United States Air Force Academy

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Major Matthew Ormsbee

Assistant Professor of Law

Department of Law

Maj Ormsbee
Contact Information

(719) 333-2950

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Bio

Major Matthew Ormsbee is an Assistant Professor of Law at the United States Air Force Academy where he is the Director of Space Law in the Law, Technology & Warfare Research Cell.  The Law Faculty consists of 20 faculty and staff that engage in the design and teaching of 19 core and elective law courses, in scholarship across a variety of disciplines, in the legal support to the administration of the Cadet Honor System, and in the development of officers of character for the U.S. Air Force.  Maj Ormsbee teaches Law for Air Force Officers, a required course for all 4,400 cadets, and Introduction to Space Law.

Maj Ormsbee received a direct commission as an Air Force Judge Advocate in November 2016 and entered active duty in January 2017.  He served as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at Nellis AFB and Creech AFB, Nevada.  Thereafter, he was the Chief of Adverse Actions and Operational Law, and later the Area Defense Counsel at Misawa Air Base, Japan.  Most recently, he earned an LL.M. degree in air and space law at the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, in Montreal, Canada.

Before law school, Maj Ormsbee was a Fulbright Fellow in Germany, an AmeriCorps service member, and a New York City Teaching Fellow.  Following law school, he was in private practice in New York for four years.  He is a member of the New York State Bar and New Jersey State Bar and is admitted to practice before the highest state courts in New York and New Jersey, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the District Court of New Jersey, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Education

Master of Military Operational Art and Science (Joint Warfare Concentration), Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama (in progress)

Master of Laws, Air & Space Law, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2023)

Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate and Outstanding Contributor, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama (2018)

Juris Doctorate, Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, New York, New York (2012)

Bachelor of Arts, German (Magna Cum Laude), Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas (2007)

Professional Experience

Assistant Professor of Law, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado (June 2023 – Present)

LL.M. Candidate, Air Force Institute of Technology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (August 2022 – May 2023)

Area Defense Counsel, Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Japan (August 2020 – August 2022)

Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Japan (July 2019 – August 2020)

Assistant Officer in Charge and Chief of Civil Law, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada (January 2019 – July 2019)

Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada (April 2017 – January 2019)

Honors & Awards

Air and Space Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters

Air and Space Achievement Medal

Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award

Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award with oak leaf cluster

Air and Space Overseas Service Ribbon (Long)

Air and Space Overseas Service Ribbon (Short)

Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal

First Place, Air Force Judge Advocate General School’s National Security Law Writing Competition (2016, 2019, 2021)

Top Athlete Award (1 of 126), Commissioned Officer Training, Class 17-02 (2017)

Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol) (2017)

Commandant’s Leadership Award (1 of 641) and Outstanding Contributor Award, Squadron Officer School, Class 19C (2018)

Thomas P. Keenan, Jr. Award, The Judge Advocate General’s School (2022)

American Bar Association’s Keithe E. Nelson Distinguished Service Award (Writing) (2022)

First Place, 14th Annual Leiden-Sarin Air Law Moot Court Competition in Leiden, Netherlands (also Best Oral Argument for Applicant and Best Respondent’s Memorial) (2023)

Research and Scholarly Interests

Space Law and Policy, International Law, Aviation Law, International Relations

Publications

Ears Wide Shut,” Gonzaga Law Review, September 2015

Silicon Symbiosis: A Blueprint for Public-Private Partnerships in U.S. Air Force Acquisition of New Technology,” Air Force Law Review, Maxwell AFB, Ala., August 2017

Centaur Warriors: A Legal Analysis of Autonomous Systems in Military Operations,” Willamette Law Review, Salem, Ore., May 2018

Pioneering Presidents: The Legal Quandary of Presidential Warfighting,” University of Illinois Law Review, Champaign, Ill., October 2020

State Liability for a Mishandled Response: Strategic Remedies on the Heels of Covid-19,” Marquette Law Review, Milwaukee, Wis., March 2021

The Fifth Instrument of National Power: How Mass Migrations of People Impact National Security,” Creighton Law Review, Omaha, Neb., May 2021

Staccato Warfare,” Boston College Law Review, Newton, Mass., October 2021

Lawcraft: China’s Evolving Approach to International Law and The Implications for American National Security,” Fordham Law Review, New York, NY, December 2021

Gray Dismay: A Strategy to Identify and Counter Gray-Zone Threats in the South China Sea,” Small Wars Journal, Washington, DC, June 2022

SpaceX Modification to Satellite Constellation Proceeds After Sustained Legal Challenges,” Annals of Air and Space Law, Montreal, Canada, March 2023

Galactic Gold Rush: Lawfulness, Lawlessness, and Preservation of the Outer Space Environment,” McGill University, August 2023

Fair Enough?: Procedural Fairness When the ICAO Council Exercises its Judicial Function,” forthcoming 2023