Military Law Forum

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psalom625

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Re: Military Law

Post by psalom625 » Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:01 pm

Which Letter of Recs would you consider the strongest?
For AF obviously I'll use 5
For Navy and Army: what are the strongest 3?

1) Judge
2) Bailiff (former Marine Warrant Officer)
3) 1L LRW prof.
4) 2L professor I've taken two classes in
5) 2L professor I've taken 1 class in
6) MSgt (E-7) supervisor when I was in the reserves

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Patrick Bateman

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Re: Military Law

Post by Patrick Bateman » Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:53 pm

psalom625 wrote:
Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:01 pm
Which Letter of Recs would you consider the strongest?
For AF obviously I'll use 5
For Navy and Army: what are the strongest 3?

1) Judge
2) Bailiff (former Marine Warrant Officer)
3) 1L LRW prof.
4) 2L professor I've taken two classes in
5) 2L professor I've taken 1 class in
6) MSgt (E-7) supervisor when I was in the reserves
Who can say the most about you?

This question has come up a few times in the thread - DVs with fancy titles are not always the best choice if they barely know you from Adam/Eve.

I think you will hit a diminishing return with 3x professors - I would cut at least one of them to make the 5 for the USAF. The Bailiff/WO is probably the biggest wild card in terms of what they can say - have they observed you in court? Can they provide some hearsay/RUMINT about what the judges/courtroom staff/attorneys think of you? Open question in my mind how valuable that will be.

To get to three for USN/USA I would probably go with one of each main category - judge, 1x professor, MSgt former supervisor.

Heineken

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Re: Military Law

Post by Heineken » Wed Jul 13, 2022 5:42 am

To represent someone for a Military Medical Discharge, years ago, you could either not charge a fee or the fee was very small and set by the government. Does anyone know if that has changed and what the fees look like?

psalom625

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Re: Military Law

Post by psalom625 » Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:31 pm

JAG commitments are first for 4 years, then after that, what are they?

ubersaurusrex

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Re: Military Law

Post by ubersaurusrex » Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:22 pm

psalom625 wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:31 pm
JAG commitments are first for 4 years, then after that, what are they?
Everytime your branch does something for you (moves you, sends you to a school, pays you a bonus, etc...) they want a time commitment in return. These are usually 2-3 years and will vary depending on the benefit. They are generally served consecutively, so if you PCS and take a bonus they can run at the same time.

If you have completed all of your obligations you can notify them of your intent to separate on pretty short notice, but you'll generally stay on active duty as an officer until you do. It isn't like an enlistment where you have to keep signing new contracts.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 4:39 pm

Does anyone know what a reasonable timeframe is for scrolling on to Active Duty? I am an AD Army select who has cleared medical and has an approved DD368 conditional release from the Army National Guard. I have been notified of my assignment and an anticipated report date. I am in the very stressful situation of deciding whether to start making plans for my PCS and would just like to know how long people have generally taken to get scrolled? If anyone has any insights on this process please share your knowledge, thank you.

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Bop

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Re: Military Law

Post by Bop » Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:09 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 4:39 pm
Does anyone know what a reasonable timeframe is for scrolling on to Active Duty? I am an AD Army select who has cleared medical and has an approved DD368 conditional release from the Army National Guard. I have been notified of my assignment and an anticipated report date. I am in the very stressful situation of deciding whether to start making plans for my PCS and would just like to know how long people have generally taken to get scrolled? If anyone has any insights on this process please share your knowledge, thank you.
A bit late to respond here, but reach out to JARO, they can probably tell you what's happening. I was in a similar boat, I got my initial assignment and was waiting on one final signature from medical, so I did not receive my DCC report date & orders until 5 days before my report date. So screwy things can certainly happen with the process, but JARO is your best resource for info.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:16 pm

What is everyone thinking about air force jag august DAP calls this week?

psalom625

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Re: Military Law

Post by psalom625 » Wed Aug 31, 2022 9:42 pm

Two more questions popped up for me:

1) The AFJAG applicant portal says a forward facing, full length (head to toe photograph) is required.

Sorry if I'm being pedantic/OCD, but would my photo of me standing at a 45 degree angle fail to meet the requirement of forward facing?

2) What kind of documentation is required for reservists? I have a DD-214 for my 5 years of AD service, but haven't received anything documenting my reserve time. I was never activated for more than 90 days, just FYI.

