JAG Corps Attorney (27A)
- Officer
- Active Duty
- Army Reserve
The Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps is the Army’s Law department. The JAG Corps consists of attorneys, legal assistants and judges. As an Officer in the JAG Corps and a practicing attorney or judge, your responsibilities will cover a wide-range of practices that includes military law and criminal prosecution to international law and legal assistance-both in the U.S. and abroad.
You may also specialize in one of these areas as a JAG Attorney; Criminal Law, Legal Assistance, Civil Litigation, Administrative Law, Labor Law, International Law, Operational Law, Teaching, Medical Law, and Contract Law.
The responsibilities of an Army JAG Attorney include:
- Managing and assigning branch Officers
- Supervising training of personnel in legal functions
- Developing and executing services in many law fields
- Supplying legal advice and services to Soldiers on Active Duty and in the Army Reserve
- Representing Soldiers at court trials
- Performing other defense-related duties
Requirements:
To be an Officer in the Army Judge Advocate General Corps you must have a law degree from an ABA-approved law school and have been admitted to the bar of either a federal court or the highest court of any state in the United States or the District of Columbia.
Training:
As an Officer in the Army JAG Corps, you will attend the 14-week JAG Officer Basic Course (OBC). The course is divided into two phases: a four-week “Military Orientation Phase” at Fort Lee, VA, and a ten-week “Military Law Phase” taught at The Judge Advocate General’s School (“The JAG School”) in Charlottesville, VA. The JAG School is the only ABA-approved law school in all of the military services.
Military Orientation Phase?Fort Lee, VA
JAG Officer candidates attend a Military Orientation Phase that provides an overview of Officer responsibilities and basic Soldiering skills. Training includes physical fitness, weapons familiarization and deployment skills.
Military Law Phase?Charlottesville, VA
Located at University of Virginia, students attend the ABA-approved JAG School. The Military Law Phase is a combination of substantive instruction and practical exercises. Students receive training in research and communication skills?enhancing those skills already learned in law school?and are introduced to formats and resources used in military practice.
Helpful Skills:
Being a leader in the Army requires certain qualities. A leader exhibits self-discipline, initiative, confidence and intelligence. They are physically fit and can perform under physical and mental pressures. Leaders make decisions quickly, always focusing on completing the mission successfully, and show respect for their subordinates and other military officers. Leaders lead from the front and adjust to environments that are always changing. They are judged by their ability to make decisions on their own and bear ultimate moral responsibility for those decisions.
Advanced Responsibilities:
Army JAG Officers may continue to specialize and serve in the Judge Advocate General at ever increasing levels of leadership and responsibility.