White House Author

Coral Wong Pietsch serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and has had a lifetime of distinguished public service at the state, national and international levels. She began her public service when she joined the military and served on active duty in the United States Army as a Judge Advocate. Later, she continued her service in the U.S. Army Reserve and rose to the rank of Brigadier General, becoming the first woman in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps to be promoted to general officer and the first woman of Asian ancestry to be promoted to general officer in the Army. In 2007, as a Department of Defense civilian, she volunteered to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator for the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team. In cooperation with the Iraqi Bar Association, she helped establish a first-ever Legal Aid Clinic at one of Iraq’s largest detention facilities, a clinic that has continued to operate. On the state level, she served as the Chair of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. During the time she served, the Commission improved its administrative process, eliminated backlogs and implemented public education and awareness programs. Judge Pietsch was appointed to the bench in July 2012.