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Specialpros123454321

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Re: Military Law

Post by Specialpros123454321 » Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:03 pm

Anyone else applying Army Jag Reserves this 2022 cycle? Application complete and sent to the ascension board 10/4, results "should" be out by December.

Also I'm aware that Army JAG Reserve uses its own medical processing, but I did MEPS for USMC Jag last year. Any experts know if the Army Reserve would still accept the MEPS instead?!

Specialpros123454321

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Re: Military Law

Post by Specialpros123454321 » Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:13 pm

Anyone else applying to Army JAG Reserve? Application complete and sent to ascension board 10/5/22. Results "should" be out by December. Never been in the military, big city felony level state prosecutor, got the top rating in my interview, hoping the interview carries a lot of weight.

I was curious if anyone knows, I did MEPS last year (good for two years) for USMC Jag, but I know Army Reserves has its own medical processing. Any chance I can still use the MEPS?

ShoTime_17

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Re: Military Law

Post by ShoTime_17 » Wed Oct 05, 2022 4:36 pm

My goal is to become an AUSA or an 1811 (special agent), particularly for the FBI if possible. I think JAG may be a good career path out of law school. I want to be a public servant, I like the physical fitness aspect, and camaraderie is something I look for in a workplace.

I have a few reservations though. I'm obviously interested in military justice (particularly prosecution), and getting trial experience would be great. I'm also interested in national security law (I've done a lot of work in the international law/rules of war area). However, I'm worried I'd get stuck doing contracts or legal services or admin law. Which branches would give me the best shot at doing military justice? Which would be the best for national security? And would JAG overall give me enough trial experience to go to a USAO afterwards?

Thanks for the help!

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Patrick Bateman

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Re: Military Law

Post by Patrick Bateman » Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:46 pm

ShoTime_17 wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 4:36 pm
My goal is to become an AUSA or an 1811 (special agent), particularly for the FBI if possible. I think JAG may be a good career path out of law school. I want to be a public servant, I like the physical fitness aspect, and camaraderie is something I look for in a workplace.

I have a few reservations though. I'm obviously interested in military justice (particularly prosecution), and getting trial experience would be great. I'm also interested in national security law (I've done a lot of work in the international law/rules of war area). However, I'm worried I'd get stuck doing contracts or legal services or admin law. Which branches would give me the best shot at doing military justice? Which would be the best for national security? And would JAG overall give me enough trial experience to go to a USAO afterwards?

Thanks for the help!
Bottom line, yes - JAG is a solid path to AUSA/FBI SA. A ton of acquaintances and friends have gone AUSA/Main Justice and a few went the FBI Agent route.

It is all extremely competitive - the JAGs that have been successful on this path were generally high speed JAGs that did very well in their time in uniform. In other words, simply being a JAG does not automatically open these doors - but if you do well as a JAG, particularly in the trial litigation world (in the USAF context, ADC and then the senior trial/defense roles or appellate) for AUSA, you should be on solid footing.

Review this thread and you will see a lot on the assignments and practice areas. I am obviously biased as a pro-USAF guy, but you won't get pigeon holed as a first/second assignment with how we do things - you will litigate even if you are also doing a civil law role as the primary job.

I also posted a lot on my transition from active duty to Main Justice - you can find that post and the follow on discussion which may help.

I am not sure exactly what you mean by National Security with how you are describing it - LOAC and all that fall into the Ops Law domain for USAF. But folks that end up getting into Ops Law at the 6 year or so mark are not doing trial work. If you mean like the National Security Division for DOJ, that varies quite a bit depending on the section (Counter-terrorism v. Import/Export v. Office of Intelligence, etc). CTS at NSD scoops up JAGs with heavy litigation backgrounds on the regular.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:39 am

Specialpros123454321 wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:13 pm
Anyone else applying to Army JAG Reserve? Application complete and sent to ascension board 10/5/22. Results "should" be out by December. Never been in the military, big city felony level state prosecutor, got the top rating in my interview, hoping the interview carries a lot of weight.

I was curious if anyone knows, I did MEPS last year (good for two years) for USMC Jag, but I know Army Reserves has its own medical processing. Any chance I can still use the MEPS?
I also applied. Application complete and sent 10/4/22, still undergoing completeness review.
FSO told me results should be out in November, although the website says December.

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Liberal Theory

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Re: Military Law

Post by Liberal Theory » Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:17 pm

Regular Army JAG Select here with a question for current/ former JAGs.

