Former Army JAG and Senior Defense Counsel 25+ years defending service members Courts-martial defense worldwide
Reviewed by Michael Waddington, Founding Partner Updated October 6, 2026
Michael Waddington and Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington of Gonzalez & Waddington are civilian defense attorneys who represent Air Force and Navy service members across Nevada — including at Nellis AFB and Naval Air Station Fallon — in courts-martial, administrative separation boards, and security clearance actions.
As civilian counsel who take on investigators and commands on behalf of service members at Nevada installations, Waddington and Gonzalez-Waddington travel to Nellis, NAS Fallon, Creech AFB, and other Nevada posts. OSI holds investigative jurisdiction at Air Force installations; NCIS investigates at NAS Fallon. Both agencies move quickly on allegations involving sexual assault, drug offenses, fraud, assault, and orders violations.
Nevada cases routinely involve off-post conduct near Las Vegas, casino and hotel surveillance footage, rideshare records, and civilian police contact alongside command pressure tied to high-tempo missions at the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, the Red Flag and Green Flag-West exercises across the Nevada Test and Training Range, and the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center in Fallon, Churchill County.
Call Gonzalez & Waddington at 1-800-921-8607 for a free, confidential consultation about your Nevada case.
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If you are searching for a Nevada military defense lawyer or a court-martial attorney in Nevada, you are likely facing a serious military justice issue. Nevada is one of the most important military aviation, weapons training, remotely piloted aircraft, and classified testing states in the United States. Service members assigned to Nevada may operate in high-tempo Air Force, Navy, National Guard, Reserve, intelligence, testing, aviation, and range-support environments where allegations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) can escalate quickly.
Gonzalez & Waddington represents service members stationed throughout Nevada and worldwide who face felony-level military charges, command investigations, Article 15/NJP actions, administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry, security clearance concerns, and contested courts-martial. The firm focuses exclusively on military criminal defense and serious UCMJ litigation.
Nevada military cases are different from ordinary civilian criminal cases. They may involve operational records, flight-line access, range schedules, classified or sensitive mission information, remotely piloted aircraft operations, Las Vegas off-duty conduct, casino and hotel surveillance footage, rideshare records, social media, cell-phone extractions, civilian police reports, and command pressure tied to sensitive missions.
Nevada hosts a unique mix of military missions, including:
Because many Nevada missions are high-visibility and technically sensitive, command action can move fast. A single allegation can affect a service member’s rank, clearance, flight status, access, deployment eligibility, promotion, retirement, and future assignments.
Service members stationed in Nevada may face serious allegations involving:
Nellis Air Force Base is one of the most important air combat training installations in the world. It supports advanced tactics, weapons employment, multi-domain training, Red Flag exercises, and high-level Air Force combat readiness.
Nellis cases may involve:
Because Nellis supports advanced training and operational development, investigations may involve range records, flight schedules, classified or sensitive materials, access logs, mission planning documents, government systems, digital communications, and technical experts.
Creech Air Force Base is closely tied to remotely piloted aircraft operations. Service members assigned to Creech may work in RPA operations, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, sensor operations, mission support, maintenance, communications, security, or classified mission environments.
Creech cases may involve:
The Creech environment creates unique defense issues. A case may involve shift fatigue, classified mission stress, compartmented information, unusual work hours, long commutes from Las Vegas or North Las Vegas, digital evidence, access logs, and command concerns about trust and judgment.
Naval Air Station Fallon is the Navy’s premier aviation training location. It hosts the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, which serves as the center of excellence for naval aviation training and tactics development.
NAS Fallon cases may involve:
Because Fallon often hosts rotational units, witnesses may leave quickly. A serious defense must preserve squadron records, lodging records, flight schedules, duty rosters, range records, access logs, and civilian evidence from Fallon, Reno, Fernley, Lovelock, and surrounding communities.
Many Nevada UCMJ cases begin off base. A service member may live in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, Aliante, Centennial Hills, Indian Springs, Fallon, Reno, or rural Nevada. Off-duty incidents can quickly become military cases.
Local Nevada evidence may include:
The defense must move quickly. Casino and hotel surveillance may be overwritten. Tourists may leave Nevada. Civilian witnesses may be hard to locate. Rideshare and phone data may disappear. Command assumptions may harden before the full evidence is reviewed.
The following examples are fictional. They are not claims about any actual case, person, command, business, hotel, casino, unit, or witness. They illustrate common Nevada military fact patterns.
Article 120 cases in Nevada often involve hotels, casinos, apartments, dormitories, TDY lodging, dating apps, group chats, alcohol, delayed reports, digital evidence, and civilian witnesses. These cases often turn on consent, credibility, intoxication, timing, motive, digital context, and witness contamination.
Domestic violence and assault cases may involve Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Fallon, Reno, or rural county police reports. Evidence may include 911 calls, body-camera footage, photographs, medical records, protective orders, Family Advocacy records, text messages, no-contact orders, and firearms restrictions.
Drug and alcohol cases may involve positive urinalysis results, prescription medications, marijuana exposure issues, prohibited substances, DUI arrests, alcohol-related disorderly conduct, and command-directed inquiries. Nevada’s civilian marijuana laws do not protect service members from UCMJ drug allegations.
Fraud and financial cases may involve TDY travel, Las Vegas lodging, government cards, BAH, DTS vouchers, rental cars, per diem, casino-related financial issues, or missing government property. The defense must separate intentional misconduct from administrative confusion or poor documentation.
Many Nevada assignments involve classified or sensitive operations. Allegations involving foreign contacts, gambling-related financial issues, online conduct, unauthorized disclosures, government systems, or classified material may threaten both UCMJ exposure and clearance eligibility.
Nevada military cases may involve training events, Red Flag exercises, range operations, maintenance records, weapons handling, flight-line incidents, mission planning, and technical documentation. These cases require careful review of orders, logs, technical guidance, and witness competence.
A Nevada military investigation may begin with:
Investigators may collect phones, interview witnesses, obtain civilian records, request surveillance footage, and develop a theory before the service member understands the risk.
Early defense action is critical in Nevada because many key records are time-sensitive.
Early defense work can help preserve:
Waiting can be dangerous. Videos may be overwritten. TDY witnesses may leave. Exercise participants may return to home station. Civilian witnesses may disappear. Command assumptions may become difficult to reverse.
Gonzalez & Waddington, LLC is a civilian military defense law firm representing service members worldwide. The firm is led by Michael Waddington and Alexandra González-Waddington, a husband-and-wife defense team focused on military criminal defense, court-martial litigation, UCMJ investigations, administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry, GOMOR and letter of reprimand rebuttals, Article 15/NJP matters, sexual assault defense, violent offense defense, fraud cases, cyber and digital-evidence cases, and other high-stakes military legal matters.
Michael Waddington is a former Army officer and former Army JAG. He served as an Army Trial Defense Counsel, Senior Defense Counsel, Army prosecutor, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and Chief of Military Justice. He has more than 25 years of military defense experience. He is licensed in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and South Carolina. He is admitted to all U.S. military trial courts worldwide.
Alexandra González-Waddington is a founding partner, former public defender, and experienced military defense lawyer licensed in Florida and Georgia. She is admitted to all U.S. military trial courts worldwide. She has defended service members in sexual assault, violent crime, war crimes, murder, classified-information, domestic violence, and white-collar cases. She co-tries the firm’s cases with Michael Waddington and is bilingual in English and Spanish.
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Facing a military investigation, UCMJ allegation, or serious criminal charge? Gonzalez & Waddington provides trial-focused defense for high-stakes cases. Call 1-800-921-8607 or text 954-799-4019 for a confidential, no-cost consultation.
