Don Christensen, USAF (ret.)
Of Counsel
Col Don Christensen, USAF (ret.) served as President of Protect Our Defenders (POD) for 8 and half years. In his role as President, Col Christensen appeared regularly in broadcast and print media to advocate for rights of crime victims, including appearances on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, and the BBC, in addition to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek. During his time with POD, he testified numerous times before Congress on the need to reform the military justice system. His advocacy was critical to the passage of the most significant military justice reform in at least 70 years in 2021. He also served as pro bono attorney for victims of military sexual assault in EEO complaints, law suits under the Federal Torts Claims Act and as a special victims counsel. He served as chief prosecutor for the United States Air Force between 2010 and 2014. He served as a trial counsel, defense counsel or military judge for every year of his 23-year career in the United States Air Force.
Christensen has served as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Area Defense Counsel, Circuit Defense Counsel, Deputy Chief Circuit Defense Counsel, and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, as a deployed Staff Judge Advocate, Chief Circuit Trial Counsel, and Staff Judge Advocate and as a Military Judge. He has tried over 150 courts-martial as a trial and defense counsel and has presided over 100 trials as a military judge.
He was born in Sturgis, South Dakota and received his law degree from Marquette University Law School. A third generation Air Force officer, he received his commission as a second lieutenant through ROTC and entered active service on 15 July 1991. Christensen is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
Education
- 1988 Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in history and speech communications, Black Hills State College
- 1991 Juris Doctor degree, Marquette University Law School
- 1996 Squadron Officer School (in residence) Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
- 2002 Air Command and Staff College (correspondence) Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
- 2008 Air War College (correspondence) Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Assignments
- Jul 1991 – Mar 1994, Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, SD
- Mar 1994 – Jul 1995, Area Defense Counsel, USAF Judiciary, Central Circuit, Ellsworth AFB, SD
- Jul 1995 – Jan 1998, Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, UT
- Jan 1998 – Feb 2000, Circuit Defense Counsel, USAF Judiciary, Western Circuit, Travis AFB, CA
- Feb 2000 – Sep 2000, Deputy Chief Circuit Defense Counsel, USAF Judiciary, Western Circuit Travis AFB, CA
- Nov 2000 – Mar 2001, Staff Judge Advocate, 332nd Air Expeditionary Group, Ahmed Al Jaber AB, Kuwait
- Oct 2000 – Jul 2002, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, DE.
- Jul 2002 – Jul 2005, Chief Circuit Trial Counsel, USAF Judiciary, European Circuit, Ramstein AB, Germany
- Jul 2005 – Jul 2008, Staff Judge Advocate, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL.
- Jul 2008 – Jul 2010, Military Judge, USAF Trial Judiciary, McChord AFB WA.
- Jul 2010 – July 2014 Chief, Government Trial and Appellate Counsel Division, Joint Base Andrews MD
Awards and Decorations
- Legion of Merit
- Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- Air Force Achievement Medal
- Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with valor device and four oak leaf clusters
- Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with four oak leaf clusters
- National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star device
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
- Air Force Overseas Service Long Tour Ribbon
- Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold border
- Small Arms Expert Ribbon
Videos
Media
- Congressional Testimony
- The Daily Show with Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY)
- United Shades of America on CNN
- Netflix: I am Vanessa Guillen documentary
- Rolling Stones
- Vice News: Featured with client Harmony Allen
- CBS This Morning
- ABC News
- Univision: #Iamvanessaguillen documentary
- American Grit Podcast
Articles
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/09/national-guard-leader-fired-sexism-toxic-culture-complaints/70498437007/
- https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4146214-national-guard-personnel-chief-fired-sexism-complaints/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dod-moves-to-fix-failures-in-addressing-sexual-assault-in-the-ranks
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/opinion/sexual-assault-military-ernst-gillibrand.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/magazine/the-militarys-rough-justice-on-sexual-assault.html
- https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/07/17/court-martial-convictions-would-need-unanimous-jury-verdicts-under-measure-added-defense-bill.html
- https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2023/06/30/top-military-court-rules-troops-dont-have-right-to-unanimous-verdicts/
- https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-court-martial-phone/
- https://www.vox.com/2016/4/18/11450436/pentagon-misled-congress-military-sexual-assault
- https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2015/01/05/why-the-af-s-chief-prosecutor-left-to-fight-for-sex-assault-victims/
- https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/report-military-sexual-assault-survivors-unique-barriers-seeking-mental-health-care/291-9082bd06-e562-455d-b2bc-add6619a3c71
- https://www.salon.com/2022/04/08/lindsey-graham-is-a-total-hypocrite-on-jackson-and-child-porn-heres-why/
- https://www.lawfareblog.com/division-authority-between-special-trial-counsel-and-commanders-under-uniform-code-military-justice
- https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/553765-military-commanders-shouldnt-have-prosecution-authority/?rl=1
- https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/01/if-austin-serious-about-preventing-sexual-assault-why-hyten-still-vice-chief/171747/
- https://www.newsweek.com/vanessa-guillen-proves-militarys-metoo-movement-long-overdue-opinion-1516943
- https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/john-kelly-rob-porter/554177/
- https://taskandpurpose.com/news/the-military-justice-improvement-act-ensures-justice-despite-what-its-critics-say/