Has anyone here ever had to live apart from their spouse for a time as a JAG for any reason? If so, how did you manage it?

I am expecting to start DCC on Jan 8, soon as my license comes in and I can get my certificate of good standing. My spouse will graduate medical school in December 2023. The good news is that this timeframe allows her to know where to apply for residency, so we are unlikely to be kept apart due to her matching in a region far from wherever my duty station will be. (We are still waiting on orders, and we only sent in our dream sheets on the 21st of last month.) What this means for me however is that while I should begin working at my duty station around June of next year, there is a 0% chance that station will be within an hour of where my wife goes to med school. Transferring/visiting another one is not an option for her. So I am looking at about a 6-7 month period of time where I will need to find myself a place to live while starting my JAG work while also helping support her while she stay behind to finish her MD.

I know that I will at least get BAH while in DCC and JAOBC, which helps with the whole having to pay 2 rents for 6 months thing. But is there anything else I should be considering here? For instance, do I need to worry about my BAH being imperiled due to my spouse staying behind for a few months? Is there something else that I should be concerned about in this situation?

Thank you.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Caleb5454 » Tue Oct 18, 2022 11:33 am

Is there a way to DC directly out of law school into the JAG reserves of any branch/NG branch?

I’m very interested in JAG, but putting the rest of the career entirely on hold for four years seems like a big challenge.

ubersaurusrex

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Re: Military Law

Post by ubersaurusrex » Fri Oct 28, 2022 2:22 pm

Caleb5454 wrote:
Tue Oct 18, 2022 11:33 am
Is there a way to DC directly out of law school into the JAG reserves of any branch/NG branch?

I’m very interested in JAG, but putting the rest of the career entirely on hold for four years seems like a big challenge.
I believe Army reserves will consider you, but the other branches want experienced attorneys with hard to get expertise for the direct to reserves spots.

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Patrick Bateman

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Re: Military Law

Post by Patrick Bateman » Fri Oct 28, 2022 2:27 pm

ubersaurusrex wrote:
Fri Oct 28, 2022 2:22 pm
Caleb5454 wrote:
Tue Oct 18, 2022 11:33 am
Is there a way to DC directly out of law school into the JAG reserves of any branch/NG branch?

I’m very interested in JAG, but putting the rest of the career entirely on hold for four years seems like a big challenge.
I believe Army reserves will consider you, but the other branches want experienced attorneys with hard to get expertise for the direct to reserves spots.
Answer for USAF is the same - you can apply but our handful of direct accession reservists each year are experienced with very strong professional records.

TheSledTeam

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Re: Military Law

Post by TheSledTeam » Wed Nov 09, 2022 1:00 pm

Does anyone know the current lead time on MEPs scheduling? I seem to be stuck waiting on before I can progress through the process. I've heard rumors they are backed up by 11 months but wanted to verify.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:50 am

If you represent a Vet in a Military Medical Discharge, is the fee regulated by the government?

ubersaurusrex

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Re: Military Law

Post by ubersaurusrex » Sun Nov 13, 2022 11:31 am

TheSledTeam wrote:
Wed Nov 09, 2022 1:00 pm
Does anyone know the current lead time on MEPs scheduling? I seem to be stuck waiting on before I can progress through the process. I've heard rumors they are backed up by 11 months but wanted to verify.
Does your recruiter not know the answer to this? MEPS scheduling is going to be region specific based on how busy your local MEPS is, not a national average wait time.

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Re: Military Law

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:10 pm

Just got the call notifying me I was selected for Active Duty Army JAG, so for those awaiting results from the Fall 2022 board they should be coming. Good luck!

psalom625

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Re: Military Law

Post by psalom625 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:46 pm

Just received the results for Navy JAG, not professionally recommended.

Prior service AD AF (5 yrs) and USAFR (4 yrs). 3.44 GPA 155 LSAT. Externed for AFJAG last year.

psalom625

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Re: Military Law

Post by psalom625 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:03 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:10 pm
Just got the call notifying me I was selected for Active Duty Army JAG, so for those awaiting results from the Fall 2022 board they should be coming. Good luck!

Same here! Congrats!

Specialpros123454321

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Re: Military Law

Post by Specialpros123454321 » Thu Nov 17, 2022 1:49 am

Congrats fellas, awaiting Army Reserve application here.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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