Neal Puckett graduated from SHS in 1973 and from Indiana University in 1977 (B.A., Psychology/Speech Communication). Upon graduation, Mr. Puckett was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served as a Marine Corps Intelligence and Counterintelligence officer at Camp Lejeune, NC. Selected for the Funded Legal Education Program, he received his law degree from Indiana University School of Law (Bloomington) in 1984, and served his first judge advocate (military attorney) tour as a defense counsel, prosecutor and deputy legal advisor at Camp Pendleten, CA.
Selected to receive a postgraduate law degree, he earned a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Criminal Law from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1989. Mr. Puckett served two tours as a military judge, both in Okinawa, Japan, and later in 29 Palms CA. He also earned a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from teh U.S. Navel War College.
After retirement from the Marine Corps, Puckett worked as an assistant federal public defender in Pensacola, FLA. in 1999, he founded a highly successful law firm specializing in military criminal defense law. The firm represented active duty and reserve military service members around the world. He is a nationally a nationally-renowned expert commentator on military justice cases, having regularly appeared on national TV and radio news programs, as well as in various online and print media.