LTC Kirk G. Warner served in Baghdad as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, Combined Joint Task Force –7 (Coalition Provisional Authority).  LTC Warner deployed and commanded the 12th JAG DET during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Kuwait and Iraq.  LTC Warner and his team were assigned to the Coalition Forces Land Component Command upon arrival at Camp Doha, Kuwait.  From the start of combat operations until the fall of Baghdad, LTC Warner was the Senior Judge Advocate and OIC in the CFLCC Command Operations Center.  He also served as the Judge Advocate to the CFLCC Repatriation Team responsible for recovered American Prisoners of War.  He moved to Baghdad with CFLCC (Forward) in mid-April as the senior CFLCC Judge Advocate and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at the Early Entry Command Post.  In Baghdad, LTC Warner served in a variety of roles including liaison to the Ministry of Justice in detainee and judicial operations, legal advisor to Task Force FAJR in the Ministry of Health startup, representative to the International Committee of the Red Cross for detainee operations and EPW/POW returns, founding member of the Special Prosecution Task Force, Board President for Article 5 Tribunals on former Regime leaders and legal advisor to Operation Sweeney and oil smuggling operations in Southern Iraq.

     Upon redeployment in October, 2003, LTC Warner returned to civilian law practice and his Army Reserve position as the Fort Bragg Team Leader, 12th Legal Support Organization.  His previous assignments include Command Judge Advocate, 171st Area Support Group; Chief of Patient Administration, 312th Evacuation Hospital; Executive Officer, 310th Medical Detachment (DS) HA; and Company Commander, 311th Station Hospital.  LTC Warner is a graduate of the Medical Service Corps Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Judge Advocate Officer Advanced Course, the Command & General Staff College and the Army War College Defense Strategy Course.  He has been awarded, among other medals, the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal (with oak leaf cluster), National Defense Service Medal and the Air Assault Badge.

     LTC Warner is a Partner with the Raleigh law firm of Smith Anderson.  He heads the firm’s Products Liability Department and is national and state trial and appellate counsel for multiple major automotive and products manufacturers. He has litigated and tried cases in over twenty-five states and Guam.  He is a member of the Products Liability Advisory Council, the International Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and the American and North Carolina Bar Associations where he is a member of the LAMP Committee.  He is licensed in Ohio and North Carolina.  He previously served as a Special Prosecutor for the State of Ohio while an associate at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati. LTC Warner received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from The Ohio State University, a Masters of Art degree in History at North Carolina State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo and Duke University Law Schools.

     LTC Warner grew up on a dairy farm near Greenville, Ohio and, after one too many cold winters, now lives in Raleigh and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with his wife Diane and dog Rocky.  He has officiated high school football for over twenty years, including over forty play-off games and a state championship game.  He is currently Chairman of the Triangle Chapter of the March of Dimes, a Director of the North Carolina March of Dimes, former Treasurer of the Raleigh-Millbrook Rotary, past Chairman of the Ohio Wheelchair Olympics, Director of the Triangle Football Officials Association and a guest lecturer at North Carolina State University in Products Liability law.