Pilot & JAG... Possible?

[Guest kerpali]

Well I am just starting college and I decided to do my research on becoming an Air Force officer early. After college, I plan to go to law school. After law school, I'll hopefully(God willing) get an OTS slot with a pilot/nav slot upon commissioning. I know it's possible to then do an intraservice transfer to a JAG position after 4 years of AD and before 10 years of AD. I talked to a few AF recruiters about it and they don't know anyone who has done it. Some didn't even know it was possible. :rolleyes:

Has anyone here done or plan to do such a thing? Any tips or hints in general?

Also, being a pilot requires a 10 year commitment(after UPT) and being in JAG requires 4 years commitment. Is it possible for me to switch during the 10 year commitment, before I reach the maximum # of years for admission to JAG, and make up the net loss in JAG? I figured the whole commitment thing just meant being in the service and doesn’t apply to the particular job.

Final question: Is it a little too early for me to be thinking about such things? I’ve been told by a couple of former AF people and recruiters to “worry about it when you get there”

PS- This board rules! :D

[ 08. August 2004, 10:29: Message edited by: TheKerpal ]

[M2]

Kerpal

Sure, almost anything is possible, but it is a long way to look down the road. I knew an ex-Eagle driver (USAFA grad) who later got the USAF to pay for law school after he no longer flew (for medical reasons). I think he may even be the PACAF/JA now, haven't keep track of him for a while.

Do you know if you are even physically qualified to be a pilot/nav? Might want to find out early, color vision disqualifies a lot of guys, as does just your general eyesight.

So, to summize, it's possible but I would focus on the nearterm for now! Best of luck at 'Bama!

Cheers! M2

[HerkDerka]

IMHO

You need to seriously look at what it is you want to do. It is a real waste of AF resources to get your wings and then try to jump over to JAG. I'm not accusing you of anything, but if you just want to be a pilot because it "sounds like fun" then you need to pursue the JAG career. It's easy to cross train from a mission support job to JAG, but not from pilot. The Air Force spends well over a cool million to produce just one pilot. They tend to want to keep you flying until you get enough rank to do a staff tour. It's not impossible, but I would be AMAZED if I ever heard of it happening (excluding medical problems like the TV show ).

HD

[Guest kerpali]

MadMax:

yah I meet most of the common qualifications for being a pilot/nav to the best of my knowledge. I'm going to get some more medicial check ups done during college just to double-check so I don't end up wasting anyone's time if I do decide to attempt such a valued position.

Herc:

I've always wanted to be a USAF Pilot since I was like 7 when I saw my first airshow, but you do make a good point. I guess I'll try to choose one or the other in the next few years rather than try to be both. I consider being a pilot a very serious job that requires everything from well above average intelligence and great physical conditioning to strong determination. I hope I didn't undermine or offend anyone with the tone of my orginal post. I was just curious as to the possiblities of such a career.

Thanks to all.

[M2]

Kerpal

You can always have a full career as a pilot then become a lawyer afterward, that's been done before. However, if you go the pilot route you will be committed to fly for the first ten years if the USAF wants you to. Not everybody gets to fly their whole career, so there will always be a possibility that you could go to law school down the road.

To be honest I don't recall every meeting a pilot who was a lawyer (except for my bu dthe ex-Eagle driver, and than he only went to law school after his flying career was over), I would suspect that the USAF would want you for your legal skills if you have got your degree.

However, again, not that it can't be done, but I think you are putting yourself at a disadvantage waiting to apply to go to UPT. My free advice to you would be to apply for OTS your last year of college (is it to late for AFROTC?) and see how that pans out. If it doesn't, then head to law school. If it does, work on your law degree down the road. You will (hopefully) always have time to pursue that law degree, I have another bud who is taking law classes right now (he's a Lt Col). With TA there is nothing to stop you for furthering your education while on AD, but you have better devote your time to your primary job first, especially if you want/will become a pilot.

Last bit of free advice, go see a recruiter and get your physical so you will know for sure if you are even pilot qualified. I don't think there is any obligation to do so, and you may want to pursue seeing if the USAF will send you to law school if that doesn't pan out.

Best of luck!

Cheers! M2

[Guest JoeMama]

Not to push the Air Guard, but it is something to consider.

There's a guy flying F-16s with the Texas Air National Guard who's also a civilian lawyer.

