Become a JAG p1 - Military Career Advancement - Military Times Edge

Maybe it’s the economy; maybe it’s a growing commitment to public service. Or maybe all the kids who grew up watching the TV show JAG are starting to graduate from law school. Whatever the reason, judge advocate recruiters had their hands full last year.

Between FY 2008 and FY 2009, direct commission applications to the Army JAG Corps jumped from 621 to 1,016; applications to the Navy JAG Corps Student Program doubled, from 460 to 923. It’s never been easy to become a military judge advocate, but it’s gotten a lot tougher.

The good news is that active-duty service members who want to get their JD have more options than civilians, and some of those options come with thousands of dollars in tuition. And while the services’ funded legal education programs will always be competitive (it is a free law degree, after all), they have not seen the same dramatic spikes in applicants.

The funded programs, in which officers get tuition, pay and allowances to attend law school, have similar application procedures. Officers with two to six years of service are eligible; applications generally require a request for branch transfer, transcripts, LSAT scores, performance evaluations and an interview; most of the programs come with two years of active-duty service obligation for each year of school.

But they’re not the only way to become a JAG. Some services have other programs that grant time, but not tuition or pay; most allow officers and enlisted troops who have gone to law school on their own to apply through direct commission programs. Your primary options are sketched out below, but for more information, go directly to the source.

Army Funded Legal Education Program

Size: Up to 25 officers a year; 70-80 have applied the past two or three years, down from more than 100 in previous years, said Yvonne Caron, the program manager.

Apply: Before applying to law school.

Tuition & expenses: The tuition cap is about $30,000 a year, Caron said, and applicants must apply to at least one school where they receive in-state tuition. The program does not pay for books, fees or the bar exam.

Good to know: The average LSAT score of recent FLEP students has been 161-162, Caron said, but it is just one factor among many the board considers.

Words of experience: Lt. Col. Alison Martin, a JAG Corps assignment personnel officer, has this advice for applicants: Highlight some of the unique things you’ve done in the military. And if you had less-than-stellar grades in college, explain why, and the ways you have improved since.

More info: www.jagcnet.army.mil

Army Direct accessions

Active-duty officers and enlisted soldiers in their third year of law school can also apply for the JAG Corps directly.

Size: More than 1,000 applications in FY 2009.

More info: www.goarmy.com/jag

Navy Law Education Program

Size: Seven candidates each year; applicants have fluctuated between 23 and 40 over the last five years, according to JAGC spokeswoman Natalie Morehouse.

Apply: After applying to law school but before acceptance.

Tuition & expenses: No cap, but candidates must apply to at least one school where they will receive in-state tuition. LEP pays for mandatory fees, the bar exam and up to $500 a year for books.

Good to know: The average LSAT score of successful candidates over the last five years has ranged from 154 to 175.

Words of experience: LEP was a great opportunity, says Cmdr. Jason Baltimore, with the OJAG Military Personnel Division. “Unlike other law students, I [wasn’t] worried about who’s paying the bill. All I had to do was study.” To anyone on the fence, he says: “You’re an idiot if you don’t apply.”

More info: www.jag.navy.mil/careers

Navy Student Program

Officers and enlisted sailors who are attending law school on their own can also apply to the JAG Corps directly.

Size: Of 923 applications in FY 2009, 65 were accepted.

Apply: After at least one year of law school.

Tuition & expenses: No tuition or fees, and no pay and allowances for sailor students.

Good to know: Officers resign their commission and accept an inactive Student Program commission; enlisted sailors have to put in a conditional release for their current enlistment to accept the commission.

More info: www.jag.navy.mil/careers

Air Force Funded Legal Education program

Size: Thirty to 60 applicants for one to eight spots, according to Capt. Afsana Ahmed, chief of the recruiting branch of the Air Force JAG Corps.

Apply: After applying to law school, but usually before acceptance.

Tuition & expenses: Caps are set by the Air Force Institute of Technology and range from $10,000 to $16,000 a year, based on funding, Ahmed said. FLEP students cannot supplement expenses with any need-based scholarships, private or personal funding sources, or the G.I. Bill — only, if approved, with academic scholarships.Fees are covered and students receive a book allowance, but must pay for the bar exam.

Good to know: Selection is based on the whole-person concept, Ahmed emphasized, and there is no minimum LSAT score or GPA. The Air Force does not release averages, because “we don’t want to discourage anyone, and we don’t want people to think themselves a shoo-in,” she said.

More info: www.jagusaf.hq.af.mil

Air Force Excess Leave program

This program allows officers to take excess leave to attend law school.

Size: Six to 10 officers each year. Most FLEP candidates also apply to ELP, Ahmed said.

Apply: After applying to law school, but usually before acceptance.

Tuition & expenses: No tuition or fees, and no pay or allowances. But excess leave does count toward promotion and retirement.

Good to know: Airmen who have served up to 10 years by the time they start school are eligible. ELP comes with a four-year active-duty commitment.

More info: www.jagusaf.hq.af.mil

Coast Guard Advanced Education Program in law

Size: Thirty to 40 officers apply each year; six or seven are selected, says Katherine Weathers, deputy director of the Legal Policy and Program Development Office.

Apply: Before applying to law school.

Tuition & expenses: Tuition and fees are covered up to a cap, but not books or the bar exam.

Good to know #1: The AD service commitment incurred is five years.

Good to know #2: Judge advocates have the chance to work nonlegal assignments, as well.

Words of experience: If at first you don’t succeed, apply, apply again. One of the criteria for selection is knowledge of Coast Guard operations, Weathers said, and you might not be selected because you need more experience. Weathers was accepted on her third try.

More info: katherine.e.weathers@uscg.mil

Coast Guard Direct Commissioned Lawyer Program

Another option for officers and enlisted members attending law school on the side.

Size: Seventy-four applied in 2009 and 12 were accepted, Weathers said.

Apply: Third year of law school.

Words of experience: Going this route was a long, hard slog, said Lt. Jeff King, who earned his law degree part-time as an enlisted Coast Guardsman. But it was “absolutely worth it for me,” he said. “It was something that I wanted to do and by luck or grace or whatever I had the opportunity to do it.”

More info: www.uscg.mil/legal

Marine Corps Funded Law Education Program

Size: Approximately 15-20 apply to FLEP and the Excess Leave Program (below) each year; 8-10 are accepted.

Apply: After being accepted to law school.

Tuition & expenses: The program covers mandatory tuition, fees, a bar review course and the bar exam; it also provides a book allowance of $150 a year.

Good to know: The Corps does not have a JAG Corps; judge advocates are line officers. “If [you’re] a Marine already, it’s not much of a difference, it’s just a different specialty,” said Maj. Nora Tyer-Witek, branch head of Judge Advocate Support.

Marine Corps Excess Leave Program

Apply: After being accepted to law school.

Tuition & expenses: No tuition, but ELP students are eligible for military housing and are paid for the days they are not in school. Officially, they are attached to Reserve units and available to drill. The program does pay for one bar review course and the bar exam.

Good to know: Officers with up to eight years of service can apply for ELP. They incur a year of active-duty service obligation for every year in school.