Lt. Cmdr. Erika Gehlen,
JAG Corps Accessions Detailer, received meritorious service awards for her military service from two, national level diversity organizations.The National Organization of Mexican American Rights (NOMAR) honored Gehlen with the NOMAR DoD Meritorious Service Award as a Hispanic American military member who epitomizes the qualities and core values of the Navy while displaying exceptional support for betterment of the Hispanic community in San Diego, California, Sept. 2.
The LATINA Style organization honored Gehlen with the LATINA Style 2015 Meritorious Service Award, which recognizes DoD women who have enhanced the role of Latinas in their organization through their service. The award was presented at the LATINA Style National Symposium at which Vice Adm. Michelle Howard was the keynote speaker, Sept. 9.
Born in Laredo, Texas in 1980, Gehlen attended Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Archaeology in June 2002 and a certificate in Latin American Studies. Upon graduation, she was selected as a Princeton Public Interest Fellow.
Gehlen then attended Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California beginning in August 2003, and graduated with a Juris Doctor in December 2005. She completed Whittier’s International and Comparative Law Certificate Program, having participated in the Whittier Law School Summer in China Program at Sun-Yat Sen University 2004 in Zhuhai, China, and the Whittier Law School Summer in Israel Program at Bar-Ilan University 2005 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her legal experiences include clerking at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, clerking at a law firm specializing in criminal defense, and mediating small claims cases.
Gehlen was accepted into the JAGC Student Program in December 2004, was commissioned in June 2005, completed Officer Indoctrination School in March 2006, and completed Naval Justice School in August 2006. She was stationed at the Region Legal Service Office Southeast Detachment Mayport, Florida, from August 2006 to August 2008, where she served as Trial Counsel. She volunteered for an IA as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate for the Joint Task Force—Guantanamo, from February 2008 to August 2008. She was the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/Fourth Fleet in Mayport, Florida, from August 2008 to August 2010. She was the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of Logistics Group Western Pacific in Singapore from August 2010 to August 2013.