Lieutenant Colonel Kerry Friedewald was commissioned in 2009 upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy. She became a Manpower Officer after The Basic School and served as Adjutant, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific from 2010–2013. She was selected for the Funded Law Education Program in 2012.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald began law school at the Georgetown University Law Center in 2013. Following graduation from law school in 2016, she completed the Basic Lawyer Course and was assigned to the Legal Services Support Team, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. There, she served as a Defense Counsel and the Legal Assistance Officer in Charge.
In 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was assigned as Appellate Government Counsel, Code 46, Office of the Judge Advocate General. As Appellate Government Counsel, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald represented the United States before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF). She argued four cases at NMCCA and three cases at CAAF.
From 2022-2023, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald completed her L.L.M. in Criminal Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia, where she was a Superior Graduate.
After completion of her L.L.M., Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald served as the Team Lead, Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC), Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point from 2023–2024. The OSTC is the independent prosecutor of all sex offenses, homicides, and domestic violence and was then newly created by Congress. Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald was among the first Team Leads in the OSTC and stood up the installation OSTC at MCAS Cherry Point.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald promoted to her current rank in February 2024 and began her tour as the Regional Defense Counsel–East in July 2024. As Regional Defense Counsel-East, Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald supervised a regional staff and four Defense Services Organization branch offices in the provision of defense services to Marines and Sailors across the southeast facing disciplinary and other adverse actions.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald is from Bethesda, Maryland. She earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2016 and is a member of the Maryland bar.
Lieutenant Colonel Friedewald’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and various other unit and service awards.