Military Law Forum

[holajerin]

Does anybody have any sense of how sequestration is affecting JAG hiring in other branches? I'm specifically interested in Navy, if anyone has info on that.

[LazinessPerSe]

I've been posting little updates about the Army AD process for selectees. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Army AD selects from Dec. 2012 just were notified that some (at least 20) are not shipping for OBC until Jan 2015. Pretty tough to hear. They're looking for volunteers to take the later OBC class date. I have no idea what this means for future applicants (perhaps nothing).

That's ridiculous. Why not just select fewer people?

You'd have to wonder if those affected just say screw it and find other employment for the 2+ years wait.

Obviously you've never been in the military. It's called "hurry up and wait."

But seriously, there are major shifts happening within the military right now. There are a lot of budget cuts and downsizing of troop sizes.

Plus, when you factor in the state of the legal market, I'm sure there aren't too many JAGs wanting to walk away from the stability of the military to join the lawyer job hunt....

We're talking 2 years here; bills have to get paid somehow. It's a fair guess to assume these people have to wade into that job hunt anyways, regardless of what they do with the offer. I'm familiar with "hurry up and wait", but this is excessive, even for military standards.

[Pdk7]

I've been posting little updates about the Army AD process for selectees. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Army AD selects from Dec. 2012 just were notified that some (at least 20) are not shipping for OBC until Jan 2015. Pretty tough to hear. They're looking for volunteers to take the later OBC class date. I have no idea what this means for future applicants (perhaps nothing).

That's ridiculous. Why not just select fewer people?

You'd have to wonder if those affected just say screw it and find other employment for the 2+ years wait.

Obviously you've never been in the military. It's called "hurry up and wait."

But seriously, there are major shifts happening within the military right now. There are a lot of budget cuts and downsizing of troop sizes.

Plus, when you factor in the state of the legal market, I'm sure there aren't too many JAGs wanting to walk away from the stability of the military to join the lawyer job hunt....

We're talking 2 years here; bills have to get paid somehow. It's a fair guess to assume these people have to wade into that job hunt anyways, regardless of what they do with the offer. I'm familiar with "hurry up and wait", but this is excessive, even for military standards.

They're actually asking for volunteers, for those who want to do other things with those two years and who might actually have clerkships or something else lined up or available as an option, and are encouraging those who don't volunteer to take the opportunity to do something similar. Which isn't bad when you think about it. On the other hand, the silver lining is that, with a job already lined up, its not like theres as much pressure to go do something legal. Its our last opportunity to do something we want to do but might never get the chance to do again. That being said I, too, am curious about how this will affect the next wave of applicants. Bad enough the 2Ls aren't getting paid.

[Myself]

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[bouakedojo]

After DODMERB receives your info from the contractors how long does it take for them to get back to you with the results?

Got mine in about 2 months for my Marine Corps JAG apps, but that was right before December, so the holiday break probably extended it.

[Ranger85]

I've been posting little updates about the Army AD process for selectees. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Army AD selects from Dec. 2012 just were notified that some (at least 20) are not shipping for OBC until Jan 2015. Pretty tough to hear. They're looking for volunteers to take the later OBC class date. I have no idea what this means for future applicants (perhaps nothing).

That's ridiculous. Why not just select fewer people?

You'd have to wonder if those affected just say screw it and find other employment for the 2+ years wait.

Obviously you've never been in the military. It's called "hurry up and wait."

But seriously, there are major shifts happening within the military right now. There are a lot of budget cuts and downsizing of troop sizes.

Plus, when you factor in the state of the legal market, I'm sure there aren't too many JAGs wanting to walk away from the stability of the military to join the lawyer job hunt....

We're talking 2 years here; bills have to get paid somehow. It's a fair guess to assume these people have to wade into that job hunt anyways, regardless of what they do with the offer. I'm familiar with "hurry up and wait", but this is excessive, even for military standards.

This is really good info though it lets me know even though ARMY JAG is 100% what I wanna do I need to be looking at some kind of employment for possibly 1 1/2 years after taking the bar. Does anybody know if any of the other branches JAG programs are being affected by the Sequester the way the Army is?

[Redfactor]

This is really good info though it lets me know even though ARMY JAG is 100% what I wanna do I need to be looking at some kind of employment for possibly 1 1/2 years after taking the bar. Does anybody know if any of the other branches JAG programs are being affected by the Sequester the way the Army is?

I know that the Marine Corps is aggressively slimming down their troop numbers right now. I don't know if this is affecting JAG hiring, but I suspect it might.

[Myself]

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[miami..]

Army AD select here, I got pushed back...not all the way to 2015 though. They have 3 classes in 2014. I'm going to look for a clerkship and if all else fails I figure I'll just go to a fun city and become a bar tender. Might as well enjoy life....just gotta defer those loans now....

[Ranger85]

Do you have any idea what you're going to do? What you're going to try and do?

How about the rest of you Army ADs?[/quote]


Options are...

