ICE assistant chief counsel served as sole staff judge advocate to US Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan
It may be said that all is fair in love and war, but Eric Pedersen, an assistant chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would argue the case. Pedersen’s legal expertise in the rules of engagement and law of armed conflict, as well as detainee and evidence handling, were in demand soon after his graduation from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2000.
Pedersen became an active duty member of the U.S. Navy in 2001, at which time he prosecuted criminal cases in the military ranging from attempted murder, theft, fraud, drug use and sexual assault. He left active duty in 2009 to serve in the Navy reserves, where he continues to serve and is assigned to the U.S. Northern Command.
In the intervening years, from 2004 to 2006, Pedersen served as staff judge advocate for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington, D.C. In 2007, Pedersen received an LL.M from Georgetown University with a focus on national security law. During that time, he was selected for an eight-month detail to the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Task Force in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He then served as a senior prosecuting trial counsel at Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Northwest in Bremerton, Washington. As such, Pedersen was part of the seven RLSOs in the United States, which provide government legal services, including court-martial prosecution and command legal advice.
By 2013, Pedersen said, “Things were going well at work. My family life was as happy as could be. I was having a great time fulfilling my duties as a reservist for the Navy. Travel was plentiful and time with friends was great.”
Pedersen also enjoyed coaching CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program designed especially for police academies, tactical operations teams, military special operation units, champion martial arts and professional athletes.
“At that time, my life was in perfect balance,” Pedersen said. “I was perfectly contented. And then everything changed.”
Pedersen was called back to active duty. He was deployed to Afghanistan.
“As it turned out, the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had another plan for me…a greater plan, in which I had the opportunity to work with U.S. Navy SEAL Team Ten, which turned out to be the greatest professional experience of my life,” said Petersen.
Assigned as the staff judge advocate to the U.S. Navy SEAL team, Pedersen served as the sole legal advisor to a 1,500-person task force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“It was a challenging environment, to say the least,” said Pedersen. “Plenty of times during operations, it was on-the-spot legal advice.”
In Afghanistan, Pedersen not only trained Navy SEAL personnel and advised leadership on legal issues, but he also worked with Afghani prosecutors on developing cases that led to the successful prosecution of two high-value Taliban insurgents.
“During my deployment to Afghanistan, with the SEAL Team, I learned the true nature of team work,” said Pedersen. “More importantly, I took something from the SEAL ethos that has guided me ever since: never forget and never quit.”
The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) recognized Pedersen’s service as a staff judge advocate in Afghanistan with their highest honor―the 2014 Award of Merit. The WSBA is part of the judicial branch and is authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state’s more than 36,000 lawyers and also regulates lawyers and other legal professionals under the authority of the court.
Pedersen has also been the recipient of an Outstanding Navy Legal Professional Award, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy–Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Military service is generational in Pedersen’s family. One of his grandfathers served in World War II, and the other served in the Korean War. Pedersen’s godfather was a naval aviator, and Pedersen remembers visiting him at naval bases all over the country.
Pedersen said the military provides individuals with an environment to take on leadership roles at an early point in a person’s career. “You quickly learn that anything worth doing is worth doing right and doing well!” Pedersen said. “In the end you are part of that less than one percent who have served your country. And if you can do that honorably, then you can take pride in that for the rest of your life.”
As assistant chief counsel for ICE’s Office of the Chief Counsel in Seattle, Washington, Pedersen represents the United States before U.S. immigration courts and Office of the Chief Administrative Hearings Officer. He is a member of the team that litigates cases involving national security and human rights abuses. He also litigates worksite enforcement matters and provides legal advice and guidance to ICE components.
Pedersen continues to serve in the Naval Reserves as a judge advocate.
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