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Pacific Ocean
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Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti
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MOMBASA, Kenya
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Arabian Gulf
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San Diego
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Pacific Ocean

We are commissioned naval officers based throughout the world, ashore, and at sea who practice law, support the Navy and serve the Nation. As commissioned naval officers, we are the uniformed lawyers of the U.S. Navy. Our practice encompasses a broad array of law. Our mission is critical to the success of military operations. We provide solutions to legal issues with a focus on three essential capabilities:

Command Advice and Support

The Navy operates in an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. We provide the legal expertise necessary to conduct military operations worldwide. We also support the Navy as a whole by providing legal advice for programs such as recruiting, training, and organization.

Military Justice

The American people expect the highest standards of personal and professional conduct from their armed forces. We maintain a fair and just system by enforcing the conduct and accountability of military personnel.

Support to Sailors and their Families

The men and women of the U.S. Navy are its most important asset. We support military personnel and their families by providing legal assistance services. Additionally, we provide legal assistance for Wounded Warriors and assist active duty personnel through all stages of the disability evaluation system.

The U.S. Navy is unique among the services in its ability to project power in all domains: on land, at sea, and in the air. As a Navy judge advocate, you will experience the most diverse legal practice available to an attorney. Some of the specific areas of our practice include:

  • Military Justice (prosecution, defense, judiciary, and appellate)
  • Legal Assistance (personal legal services and advice to military members and their families)
  • National Security Law (law of the sea and armed conflict, international agreements, foreign criminal jurisdiction, cyber, space, intelligence and information operations law)
  • Administrative Law (government ethics, regulations, and legislation)
  • Environmental Law (laws protecting human health, the environment, and historic and cultural resources)
  • Civil Litigation (cases incident to the operation of the Navy in conjunction with the Department of Justice)
  • Admiralty and Maritime Law (admiralty tort and salvage claims, and international and domestic maritime issues)
     

As we operate in increasingly complex legal and regulatory environments, the Navy is always in need of new legal talent to join its ranks and bring expertise and innovative thinking.

Programs
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Why JAG

PRACTICE WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

  • Enjoy immediate responsibility - Unlike many junior lawyers in private firms who spend their early years conducting research, as a Navy judge advocate you will be involved in real-world legal experience from the moment you enter the Navy JAG Corps.
  • Practice worldwide - Take one bar examination and get the chance to practice across the globe.

FIND PURPOSE

  • Make a difference in the world - As a Navy judge advocate, you see the results of what you do and how your work has a direct impact on people and nations.
  • Provide humanitarian assistance - Find fulfillment by assisting those in need and helping to lessen their hardships.
  • Support your nation - With the Navy JAG Corps you'll contribute to setting the legal bar for the U.S. and the world, making our country safer and stronger.

LIVE AN ADVENTURE

  • Do something you never imagined - With the Navy JAG Corps you'll have the opportunity to litigate all types of cases, experience a variety of training, travel to all sorts of destinations, and meet all kinds of people.
  • Take the plunge - As a Navy judge advocate you'll have the opportunity to discover the world by traveling, serving aboard ships, living overseas, and practicing in areas you never thought you could.

BE A LAWYER, BE A NAVAL OFFICER

  • Join an elite group - Being a Navy judge advocate is a sought-after experience which brings valuable professional distinction to your resume, whether you join for a few years or for an entire career.
  • Become a better lawyer and leader - Navy JAG Corps training and experience will enhance both your professional and personal growth.
  • Take pride in being a naval officer - Becoming a Navy judge advocate brings qualities such as self-confidence, team focus, and sense of purpose.
  • Live up to the finest traditions of the U.S. Navy - Meet the challenges inherent in adhering to the Navy core values of honor, courage, and commitment.

ENJOY LIFE

  • Join a family - The Navy JAG Corps offers an outstanding work environment where experience and camaraderie form lasting bonds. From mentors to shipmates, support is there when and where you need it.
  • Live life to the fullest - The Navy promotes a culture where family, friends, leisure, fitness, and work are all part of an officer's life and well-being.
  • Take time - With the Navy JAG Corps you will work hard but with 30 days of paid vacation a year, you are encouraged to make time for yourself.
  • Cultivate a sound mind in a sound body - The Navy encourages exercise as a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and fitness is a part of our life.

GET COVERED

  • Enjoy competitive compensation - When salary, tax-free benefits, and all peripheral assistance are added into the equation, the result is a competitive package.
  • School loan assistance - Repay your school debt with incentive pay after passing certain career milestones.
  • Take advantage of outstanding benefits - Health care, dental care, 30 days of paid vacation, and a generous retirement plan are just some of the benefits available to you.
  • Cover your family - You can enroll your family members in the Navy's health and dental insurance.
  • You can depend on us - The Navy JAG Corps offers government job stability and healthcare for life once retired from the Navy.