1) Whore myself out to a small practice somewhere for just enough to feed myself and pay loans.
2)Civil Service job i.e. State Attorney or even something not legal like a Department of Children Familes Investigator (they make like $40,000 and only require a Bachelors)
3)Something Completely non legal... My Grandpa dug ditches for a year in FL after graduating from Brooklyn Law School in the 50's before starting his successful legal career so I really wont feel too much like a failure if I do this.
4) I am already a 1st LT in the National Guard so I am gonna try and beg the JAG Corps to send me to other schools before JAG BOLC i.e. Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder ect...

[Myself]

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[Another]

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[Esquire]

4) I am already a 1st LT in the National Guard so I am gonna try and beg the JAG Corps to send me to other schools before JAG BOLC i.e. Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder ect...

Your ARNG unit would be footing that bill. RA won't. At least not yet.

[DangerZone]

Army AD select here, I got pushed back...not all the way to 2015 though. They have 3 classes in 2014. I'm going to look for a clerkship and if all else fails I figure I'll just go to a fun city and become a bar tender. Might as well enjoy life....just gotta defer those loans now....

That's great if you're single and young, but if you're like my friend, she has a family and children to feed in the mean time. It's incredibly inconvenient to say the least.

I agree. I understand budget cuts and the need for deferrment, but the whole way the process went down left a bad taste in my mouth. Why didn't they ask the entire group of acceptees what class date they preferred? There may be people going to January 2014 who would be okay with January 2015. And on the other hand, people like me, who have to go to January 2015 would NEED to go earlier to January 2014 or June. I don't know how they decided how to cast the lots for each of us, but it definitely has left me in a very very difficult situation, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to do JAG.

Hopkins23, were you selected for AD? Because if you were and you read your email you would not be making this remark. It is clear that they DID ask the entire group of selects to let them know if there was a specific class they wanted [June 2014, October 2014 or January 2015]. The email ALSO stated that they were going to use the Merit list to determine who gets placed in what class.

[Myself]

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[DangerZone]

That would definitely make things different. Is this true?

ajax, this is true. Just to clarify though, they didn't ask all AD selectees to tell them what class they wanted. Rather, they asked that if someone had a specific preference for being pushed back, maybe because they had a Clerkship lined up, to let them know. However, it was clear that they were going to use the Merit list as a tool for placing AD selectees in their respective OBC class.

[Pdk7]

AND they were also encouraging those of us who don't have some sort of urgent need to take the earlier classes to go off and do other things (clerk, volunteer, travel, etc.) so that those who really do need to go earlier could. I actually got the impression that there was some hope that a lot of us would take them up on this offer to make it easier for the others. Like everybody else said, the rest is up to the OML. There was a great deal of emphasis on this point in the email.

[ovocvuec]

Anyone have any insight into a release date for Navy JAG selection board results? Last year was 7 weeks, and website says to estimate 8. Something more definite would be nice to have though.

[LazinessPerSe]

Anyone have any insight into a release date for Navy JAG selection board results? Last year was 7 weeks, and website says to estimate 8. Something more definite would be nice to have though.

Just curious - why does it matter if it's 7, 8, or 9 weeks?

[erik_1717]

Anyone have any insight into a release date for Navy JAG selection board results? Last year was 7 weeks, and website says to estimate 8. Something more definite would be nice to have though.

Just curious - why does it matter if it's 7, 8, or 9 weeks?

Not sure about him, but I would like to know in 7 weeks rather than 8 or 9 because I'm sick of waiting!

[erik_1717]

Also, is this similar to the other branches where if you're selected you will be called and if not, you are contacted much later by a letter? I know the website has a "status" thing and I think I've seen others on here saying it reads "professionally recommended" or "not professionally recommended".

[Another]

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[Redfactor]

I had questions about terminology in Army or Army JAG. What is the difference between a mission and deployment? What other terms are there for things in the Army that can take you away from your home post?

Ciao.

Deployment is the physical movement of forces for non-permanent periods of time. So if the Army sends you to Afghanistan, you were deployed there.

Mission is the task to be carried out. It is usually partnered with the purpose.

So, if you were deployed as an Army JAG to Afghanistan, your overall mission would be in support Operation Enduring Freedom, as stated on your orders. Your specific mission could be to provide advice to battlespace commanders or to to approve fire missions or to investigate soldiers' actions or any other way the Army wants to utilize you.

Singular missions could be basically anything... You will have PLENTY of mission briefs and debriefs telling you what to do and what you just did.

"Deploy" "get orders" and "ship out" are the most common ones from my experience.

I am Marine Corps enlisted. If this is different than how the Army works, someone please feel free to chime in.

[Fed_Atty]

Also, is this similar to the other branches where if you're selected you will be called and if not, you are contacted much later by a letter? I know the website has a "status" thing and I think I've seen others on here saying it reads "professionally recommended" or "not professionally recommended".

When I was selected, the first indication I had was that the status changed. Actually, the very first indication I had was that my status remained pending while others switched to not professionally recommended. A few hours later it changed to Professionally Recommended. I think I got an e-mail later that day or early the next day.

[DannyBoy31]

I'm not sure how long ago this change occurred, but when I checked the Navy website today it stated that results are expected in early May. Also, for those who have already been professionally recommended, would you mind posting when you got selected (i.e. Fall or Spring of 2L or 3L year)? Thanks!