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.

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)

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)

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)

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