Military Law Forum

[Dostoevsky]

Does anybody else have problems contacting the JARO office? (phone)

I usually email with questions and have received quick, helpful answers.

Question for Army DAs regarding DODMERB logins. The packet came in the mail yesterday, but I'm having issues with my SS#/last name combination. Anyone else?
(This is for medical appointments contracted through Concordia)

Follow-up: If you have a space in your last name, insert a hyphen (so van der Berg would be van-der-Berg).

[bouakedojo]

I've been hearing a lot about force-shaping on the base I work at. Any active duty JAGs know anything about that/how it works/how to avoid it?

[Myself]

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[jagapplicant2012]

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[ZeroDay]

The cover story for this month's edition of the ABA Journal is all about BG Mark Martins, chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. The cover of the magazine features a close-up of his ASU, so I was pretty stoked when copies were delivered to all the other lawyers in my office.

[Beachbum89]

Just got accepted into the Navy JAG internship program. So excited!

[thementor31337]

I'm officially considering the USMC PLC Law program and have talked to an OSO near where I'll be going to school. I can't believe I'm seriously considering going back, but for some reason I feel like I should at least try. I'm a prior enlisted Marine with 5yrs in and will be under obligation until Sept 2014. The only thing I have to work on is my PFT score, I've done a bit of a civilian backslide.

Also, if anyone has any questions about OCS or TBS, I can probably answer them, I've worked at TBS for the last almost 6yrs, 4.5yrs as an active duty Marine and almost a year as a civilian. I'll be hoping to go to OCS the summer between 1L and 2L, commission, and then go to TBS fall 2016. We'll see what happens though.

[awkwadoodle]

Congrats!! Where are you going to be?
I haven't heard yet, so I'm guessing it's a no. bummer. not sure what else I could have done.

[Jagjen82]

Follow up on a few questions I saw - I'm currently in the Army 190th JAOBC, so thought I could shed a little insight on a few things.

Our class makeup is about 1/3 AD, 1/3 Reserves, and 1/3 NG plus a few FLEPs and an international student.

As far as the process once you are selected - medical exams are pretty easy/uneventful. I had my results/qualification in a month. If you need waivers, the process can become quite lengthy from what I've heard from my class. You won't hear much after that until the fall, so don't sweat it too much. I found out my class assignment for JAOBC in October/November, and assignments are done in late November/early December for the February class.

Any other questions, feel free to PM me.

[Beachbum89]

Congrats!! Where are you going to be?
I haven't heard yet, so I'm guessing it's a no. bummer. not sure what else I could have done.

I'll be in San Diego for the summer. Good luck!

[Another]

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[erik_1717]

Got the call yesterday. Officially accepted for USMC!! I couldn't be more honored!

[wwUSMC84]

Got the call yesterday. Officially accepted for USMC!! I couldn't be more honored!

Congrats! When will you be attending OCS?

[thementor31337]

Got the call yesterday. Officially accepted for USMC!! I couldn't be more honored!

Congrats on your selection! What's your commissioning source? Did you go PLC or OCC?

[erik_1717]

Got the call yesterday. Officially accepted for USMC!! I couldn't be more honored!

Congrats! When will you be attending OCS?

Got the call yesterday. Officially accepted for USMC!! I couldn't be more honored!

Congrats on your selection! What's your commissioning source? Did you go PLC or OCC?

Thanks guys! I got a call from my Captain on Friday. I have applied for some other branches so I'm waiting to hear back from them, but I would be attending OCS through PLC and it would be this summer. I believe it is called PLC combined though bc it is a 10 week program

[Lock74]

PFT score? And do you believe going the plc law route is less selective then the other plc routes?

[erik_1717]

Only a 254. And are you asking if PLC law makes for an easier selection than signing a ground or air contract? Or are you asking if PLC law is easier than OCC?

[Lock74]

I am asking if plc law is a easier selection. Also do you think the review board takes in account the fact that you are plc law while at ocs? Are the marines in need of jags more so then aviation and ground contracts?

[wwUSMC84]

Thanks guys! I got a call from my Captain on Friday. I have applied for some other branches so I'm waiting to hear back from them, but I would be attending OCS through PLC and it would be this summer. I believe it is called PLC combined though bc it is a 10 week program

As a Marine Officer, I would strongly encourage you towards this side of the house, but then again I am incredibly biased. You'll get to lead Marines, which is in my opinion the best job in the world. Plus as a Marine JA, you will be a Marine Officer first, and therefore have many opportunities that your peers in the other services may not have in terms of command and opportunities to get outside your MOS.

Only a 254. And are you asking if PLC law makes for an easier selection than signing a ground or air contract? Or are you asking if PLC law is easier than OCC?

Thats not a horrible score, but if you want OCS to be easier, definatly work on increasing it. Your run time is the most important thing to improve on as the running program at OCS is very intense, i.e 3-5 miles on hilly terrain at close to 6 min/mile. I went running a 22:30. I left running low 18's. Although I drastically improved while at OCS, life would have been ALOT easier had I gone in running faster.

