JAG Corps announces law school programs

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Bradley Mitchell
  • 95th Air Base Wing Staff Judge Advocate
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Judge Advocate General Corps will accept applications for the Funded Legal Education Program and Excess Leave Program beginning Jan.1 through March 1, 2009.

"Our Air Force missions are constantly changing, and commanders deserve to have access to legal advisors with a broad background of military experiences," said Col. Robin Moro, Office of the Judge Advocate General chief of professional development division. "These two programs will ensure we can continue to maintain a Corps of officers whose military experience complements their legal training, providing commanders with the highest caliber of legal support."

Colonel Moro said Air Force JAGs do more than just provide legal assistance. In addition to prosecuting and defending clients brought before courts-martial, JAG officers participate in nearly every facet of the Air Force mission, including developing and acquiring weapons systems, and ensuring availability of airspace and ranges where those systems are tested and operated. They also consult with commanders about how those systems are employed in armed conflict and assist them in the day-to-day running of military installations around the world.

"The law guides and supports every piece of the Air Force mission," said Capt. Seth Deam, Air Force Flight Test Center legal office chief of military. "Similarly, the experience you bring from another career field is very valuable as a judge advocate."

The FLEP is a paid legal studies program for active-duty Air Force commissioned officers. It is an assignment action, and participants receive full pay, allowances and tuition. Applicants must have between two and six years active-duty service, enlisted or commissioned, and must be in the pay grade O-3 or below as of the day they begin law school. The FLEP is subject to tuition limitations, and positions may be limited due to overall funding availability. The Air Force Institute of Technology tuition limit for fiscal 2009 is expected to be set at about $10,000 per year.

The ELP is an unpaid legal studies program for Air Force officers. Participants do not receive pay and allowances, but remain on active duty for retirement eligibility and benefits purposes. Applicants must have between two and 10 years active-duty service and must be in the pay grade O-3 or below as of the first day of law school.

Both programs require attendance at an American Bar Association-approved law school. Upon graduation and admission to practice law in the highest court of any state, territory of the United States or a federal court, candidates are eligible for designation as judge advocates. To be considered, applicants must have completed all application forms, applied to at least one ABA-approved law school, received their Law School Admissions Test results and completed a staff judge advocate interview by March 1, 2009. Officers must also provide a letter of conditional release from their current careerfield.

Applications meet a selection board in early March, and selections are made based on a review of the entire application package using a "whole person" concept.

For more information and application materials, visit www.airforce.com/jag, e-mail Captain Deam at seth.deam@edwards.af.mil or call at 277-4310. Applicants can also e-mail Capt. Afsana Ahmed at afsana.ahmed@pentagon.af.mil or call 1-800-JAG-USAF.