Lance Sigmon

Lance Sigmon was born on November 10, 1958, in Newton, NC. His parents are Eddie P. and Boncella Killian Sigmon. He graduated from Newton-Conover High School in 1977. In high school, he participated in the band, played basketball and was named All-Conference his senior year in baseball.

Having enlisted in the Air Force through the Delayed Entry Program on his 18th birthday, Sigmon left home in July 1977 for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. After graduating from basic training, Sigmon trained as a defensive aerial gunner on a B-52H bomber at Castle Air Force Base, California, and spent the next 3½ years stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. He was the only enlisted crewmember on a B-52H flight crew and was solely responsible for the defense of the aircraft while in flight. Most notably, as a member of one leg of our Nation's nuclear deterrent triad, Sigmon sat on "nuclear alert" for extended periods during the entire period of time he was assigned to Grand Forks.

After completing his Air Force enlistment and being honorably discharged in 1981, Sigmon returned home and began attending Lenoir-Rhyne College using the GI Bill benefits he had earned while enlisted. He then transferred to Western Carolina University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Accounting and Economics in May, 1985. He married Melissa, his high school sweetheart, in August 1985, and the next week, they moved to Winston-Salem so Sigmon could attend law school at Wake Forest University School of Law.

Because of his experience with military criminal issues, Sigmon was appointed as Chief Appellate Counsel for the Air Force. In that position, he was responsible for ensuring that criminal convictions were affirmed in the military appellate courts. After terrorists attacked America on September 11, 2001, Sigmon was personally selected to also serve as an Executive Officer to the Air Force Crisis Action Team which served as the 24-hour, 365-day nerve center of worldwide Air Force operations at the Pentagon. After three years as Chief Appellate Counsel, he was awarded with an appointment as a military judge. In that highly selective and responsible position, Sigmon presided over numerous trials, ensuring that the military courts-martial were conducted in a fair and orderly manner.

In 2005, Sigmon retired from the Air Force, and he and his family returned to Newton, remodeling the home his wife had grown up in. He opened a solo law practice specializing in defending military personnel facing trial by court-martial.

Lance Sigmon is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and a Civilian Defense Counsel for the United States Armed Forces. He has worked on many key JAG cases, including many high-profile cases involving the scope and jurisdiction of Military Law. Sigmon lost his bid for United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 10th congressional district on May 6, 2008 to incumbent Patrick McHenry in the Republican primary.