COL Liz Allen, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, assumed duties as the Director of the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) in August 2023. COL Allen has been assigned to a variety of special operations and conventional units throughout the United States and abroad. She has served in four joint commands and recently completed her sixth deployment.
Prior to joining DIILS, COL Allen served as the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), Combined Joint Task Force –Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), committed to the enduring defeat of Da'esh in Iraq and Syria. From 2020-2022, COL Allen was assigned as the SJA, U.S. Army Japan, where she coordinated legal support for U.S. and Japanese Army crisis response planning and preparations for near-peer regional threats. From 2018-2020, COL Allen served as the SJA, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) –U.S. Army Special Operations Center of Excellence (SOCoE), where she assisted in special operations doctrine development and provided platform instruction to students in legal aspects for all special operations disciplines, including unconventional warfare. From 2016-2018, as the Chief of Operational Law for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), COL Allen spearheaded operational authority changes, expanding the strategic impact of AFRICOM's offensive ability to target violent extremist organizations within Africa.
COL Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History and International Relations from Bucknell University; a Master of Arts (MA) in International Relations from Syracuse University; a Juris Doctor (JD) from Syracuse University College of Law; a Masters of Law (LLM) in Military Law (Operational Law Concentration) from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School; and a Master of Arts (MA) in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
COL Liz Allen, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, assumed duties as the Director of the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) in August 2023. COL Allen has been assigned to a variety of special operations and conventional units throughout the United States and abroad. She has served in four joint commands and recently completed her sixth deployment.
Prior to joining DIILS, COL Allen served as the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), Combined Joint Task Force –Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), committed to the enduring defeat of Da'esh in Iraq and Syria. From 2020-2022, COL Allen was assigned as the SJA, U.S. Army Japan, where she coordinated legal support for U.S. and Japanese Army crisis response planning and preparations for near-peer regional threats. From 2018-2020, COL Allen served as the SJA, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) –U.S. Army Special Operations Center of Excellence (SOCoE), where she assisted in special operations doctrine development and provided platform instruction to students in legal aspects for all special operations disciplines, including unconventional warfare. From 2016-2018, as the Chief of Operational Law for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), COL Allen spearheaded operational authority changes, expanding the strategic impact of AFRICOM's offensive ability to target violent extremist organizations within Africa.
COL Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History and International Relations from Bucknell University; a Master of Arts (MA) in International Relations from Syracuse University; a Juris Doctor (JD) from Syracuse University College of Law; a Masters of Law (LLM) in Military Law (Operational Law Concentration) from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School; and a Master of Arts (MA) in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.