One thing I'm wondering...why do you want to do JAG? Any reason in particular? Is military law that much more exciting than civilian law? The pay sure isn't!

BTW, be careful talking about JAG/Pilot...people will think you watch too much TV. One of the questions I was asked on my Air Guard interview was if I liked the show JAG. I was completely honest of course, and I quickly said, "I never watch the show." They then told me that was the correct answer, and I got the pilot slot.

Anyway, if the Air Guard interests you, work on your PPL through college, aim for high 90's on AFOQT/PCSM, do some volunteer work, get good recs, and start applying to any guard unit you wouldn't mind flying for as soon as you become eligible. For you, it's almost better not to get selected the first few times...you can work on your law degree while applying. The downside to that is, you'll hear people say to get into flight school now, because you never know what will happen that may medically disqualify you later (deteriorating vision, injuries, etc.) Getting your JD (if you sell it the right way) can also help you stand out among the other 100+ applicants. I'm sure an ANG unit wouldn't mind having an extra JD around...they'll probably put you to work doing anything law-related.

The other way to do it would be to get a flying slot, go to UPT, and when you're a part timer, go to law school. It's not easy, but it's doable...there's also the option of doing the 4 year night school program to get your JD.

If your goal is to be a lawyer and a pilot, there's no reason not to put your heart into both careers. Just make sure you're heart really is in both. They're both challenging and rewarding careers. You just have to play your cards/politics right. If people think you watch too much TV, they won't take you seriously. Talk flying with the pilots, and talk law with the lawyers...if you do too much mixing, people may take things the wrong way.

Good Luck with your dreams, and don't forget that the most important thing for you right now is to kick *** in college. Aim for >3.5. If you can't get a good GPA in college, you certainly won't be able to juggle the 2 careers you want.

[ 08. August 2004, 11:15: Message edited by: Jordan ]

[Guest kerpali]

MadMax & Jordan:

Just for the sake of clarification... I've literally NEVER seen that show... The most I've watched was 10 minutes worth of it and that was the first episode. I want to be in JAG because it would be a better use of a J.D. then ending up at some private law firm and making tons of $$$. Money is great and all, but I'd rather not look back on my life and say "wow I wasted decades with a law firm when I could have doing something that would more productive for society..." *No offense to big private law firms or members of said institutions, but ya'll are pretty evil. Most lawyers have to bill a certain number of hours and usually how many hours they bill will depend on whether a case they are presented is worth it($$) for them to take up. My cousin works for a big law firm, which I will not name, in Chicago. He tells me he makes a crazy amount of money but he can't spend it because he's always struggling to meet his quotas.

I'm also attempting to go the public service route so a JD and experience with military courts and military life in general would help in areas such as policy making.

Jordan:

The ANG is a good idea. I was once thinking of actually enlisting in a local unit. I haven't really researched ANG as much as I have AD so I guess I have some homework to do. Thanks for all the tips. I'm also going to get more research on being a rated officer positions and JAG positions(lawyers with wings... kind of a scary thought when you think about it). I'm probably end up dedicating myself to one or the other, but at least I know one think for sure. Who I'll be working for;

[PapaJu]

Well damn was going to make a crack regarding the TV show but now that I see that base has been covered I'll just move along...

[M2]

Not matter how dumb the show is, the Marine chick is pretty hot, if you ask me! :D

I think Jordan has a pretty good idea, if you can get a Guard unit to pick you up, then get to UPT through them, then you will have more of a choice of what type of a/c you want. Once you are done with UPT and mission qual'd, then start law school. As Jordan said, it ain't gonna be easy, but if you are motivated it can be done.

Good luck, but I gotta tell you when it all works out and you are a pilot/JAG, be ready to catch shit as people will always associate you with that TV show! Just give them the standard response... (complete with smile, of course!)

Cheers! M2

[DC]

One of the questions I was asked on my Air Guard interview was if I liked the show JAG. I was completely honest of course, and I quickly said, "I never watch the show." They then told me that was the correct answer, and I got the pilot slot.

Not matter how dumb the show is, the Marine chick is pretty hot, if you ask me! [big Grin]

See, I was thinking the correct answer would have been, "I never watch the show, but Catherine Bell is pretty damn hot." Damn you MadMax for beating me to that answer!