Potential JAG--Advice Please

[MatthewRH]

I have been around this board for a long time now...never posted, simply reading. I am 21 and going to be a senior in college in the fall, graduating in spring of 2009. I am taking the LSAT in 2 weeks, and planning on going right to law school in the fall of 2009.

The opportunity to serve my country in some way appeals to me greatly. I consider myself very much a patriot, and want to give something back to my country. Originally I thought I wanted to be a Marine JAG, and its very possible that I still want to. The only downside--(maybe an upside, I am not sure) to being a Marine Officer is the amount of training, (OCS, and then 6 months of TBS, and THEN Naval Justice School) all during and after Law school. I am in excellent physical shape, however from what I hear about the difficulty of Marine OCS, and the constant review boards, I very well might not make it through Marine OCS. I do not know this for sure, as I have never been tested like they test you at OCS--its possible I would excel at it--or maybe I am being too optimistic and I would fail horribly. I consider myself a leader, but I don't know what that means in Marine Corp terms. The only leadership experience I have is through my social organizations in college, and through academic groups in classes.

I recently heard about a direct commission program through the Cost Guard, as well as the Navy where Law school graduates can attend a 4-5 week program at the USCG Academy, or Naval equivalent and then Naval Justice school (with the marine JAGs whom have already been to OCS and TBS) It is a much quicker route that does not provide the rifleman training the Marine Corp does. You also enter as an O-3 (Lieutenant in the Cost Guard system) almost right after you finish law school. They will provide weapons training IF you are stationed somewhere that requires it. Basically it seems to be totally different than the Marine mentality of everyman being a rifleman.

Obviously I am going to get some biased responses here, as it is a Marine Corps board, however I want to know what you guys think PERSONALLY. I know a lot of you are/were enlisted, however do you think the training etc is worth it? Would the extra training required to be a Marine JAG benefit me, as opposed to not having the training and being a Navy JAG, or USCG Jag? Good experience for the rest of my life? Would help me later in life when looking for a civilian legal job? Just wanted to vent a bit, and hear some thoughts.

Sorry for such a long post!

Thank you for protecting our country!

[Marine84]

Welcome Aboard Matt but, I would highly suggest you fill in a profile just a tad before anybody will start talking to you.

Marines - for once, we have a different question!

[MatthewRH]

I just put some info in there. Sorry, I'm not up on the procedure here! I would love some input though

[sparkie]

It's you thats gotta take the hill,,,, What do you want?

[FLRULZURSHPSCKS]

If you are prepaired to train as much as required, sorry to say the Marine Corps may not be for you. If you are prepaired to train as much as required THEN beyond what you thought you could do, then this is your family. Thinking you are a leader is a good start, but if you want to become a Marine Corps officer and stand out and help the Corps out, you need to believe in yourself that you CAN lead and excell at it. You need to believe that you can look after many junior Marines, junior in time and/or rank. You need to believe that you can keep their best interest in mind and at the same time do everything needed to complete the mission. Remember the Marine Corps core values. Honor. Courage. Commitment. Think of what these mean to you and make your decision from there.

[FLRULZURSHPSCKS]

If you are prepaired to train as much as required, sorry to say the Marine Corps may not be for you. If you are prepaired to train as much as required THEN beyond what you thought you could do, then this is your family. Thinking you are a leader is a good start, but if you want to become a Marine Corps officer and stand out and help the Corps out, you need to believe in yourself that you CAN lead and excell at it. You need to believe that you can look after many junior Marines, junior in time and/or rank. You need to believe that you can keep their best interest in mind and at the same time do everything needed to complete the mission. Remember the Marine Corps core values. Honor. Courage. Commitment. Think of what these mean to you and make your decision from there.

[MatthewRH]

Thank you for the nice reply. I am positive that I can and am willing to go beyond what would normally be asked of me. That was my initial attraction to the Marine Corp, I had been told they push the hardest.

[Big Jim]

I have been around this board for a long time now...never posted, simply reading. I am 21 and going to be a senior in college in the fall, graduating in spring of 2009. I am taking the LSAT in 2 weeks, and planning on going right to law school in the fall of 2009.

The opportunity to serve my country in some way appeals to me greatly. I consider myself very much a patriot, and want to give something back to my country. Originally I thought I wanted to be a Marine JAG, and its very possible that I still want to. The only downside--(maybe an upside, I am not sure) to being a Marine Officer is the amount of training, (OCS, and then 6 months of TBS, and THEN Naval Justice School) all during and after Law school. I am in excellent physical shape, however from what I hear about the difficulty of Marine OCS, and the constant review boards, I very well might not make it through Marine OCS. I do not know this for sure, as I have never been tested like they test you at OCS--its possible I would excel at it--or maybe I am being too optimistic and I would fail horribly. I consider myself a leader, but I don't know what that means in Marine Corp terms. The only leadership experience I have is through my social organizations in college, and through academic groups in classes.

