Joining JAG Corp

[mocla]

Hi,

I am currently finishing my second year of law school in Ohio and am looking to join one of the JAG Corps. Right now I am in the top third (33%) of my law class (at Cleveland-Marshall), work two law related jobs, volunteer at a city school with their street law program, volunteer at a fair housing clinic representing low income families, etc.

My question is, and I have had a hard time finding an answer, what are the real requirements for gaining entry into the JAG corp? What are the cut off lines? What factors weigh the most?

Thank you in advance for any answer that you might have, or where I can find it as unfortunately the JAG Corp websites do not provide this information.

[rmet4nzkx]

Hopefully Badapple40 will answer you since he not only is a Military trained attorney but also from your neck of the woods. I haven't seen him today but perhaps he'll be back is a few days, holiday wekend ya know.

[lvn4ever]

BADAPPLE is THE man.

[lvn4ever]

There are special recruiters for the medical corps (translate: for the recruitment of physicians), so perhaps there is something similar for attorneys. You might contact your local recruiting office and let them know what you are potentially offering. I would think they can put you in touch with someone with answers.

[fozzy2]

You can find details on the Navy JAG program at:

[url]http://www.jag.navy.mil/html/CareersFAQs.htm[/url]

[mocla]

Thank you for the reply Fozzy, unfortunately the website does not really answer my questions.

[badapple40]

I did FLEP (funded legal education program), in other words, I had uncle sam pay for law school and did the application process, interviews, etc., while still on active duty.

Coming straight into the military from law school (which most JAGs do), I can tell you is a somewhat involved process. There's background checks, applications, interviews, and the like.

You may be too late now, but all of the services have a summer internship program you can do during the summer. Most of the services interview on-campus.

First and foremost, I would think you need to select which of the services you want to go to. My experience is that, especially right now, the Army is taking everyone with a law degree and a license (assuming they are medically qualified, meet height/weight standards, are deployable, etc.). The other services are a bit more selective.

There is no way I could say that you would or would not be accepted -- every year is a different animal in that they take all the applicants, rank order them, and take the number of folks they need to fill vacancies. A lot of whether or not you get selected depends on the needs of the military and your competition. I can tell you that right now the Air Force and Marine Corps are fairly selective. The Navy has a fairly high select rate, and, like I said, the Army is looking to fill vacancies.

I can point you to more specific resources when/if you let me know which of the services you are looking for in particular.

[mocla]

Thanks for the reply Badapple..

More info on me I guess, before I run off to agency and partnership (fun times let me tell you! )

I would prefer the Air Force as my first choice, most of my family has served in it since Korea... Army second, the remainder of the men in my family have served in that since WW2.

I have already interviewed with both the Air Force (with their informal process) and have a formal interview scheduled with a Staff Judge Advocate out of Wright-Paterson Air Force Base for their June 2005 board. The Army as you say will be coming to campus to conduct their FSO (Field Screening Officer) interviews in September.

The Air Force recruiter has been the best, in my opinion, of explaining the process to me and helping me get the paper work done in time for the June board. I guess my questions are more a function of nerves because I actually want a career as a military JAG, rather than just taking the position because I could not get hired in a private firm.