Reserves: Navy IDC vs. Army JAG

[tsnoah]

Hi everyone,

I have been visiting this site for a long time and am always impressed by the knowledge of its members. So, I thought I would put my situation out there and hope some good responses bounce back.

Background:
I have been put in the extremely fortunate position of being offered a commission in the reserves both for Navy INTEL and the Army JAG Corps. I'm married, no kids.

I applied to Army JAG because Navy JAG only takes kids fresh out of law school (which I am not), or they take a handful of people every year with very specialized skill sets. I've been told there is a very slim chance I could do an inter-service transfer after a few years if I am still interested down the road. Army JAG has an initial 4.5 month full-time training requirement, you come in as an O-2, with promotion to O-3 within a year. And, from what I've been told, deployments for Army JAG reservists are in most circumstances voluntary (even in the current climate).

From my interview experience with the Navy, I've heard that deployments for Intel folks occur more frequently, or at the very least, you have less control over when you go and where. Plus, you start as an O-1.

I am wondering if i) anyone out there has had a similar experience or can offer any advice about one program or the other and ii) if anything I've said above is wrong or misinformed.

Lastly, congrats to those who were recently selected in the IDC DCO boards. Know it's been a long road for some of you.

 

[gotta_fly]

And, from what I've been told, deployments for Army JAG reservists are in most circumstances voluntary (even in the current climate.)

I would be very wary of that. Plan for the worst case scenario when considering which job is a better fit for you.

That said, congratulations to you. It sounds like you have some good options in front of you.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[BusyBee604]

And, from what I've been told, deployments for Army JAG reservists are in most circumstances voluntary (even in the current climate).

As gotta_fly pointed out, "from what I've been told" is just another name for Idle Rumor,

 

[tsnoah]

As gotta_fly pointed out, "from what I've been told" is just another name for Idle Rumor,

Fair enough, but let me provide a little context: this was told to me by an outgoing member of the Bronx LSO (legal support organization), who had already put in his 20.

 

[das]

Congratulations on your selection into both of these programs, and thank you for being willing to serve! Consider this: as a JAG Officer, you are a Staff Officer — nothing wrong with that, but Staff Officers have an element of grade-for-pay; certainly the professional/graduate degree associated with Staff positions are a factor. That, and the prestige of being associated with the military legal apparatus.

As a Naval Intelligence Officer, you will be a Line Officer (Restricted Line), part of the Navy's new Information Dominance Corps, and be able to earn a warfare qualification. It's a completely different world. Plus, if you're a lawyer on the civilian side — well, does the mailman want to take a walk on his day off? The world of intelligence would offer you entirely different opportunities.

As far as training, with INTEL, you'll have 1 year to complete a two-week indoctrination which counts as your Annual Training, 18 months' worth of drill weekends to complete Naval Intelligence Officer Basic Course (NIOBC), and 5 years to complete your INTEL and IDC qualifications. You will be mobilized, but you do have at least some input into that process. Is it is as much as you'd have as an Army JAG? I don't know.

I believe more than promotion timelines or mobilizations you need to consider whether you want to be an Army Officer or a Naval Officer first, and consider whether you want to do something entirely different than the law in your military role. The Operations Officer in my Information Warfare unit is a lawyer on the civilian side, and I have seen more than one lawyer come into the IDC. I have not heard any regrets. Good luck.

 

[Flash]

The most important question you should be asking is what you want to do. If you want to still be a lawyer while doing your reserve gig then JAG is the way to go, if you want to do something different then as das pointed out IDC is a pretty good choice for you. I have a patent lawyer in my unit that is an Intel officer and he loves doing something different on the weekends, and for his last mobilization he was able to use both his law and intel skills in a fairly unique postion. And while you come in at the bottom rung as an officer in IDC you won't get as involved in supporting operations as a JAG, legal advisor/approval is a pretty common job when attached to a staff, I saw only a handful involved in more interesting jobs outside the courtroom. An IDC type will be much more likely to more involved in supporting operations.

And as a note of caution in addition to what BzB and gottafly already said, one guy telling you that Army JAGs don't deploy that much should be taken with a grain of salt. Especially if he/she was higher ranking, often the more senior guys go out a bit less than more junior ones for a lot of reasons. And after seeing the Army deploy nurses from the IRR, some of whom hadn't seen a uniform in 8-10 years, to do 'civil affairs' work in the great big sandbox I wouldn't put it past the Army to do something similar to JAGs.

 

[wink]

Can't add to the comments regarding Navy Intel ah...IDC. As far as the Army JAG option, I have personal second hand very reliable take it to the bank info, from my brother in law . My brother in law was a direct commissionon to the Army JAG. He has been in for 5 years now and hasn't been deployed yet. He just volunteered to go tAfghanistanan and that may not go through. The DIRCOM staff guys in the Army go though a basic rifle shooting rucksack humping land naving course that a Navy DIRCOM will not have to do. My brother in law loves that stuff so no biggie. I hope they told you about that. He also has gotten to go to air assault and airborne school, along with an advanced legal school. Not bad for a 43 year old JAG that typically defends Reserve and Guard soldiers for relatively minor infractions as part of his Reserve duty. As said, it comes down to what you want to do on your "time off" from your regular career. Don't forget to consider networking opportunities as well. One might be more helpful on the civilian side than the other. Good luck.

 

[tsnoah]

Thanks everyone for your responses. The Air Warriors community never disappoints. After taking the time to think about the pros and cons for each program, I've decided to pursue the commission in the Army JAG program.

Best of luck to all of you, and thanks again for helping me make an informed decision.