For pullups, look into the 7 Weeks to 50 Pull-ups program. I found it more effective than the Armstrong or Recon Ron and went from routinely getting 18-19 pull-ups on my PFTs to doing 26-28.

[Another]

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[wesangler]

To anybody who is in the know, how much of a leg-up will a 2L summer spent with the Navy JAGC give me come time for Direct Appointment applications? Can anybody vouch for the Navy internship experience as a whole? I ask because I have a secondary offer from a government agency where I have a better idea of the substantive work experience I'd be getting. Any advice would be appreciated.

[LazinessPerSe]

To anybody who is in the know, how much of a leg-up will a 2L summer spent with the Navy JAGC give me come time for Direct Appointment applications? Can anybody vouch for the Navy internship experience as a whole? I ask because I have a secondary offer from a government agency where I have a better idea of the substantive work experience I'd be getting. Any advice would be appreciated.

Talked with a few Navy JAGs (O-3, O-5) about the Navy internship subject. Their basic consensus was that it is a valuable experience, but working for a DA's office would look better on application boards. The rationale was that the Navy internship does not get the intern much legal experience, whereas the DA's office often allows 3Ls to handle their own cases. There's value in the connections and potential review of work product / LOR from the Navy internship, but the litigation/advocacy experience is higher when working a DA internship.

Take it FWIW - but I wouldn't put too much stock in the Navy internship.

[JLGal24]

I have a question for you all. I'm waiting to hear back from a Direct Commission program. I had my boards, passed my physical, turned in all of my materials, and am now waiting. A few days ago, I fell off my bike and I'm 90% certain I broke the scaphoid bone in my wrist (and maybe other places, too. I'm pretty banged up). I've broken my scaphoid bone before and it feels exactly the same as the last time. Having broken the bone before, MEPS asked me a lot of questions and had me perform extra dexterity tests in my wrist. Now I'm afraid to go to the doctor because I'm afraid that then I would have to inform my recruiter who would have to inform the selection committee which could affect my chances. Am I overreacting? Does this not actually matter for a Direct Commision lawyer program? Should I just go to the doctor? A scaphoid facture can be very slow to heal and I almost needed surgery the last time, so I'm worried about leaving it untreated.

[ShockTop]

To anybody who is in the know, how much of a leg-up will a 2L summer spent with the Navy JAGC give me come time for Direct Appointment applications? Can anybody vouch for the Navy internship experience as a whole? I ask because I have a secondary offer from a government agency where I have a better idea of the substantive work experience I'd be getting. Any advice would be appreciated.

Talked with a few Navy JAGs (O-3, O-5) about the Navy internship subject. Their basic consensus was that it is a valuable experience, but working for a DA's office would look better on application boards. The rationale was that the Navy internship does not get the intern much legal experience, whereas the DA's office often allows 3Ls to handle their own cases. There's value in the connections and potential review of work product / LOR from the Navy internship, but the litigation/advocacy experience is higher when working a DA internship.

Take it FWIW - but I wouldn't put too much stock in the Navy internship.

So did I, and I had the opposite reaction from every single officer I spoke to, including several O-6s. Every single one said the most valuable piece of someone's application, if they had one, would be a letter of recommendation from an O-6 JAG. Furthermore, I was told they look at interns differently in boards than other applicants. Interning for the Navy, for free, gives the board the impression that you really want to work there. This is all hearsay, obviously, but my experience with the internship program has left me with the impression that it matters more than you make it out to be.

[LazinessPerSe]

To anybody who is in the know, how much of a leg-up will a 2L summer spent with the Navy JAGC give me come time for Direct Appointment applications? Can anybody vouch for the Navy internship experience as a whole? I ask because I have a secondary offer from a government agency where I have a better idea of the substantive work experience I'd be getting. Any advice would be appreciated.

Talked with a few Navy JAGs (O-3, O-5) about the Navy internship subject. Their basic consensus was that it is a valuable experience, but working for a DA's office would look better on application boards. The rationale was that the Navy internship does not get the intern much legal experience, whereas the DA's office often allows 3Ls to handle their own cases. There's value in the connections and potential review of work product / LOR from the Navy internship, but the litigation/advocacy experience is higher when working a DA internship.

Take it FWIW - but I wouldn't put too much stock in the Navy internship.

So did I, and I had the opposite reaction from every single officer I spoke to, including several O-6s. Every single one said the most valuable piece of someone's application, if they had one, would be a letter of recommendation from an O-6 JAG. Furthermore, I was told they look at interns differently in boards than other applicants. Interning for the Navy, for free, gives the board the impression that you really want to work there. This is all hearsay, obviously, but my experience with the internship program has left me with the impression that it matters more than you make it out to be.

That's a fair counterpoint. I'm just parroting what I heard from those officers I spoke to on the matter. It's very plausible that it's all subjective to the officer.