Military Law Forum

[TheSpanishMain]

FWIW, the county I was born in will let you request an original copy of your birth certificate for like $10. They'll mail it out to you in a few days.

[AntonJart]

They want you to submit original copies, but won't return them? That can't be right.

yep, there is a note below that message "This document will not be returned to you, so do not send your only copy."

I was wondering what they mean by "Certified Copy." Can a Notary Public notarize the copy?

A random notary cannot certify the document. You need a records custodian for that particular record from the originating office, like someone that could do a FRE 902(11) certification.

I see, thank you! I will then schedule an appointment with USCIS to get my Naturalization Cert. copy certified.

[Anonymous User]

What are the political leanings of military servicemembers in the JAG Corps? Does it differ among the services? How is the JAG Corps compared with other MOSs in terms of politics?

Wondering for myself (and others) because I can have pretty strong political leanings.

[TheSpanishMain]

What are the political leanings of military servicemembers in the JAG Corps? Does it differ among the services? How is the JAG Corps compared with other MOSs in terms of politics?

Wondering for myself (and others) because I can have pretty strong political leanings.

First of all, you should know that being overtly political in the military, at least during duty hours, is a no-no, especially for officers. If you want to fly a "Fuck Trump" or a "Hillary for Prison" flag at your desk, that's not going to go over well.

My guess is that JAG officers probably tend to be more conservative than the average lawyer, just because the military tends to attract people with conservative leanings. But that's just a guess. None of the JAGs I've ever worked with have ever been in your face about their political beliefs. Incidentally, if you have the idea that everyone in the military is a hardcore Republican, you're incorrect. The military as a whole leans to the right, but I've certainly met plenty of Democrats.

But again, putting your political beliefs front and center in the military is not going to go over well, no matter which way you lean. If you want to have political conversations with your friends over drinks after work, knock yourself out. But don't plan on evangelizing in the workplace.

Finally, the military is pretty diverse. I've run into people in the military of just about every race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. If you think you can't work cordially with people who have strong political leanings in the other direction, then you may want to rethink this.

[Anonymous User]

The above poster is right. However, people loved talking politics when I was in. Can't speak for JAG itself, but officers and SNCOs are generally much more conservative than lower enlisted. In my anecdotal experience among officers, support for the 2012 presidential election was mostly divided along racial and gender lines. With that said, political extremes (left and right) seem more common among enlisted.

[TheSpanishMain]

Yeah, people do talk politics, but at least in my experience, only with people they're relatively comfortable with who are around the same rank. Basically, if you would feel okay telling that person a dirty joke, you can probably talk politics. But you can't be overtly political in general.

For example, I would never walk into my boss's office and go "Hey, sir/ma'am, can you believe what that idiot Trump is doing?" even if I was pretty sure that he or she thought Trump was an idiot. And if someone junior to me did that to me, I'd probably remind them that they need to keep it apolitical in uniform, even if I agreed with whatever they were saying.

[Patrick Bateman]

they need to keep it apolitical in uniform

This is the credited response.

As a rule, you check politics at the door. There can be countless exceptions to this in terms of one-on-one interactions among friends and the like but your claimed "pretty strong political leanings" have no part in service as a commissioned officer.

It is also against the law for an officer to use "contemptuous words" in respect to major political figures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/888

[howell]

It is also against the law for an officer to use "contemptuous words" in respect to major political figures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/888

Currently an ADC. I recently read this article and the discussion/definitions thoroughly. Figured I needed to be prepared.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps program or Army's General Counsel's office?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps program or Army's General Counsel's office?

OGC conducted interviews last week and will finish up this week. May hear results next week. I believe the Corps of Engineers are on a similar timetable, at least for conducting interviews.

[Patrick Bateman]

It is also against the law for an officer to use "contemptuous words" in respect to major political figures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/888

Currently an ADC. I recently read this article and the discussion/definitions thoroughly. Figured I needed to be prepared.