I recently heard about a direct commission program through the Cost Guard, as well as the Navy where Law school graduates can attend a 4-5 week program at the USCG Academy, or Naval equivalent and then Naval Justice school (with the marine JAGs whom have already been to OCS and TBS) It is a much quicker route that does not provide the rifleman training the Marine Corp does. You also enter as an O-3 (Lieutenant in the Cost Guard system) almost right after you finish law school. They will provide weapons training IF you are stationed somewhere that requires it. Basically it seems to be totally different than the Marine mentality of everyman being a rifleman.

Obviously I am going to get some biased responses here, as it is a Marine Corps board, however I want to know what you guys think PERSONALLY. I know a lot of you are/were enlisted, however do you think the training etc is worth it? Would the extra training required to be a Marine JAG benefit me, as opposed to not having the training and being a Navy JAG, or USCG Jag? Good experience for the rest of my life? Would help me later in life when looking for a civilian legal job? Just wanted to vent a bit, and hear some thoughts.

Sorry for such a long post!

Thank you for protecting our country!


THE PFC. GAVE A SURPISINGLY ACCURATE DESCRIPTION TO WHICH YOU CAN BASE YOUR FAITH. I HAVE KNOWN MANY OFFICERS WITH MANY DIFFERENT STYLES OF LEADERSHIP. ALL OFFICERS THOUGH WERE MARINES THROUGH AND THROUGH AND BELIEVE DIN OUR VALUES. THE VERY FIRST AND FOREMOST VALUE IS OUR DEDICATION TO OUR MISSION'S SUCCESS AND DEVOTION TO OUR CORPS' TRADITIONS AND VALUES. NOT ONCE IN YOUR POST DO YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HONOR, OR DUT OR DEDICATION. ARE YOU SURE THE MARINE CORPS IS WHAT YOU WANT?

I THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR YOU TO DO SOME MORE RESEARCH ON YOUR OWN TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS YOU WANT. BECAUSE IF ALL YOU WANT IS A LAW LICENSE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO INTO THE COAST GUARD. THE MARINE CORPS IS A LIFE STYLE, NOT LIKE KEVIN BACON IN "A FEW GOOD MEN." COME BACK WHEN YOU KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE MARINE CORPS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MARINE. I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS THEN....

[FLRULZURSHPSCKS]

Thanks for the vote of confidence SGT.

[Quinbo]

I'm trying to decipher this handle. Flat lander you lose your ship sucks ? Am I close?

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

I am going to be totally honest. If you are wanting to serve and aren't caught up in the title of Marine, I'd go Navy. In fact, I've considered doing the same thing. You'll be serving, gaining experience as an attorney, and to be blunt, a lawyer doesn't really need to know everything that you would learn at OCS/TBS.

That said, I do find value in going that route. By learning everything that an Officer of Marines would learn at the beginning of a career you would be capable of understanding things that a Navy JAG officer simply could not understand. There are things that happen in combat that would make sense to you as a trained Marine Corps officer that may not make sense to a civilian or to someone that had 4-5 weeks of military training, was handed a uniform, and made a JAG officer.

The decision is yours to make. But, I for one wouldn't look down on you at all if you chose to go Navy. For 99% of the things you would be dealing with I think you'd be just as effective as you would be if you went the other way.

[MatthewRH]

I am going to be totally honest. If you are wanting to serve and aren't caught up in the title of Marine, I'd go Navy. In fact, I've considered doing the same thing. You'll be serving, gaining experience as an attorney, and to be blunt, a lawyer doesn't really need to know everything that you would learn at OCS/TBS.

That said, I do find value in going that route. By learning everything that an Officer of Marines would learn at the beginning of a career you would be capable of understanding things that a Navy JAG officer simply could not understand. There are things that happen in combat that would make sense to you as a trained Marine Corps officer that may not make sense to a civilian or to someone that had 4-5 weeks of military training, was handed a uniform, and made a JAG officer.

The decision is yours to make. But, I for one wouldn't look down on you at all if you chose to go Navy. For 99% of the things you would be dealing with I think you'd be just as effective as you would be if you went the other way.


Thank you! That is exactly the type of response I am looking for