Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana, Little Creek-Fort Story Military Defense Attorney
Sailors, Aviators, Special Operators, and Soldiers — One Attorney Who Represents Them AllMultiple installations in a single region, home to the surface fleet, the Navy’s East Coast strike-fighter squadrons, its special warfare community, and the shipyard that keeps submarines and carriers running. Different missions, but the same military justice system follows every one of them.
Nelson Robles co-founded Corrao & Robles Law after gaining years of experience as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer in the U.S. Army, and he represents sailors, aviators, special warfare personnel, soldiers, and their families connected to every corner of Hampton Roads’ military footprint.
Experience You Can Trust
A submarine overhaul at the shipyard in Portsmouth, a strike-fighter squadron flying out of Oceana, and a SEAL platoon training out of Little Creek don’t share a command structure, let alone the same day-to-day concerns — but they share the same UCMJ, the same Rules for Courts-Martial, and the same need for defense counsel who won’t need a primer on military law. Nelson Robles built that foundation as an active-duty Army JAG Major, completing the Judge Advocate Officer Course, the Military Trial Advocacy Course, and the Complex Victim Unit Course, and earning the Army Commendation Medal and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Where Attorney Robles Steps In
Naval Station Norfolk alone hosts more ships, aircraft, and personnel than most countries field in their entire navy. Add NAS Oceana’s strike-fighter squadrons, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story’s SEAL teams and Army amphibious specialists, and the submarine and carrier overhaul work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, and Hampton Roads produces more military legal matters in a given month than many regions see in a year. Attorney Robles represents clients across all four communities.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service works cases connected to every installation in the region, from a dispute aboard a ship at Norfolk to an incident off base in Virginia Beach. Attorney Robles’s advice holds steady no matter which command is involved: no statement, no interview, and no explanation without a lawyer present.
Cases connected to Little Creek’s SEAL teams and special warfare units often carry a layer of sensitivity, classification, and command scrutiny that an ordinary case doesn’t. Attorney Robles handles these matters with the discretion they require, while holding investigators and commands to the same evidentiary standards that apply everywhere else.
Commanders across Hampton Roads reach for non-judicial punishment often, and a finding can still cost rank, pay, and standing heading into the next evaluation or a fleet reassignment, regardless of how routine it’s made to feel. Attorney Robles reviews the underlying allegation, weighs accepting NJP against demanding a court-martial, and prepares the stronger case either way.
A general court-martial conviction carries a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay, and years of confinement whether it’s convened at Norfolk, Oceana, Little Creek, or Portsmouth. Attorney Robles represents clients from the Article 32 hearing through trial, and, when warranted, through an appeal to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Sexual assault allegations move through the Navy and Army justice systems with intense scrutiny, and the reputational fallout can begin well before a case is resolved. Attorney Robles conducts his own investigation and holds the government to its burden rather than accepting the initial account.
Plenty of career risk across Hampton Roads never reaches a courtroom. Attorney Robles also represents clients in:
- Involuntary separation and administrative discharge boards
- Flight status and aviation evaluation boards
- Security clearance revocations and DOHA hearings
- Record correction petitions (BCNR, ABCMR)
- Evaluation report rebuttals
- GOMOR and letter of reprimand responses
- UA, AWOL, and desertion allegations
- VA disability appeals
- USERRA reemployment disputes
Hampton Roads Doesn’t Sit Still
Carrier strike groups deploy for the better part of a year at a time, squadrons rotate through Oceana, and thousands of sailors are moving into the region as ships shift homeport to Norfolk — all of which can scatter witnesses and evidence before a pending case is resolved. An Article 15 rebuttal, a clearance appeal, or a records-correction filing still comes with a response window measured in days, not months, no matter how much else is in motion. Getting a lawyer engaged before a first interview is usually what keeps the most options open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Serving the Military Community in the Portsmouth Area
Attorney Robles represents sailors, aviators, special warfare personnel, soldiers, veterans, and military families connected to Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, and Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, throughout Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, and Newport News, and service members who have since transferred to installations elsewhere.