KEEP GROWING

  • Kick start your career - Whether you join for four years or for life, the breadth of experience gained with the Navy JAG Corps makes you more knowledgeable and extremely marketable for future employment possibilities.
  • Challenge yourself - Multiple practice areas, as well as development and educational opportunities, are made available to you as you grow in the Navy JAG Corps community.

"The Navy JAG Corps is the most exciting, rewarding, challenging, and fulfilling opportunity a young attorney can have straight out of law school and throughout their career. As Naval officers and judge advocates, we practice law throughout the world in an environment that is unlike any other. The Navy JAG Corps is an incredibly supportive and encouraging community and truly feels like a family. I could not imagine myself practicing law anywhere else."
- LT Jessica Darling, California Western School of Law

 

"I joined the JAG Corps following the repeal of DADT; a lifelong goal was finally able to become a reality. Prior to joining, my job was interesting, fast-paced, and a great career path, but I felt like something was missing. I come to work every day now getting to serve alongside my closest friends. The tasks are constantly changing, the location is always new, the mission can be challenging, but what remains constant is the quality of colleagues that care about service to our country and one another and who motivate excellence."
- LCDR Jennifer Johnson, Arizona State University (O'Connor)

 

"As a surface warfare officer, I watched judge advocates advise my commanders on operational issues and provide critical legal assistance to my sailors. I applied to the Law Education Program so that, through the lens of my operational experience, I could provide similar legal services to the Fleet."
- LCDR Jonah Hein, University of Virginia

 

"After taking a business law course for my undergraduate degree, I knew that I wanted to become a lawyer. The Navy JAG Corps In-Service Procurement Program provided the perfect opportunity to continue serving my Country in the profession I aspired to join. Moreover, the JAG Corps offers seemingly unlimited opportunity to travel the world, work in a variety of legal capacities, and ultimately serve my fellow shipmates."
- LTJG Josh Kinning, George Mason University

Compensation

INCOME

  • The Navy JAG Corps offers active-duty judge advocates a competitive starting salary. The total compensation includes basic pay and certain non-taxable allowances, such as those for housing and subsistence. Housing allowances vary according to the cost of living in the area to which you are assigned. Pay increases come with promotion and longevity. For more information regarding basic pay and allowances, click here.

HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE

EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

  • School debt repayment: Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, you may qualify for loan forgiveness and an income-driven repayment plan.
  • Retention Bonuses: Navy JAG Corps officers are eligible for a total of $60,000 in retention bonuses paid over three installments at different career milestones (at approximately the four-year mark, seven-year mark and 10-year mark) that can be used by officers to pay off their student debt.
  • Funded Graduate Education: Navy judge advocates have the opportunity for fully funded graduate education leading to award of a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. Navy judge advocates have attended graduate programs at civilian law schools such as Harvard, Georgetown, Columbia, George Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, Berkeley, University of San Diego, Lewis and Clark, University of Virginia, and many others. Areas of study include military law, international law, environmental law, and trial advocacy. Post-graduate opportunities also exist at the Army Judge Advocate General’s School, Naval War College, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Defense University, and the Army War College.
  • GI Bill & Transferability: Transferability option under the Post-9/11 GI Bill allows service members to transfer all or some unused benefits to their spouse or dependent children.

RETIREMENT

  • 401k-like Thrift Savings Plan. Automatic 1% DoD contribution to the service member’s Thrift Savings Plan, and up to 4% Department of Defense matching contributions.
  • Generous retirement income after 20 years of service.

TIME OFF

  • 30 days paid vacation each year.
  • 10 paid federal holidays per year.
  • Sick leave for personal medical needs or care of family members and adoption.

TRAVEL

  • Foreign duty and travel opportunities through temporary or permanent assignments.
  • Discounted travel.

MOVING ASSISTANCE

  • The Department of Defense will contract with a commercial mover for the movement of your household goods to your first permanent duty station. Both you and your family are reimbursed for travel expenses from home directly to your first duty station. Subsequent moves to other duty stations, including your final move returning you to your home of record upon release from active duty, will be at the Government’s expense.
Of note, only the officer is entitled to travel expenses to Newport, RI for Officer Development School (ODS) and Naval Justice School (NJS) training, and household goods are not moved to Newport, RI. This is because of the short amount of time the officer will remain in this location before moving permanently to their first duty station.

ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES

  • 12 weeks paid maternity leave for service members who give birth; 10 days parental leave for service members that adopt children or whose spouse has given birth.
  • Subsidized child care, an exceptional family member program, and youth programs.
  • Department of Defense schools in some geographic locations.
  • Recreational discounts and services through Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs.
  • Family support services including Family Advocacy, Parenting, Personal Financial Management, Relocation Assistance, Spouse Employment Assistance, Spouse Tuition Aid, and Transition Assistance Programs.
  • Access to military exchanges (worldwide chain of tax-free “department stores”), which sell brand-name items at discounts.
  • Access to military commissaries (tax-free grocery stores) that save military families approximately 25% on their food bills.
  • Use of officers clubs around the world.
  • VA Guaranteed Home Loan Program.