Alpena Native Takes on Legal Advisor Role with NATO

Lt. Col. Jane Male has been a judge advocate for the Air Force for over 16 years, and will now take on a new, much larger role.

Lt. Col. Male will begin her new role as legal advisor for the United States military delegation for NATO. Members of the community gathered at Male’s Grocery in Alpena Sunday afternoon to celebrate her and her accomplishments.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of advising and helping build those partnerships that keep us all safe so we can celebrate independence like we are this weekend,” said Lt. Col. Jane Male.

While Lt. Col. Male does not take this new opportunity lightly and enjoyed the celebration in her honor, leaving Alpena will still certainly be difficult.

“I look forward to someday retiring back here, so I’m thrilled and I love international service, and I’m thrilled to go serve at NATO, but I’m also sad to be so far from my family and so sad from being out here at Male’s, but that’s in a few years after retirement,” she said.

Lt. Col. Male believes her experiences in northeast Michigan have prepared her for this moment.

“I really appreciate family and I appreciate freedom, and that’s what I celebrate when I’m here in Alpena, so it’s really where I came from and the heritage at home that I like to celebrate, and that’s what we’re all fighting for abroad,” she said.

The Male surname has a rich history in Alpena, and now Lt. Col. Male will carry that history worldwide.

“My grandfather Howard Male was a long–running county commissioner, my Uncle Tom was a long–running sheriff, and so it’s really an honor for me to be representing Michigan in a very different way than my family has historically,” she said.

Lt. Col. Male will move to Brussels on Thursday and represent northeast Michigan there as the United States’ legal advisor to NATO for the next three years.