Congrats on getting picked up for ADC! Best job in the JAG Corps!

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard anything about whether the AF will have its paid internship this year?

Also, would I even have a shot if I'm median at CCN with average softs?

[theorangewon]

Anyone have info regarding the USMC summer internship or anything regarding the NAvy? Just trying to figure out how competitive the selection process is and what they're looking for in applicants.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard anything about whether the AF will have its paid internship this year?

Also, would I even have a shot if I'm median at CCN with average softs?

No. AF internship is unpaid this year. Need more details on your stats.

[lawschoolgirl12345]

I got accepted for a Navy Jag internship this summer. Just wanted to know how easy it is to pass the security clearance process. I want to make sure I can intern this summer. The clearance process seems kind of daunting. I had a friend who said she was still under investigation but for position with foreign service, and that she was declined interim security clearance. I thought it was easy to get, but she is making seem like it can be really hard...any thoughts on how to make sure I get the interim clearance quickly?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard anything about whether the AF will have its paid internship this year?

Also, would I even have a shot if I'm median at CCN with average softs?

No. AF internship is unpaid this year. Need more details on your stats.

Is this for certain at this point? Their Facebook page says it's still an open question whether they will have funding.

If it is unpaid, do you know if there will still be separate externship and internship programs?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers? I think they said offers would go out by today, so I assume they've sent out offers?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard anything about whether the AF will have its paid internship this year?

Also, would I even have a shot if I'm median at CCN with average softs?

No. AF internship is unpaid this year. Need more details on your stats.

Is this for certain at this point? Their Facebook page says it's still an open question whether they will have funding.

If it is unpaid, do you know if there will still be separate externship and internship programs?

Far as I know, because of the federal hiring freeze AF will only have an unpaid program this year. You will have to commit at least 35-40 hours a week (unpaid) plus the living arrangement for the summer program.

[Anonymous User]

I got accepted for a Navy Jag internship this summer. Just wanted to know how easy it is to pass the security clearance process. I want to make sure I can intern this summer. The clearance process seems kind of daunting. I had a friend who said she was still under investigation but for position with foreign service, and that she was declined interim security clearance. I thought it was easy to get, but she is making seem like it can be really hard...any thoughts on how to make sure I get the interim clearance quickly?

It isn't that bad for the interns assuming that you have no criminal or health issues. Just a lot of information to fill out. The whole process only took me about 2 weeks when I applied as a 3L.

[Roclandsfinest23]

Everyone get that email for conference calls next week?

[Anonymous User]

I had a few short term jobs that I quit because I didn't like them before I started law school. Does it look bad for the security clearance that I had a few different jobs before I started law school. Two of them, I chose to quit after a month (and for one of them I quit after 2 weeks because it really wasn't the place for me)?

[frankbeans]

For the average law-abiding citizen, getting a security clearance isn't too challenging. The things that will cause problems are extensive drug use, criminal activity, and unexplained foreign contacts.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers? I think they said offers would go out by today, so I assume they've sent out offers?

Hi guys, sorry to bring this up again. I know there were a few of us here who interviewed with the Army Corps of Engineers Honors Program and with the General Counsel's honors program, and I was wondering if anyone heard anything back yet?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers? I think they said offers would go out by today, so I assume they've sent out offers?

Hi guys, sorry to bring this up again. I know there were a few of us here who interviewed with the Army Corps of Engineers Honors Program and with the General Counsel's honors program, and I was wondering if anyone heard anything back yet?

I was the last person the OCG interviewed, and they said they'd probably make a decision this upcoming week.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers? I think they said offers would go out by today, so I assume they've sent out offers?

Hi guys, sorry to bring this up again. I know there were a few of us here who interviewed with the Army Corps of Engineers Honors Program and with the General Counsel's honors program, and I was wondering if anyone heard anything back yet?

I'm waiting to hear back from the General Counsel's honors program. My understanding is they would make their decision early this week. Today is the first day I expected to hear anything since yesterday was a holiday.