Do Judge Advocates for the Marines, Army, Air Force or Navy have to server in war?

Question

I am currently in Law School and when i graduate I was looking to do some Government Work. I am looking into the FBI Special Agent Attorney route, but the JAG career track has caught my eye, but the problem is finding any information.

I know Judge Advocates must go through basic training, but what i would like to know is if they must also serve in combat?

What i mean is....

After training do Judge Advocates go right into practicing law? or must they server in Iraq etc?

If anyone knows the answer to the question please reply, also if you have any other information about the JAG career track please post it here...thanks

Answer 1

You got straight to your duty assignment and start doing you job (MOS). If you did go to a combat zone , which is very unlikely, you would be in the rear and not doing combat missions. You would be behind your desk helping soldiers etc while they are deployed, but more than likely you would not be sent to a war zone.

Answer 2

I recently left active duty as an Army JAG. Prior to my service as an attorney, I was a Transportation Officer.

They have recently changed the initial training for JA's (Judge Advocates). The first part of the course is a three week session at Ft. Lee VA. This is a sort of orientation, where you learn customs and courtesies of the service, basic Drill and Ceremonies, rank structure, and weapons familiarization. The second phase is at the JAG School at Charlottesville, VA. This is all classroom instruction and it is an overview of military law. To be honest, this is a fantastic time. You have lots of free time, and Charlottesville has a ton of restaurants, bars, and historical sites nearby. The final phase is Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) which is designed to give you further leadership and tactical training.

After you finish training, you head to your first duty station. If your boss gets a good "vibe" that you are competent, you can have substantial responsibility immediately. My first assignment was as a Trial Counsel (prosecutor) and in my first year, I prosecuted 6 felony cases as first chair (and I was in a very slow jurisdiction). Two were rape cases. So, you can get a lot of experience.

As far as deploying, if you are assigned to a Brigade Operational Law Team (BOLT) you will be one of two attorneys attached to a Brigade. You will train with and deploy with your brigade and will be on the Commander's Special Staff. However, the vast majority of jobs out there are in garrison units. If you are a direct commissioned officer, you have a lot of input into your first assignment because you have no initial obligation until you accept the commission. So, if you want to avoid deploying immediately, you can ask for assignment to a post that does not have many deploying units.

Here is a link to the Judge Advocate Recruiting Office:
https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/JAGCNETInternet/Homepages/AC/NewJARO.nsf/(JAGCNetDocID)/HOME?OpenDocument

There are many postive things about practicing law in the military. However, there are also downsides. You (and more importantly your supervisors) tend to change jobs fairly often. That means you get exposure to many different practice areas. However, a downside that I found was that many times my superiors did not have the same amount of expertise you would expect from a supervisory attorney. I left the JAG Corps in part due to frustration with my supervisors "getting it wrong." I had several experiences where I gave advice, was overruled by my superiors and then what I predicted would happen occurred as I predicted. This can happen in any practice setting, but in the end, I felt that I was not gaining any additional skills and was probably hurting my long term career prospects. I felt that after finishing a career with many different jobs in the military, I might be well rounded, but I would have a hard time translating my experience to a civilian practice.

The above being said, there are a few career paths you can follow where you can specialize. The Army has a Contract Attorney specialty program you can apply for after your first term where you get a guaranteed three years working in a job that will give you ample experience in contracting. This can translate into lucrative positions after your government service. Also, the Trial Defense Service (criminal defense) positions tend to be longer term assignments and you can get a lot of criminal law trial experience.

Good luck and if you want any further info, feel free to contact me.

Answer 3

Don't watch JAG, that is a total lie, you will do JAG stuff right away, that might mean you will be stateside or you may be deployed to a combat support base (think of a MASH unit type of scenario). In the NAVY, you may be assigned to a large ship, such as a carrier or cruiser. In that case you will be a member of the ship's crew and be responsible for certain duties, outside of your normal job (battle stations, firefighting and damage control, etc).

If I was you, my recommendation would be to call a nearby military base and ask for that base's JAG officer, talk to him or her and maybe even set up some type of meeting to see what they do, afterall, as a legal student you know anything we say on this sight is hearsay , you need direct testimony (lol)

Answer 4

First, there are 3 branches, Army, Navy, and Air Force. Marines are part of the Navy. Second, the only decent ones that are livable and out of harms way are pretty much the Air Force and the Navy.

The Air Force Judge Advocate General's School was founded in 1950 and has been located in the William L. Dickinson Law Center, at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama since 1993.
http://hqja.jag.af.mil/ Air Force JAG Corps

In 1967, Congress decided to establish the Judge Advocate General's Corps within the Department of the Navy. The legislation was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 8, 1967, and ensured Navy lawyers' status as staff officers within the Navy, similar to physicians and chaplains.

These are the foreign stations available.........

Pacific

* NLSO Pacific, United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan
* NLSO Sasebo, United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan
* NLSO Guam, Naval Station Guam, Guam
* NLSO Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii

Europe and Southwest Asia

* NLSO Europe and Southwest Asia, Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy
* NLSO Rota, Naval Station Rota, Spain
* NLSO Sigonella, Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy
* NLSO Bahrain, Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Bahrain
* NLSO London, Office of Naval Research London, England

[edit] Trial Judiciary Offices

* Atlantic, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
* Island, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii
* Keystone, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan
* Midwest, Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
* Northwest, Naval Station Bremerton, Washington
* Piedmont, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
* Sierra, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California
* Southeast, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida
* Southwest, Naval Station San Diego, California
* Tidewater, Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
* Transatlantic, Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy
* Westpac, United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan

http://www.jag.navy.mil/

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Answer 5

After your training you'll go right into practicing law, and could be stationed anywhere in the world to include being deployed to a combat zone. You might end up in Iraq or such to provide for the legal needs of service members. But with all reality you'll be assigned to one of the larger bases /FOB's and the service members needing your help will come to you.

Answer 6

Yeah, the army and Marine Corps might stomp on them. particularly in the event that they had to hold this combat everywhere as properly the Continential US. the only thank you to flow hundreds of tanks and different automobiles is by capacity of deliver. we'd wipe out the airborne adult men before the Air rigidity controlled to flow a million military armored battalion.

Answer 7

JAG's do serve in Iraq.

usually, they don't go near the front lines, but remember, in Iraq, there are no front lines.
Remember, no matter what branch, you're a soldier first, and if you want a guarantee of absolute safety, then, stay home. Thank you.

Answer 8

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