The Air Force JAG Corps; an opportunity for officers

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Mark Garney
  • 354th Fighter Wing Staff Judge Advocate
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Have you ever thought about becoming a lawyer? Have you seen performances on TV and in the movies and think it would be fun and that you'd be great at it? Would you like being involved with things at a higher level than you may have been in the past? Do you like helping people solve problems? If you think this sounds interesting, then the Judge Advocate General's Corps might be for you.

There may even be a way you can get paid to go to law school. Applications for the Air Force's Funded Legal Education Program and Excess Leave Program are being accepted from Jan. 1 to March 1, 2009. Interested officers are encouraged to compete.

The FLEP is a paid legal studies program for active-duty Air Force commissioned officers. The FLEP is an assignment action, and participants receive full pay, allowances, and tuition. FLEP applicants must have between two and six years active duty service (enlisted or commissioned) as of the day they begin law school, and must be in the pay grades O-3 and below as of the first day of law school.

There is also the ELP program. The ELP is an unpaid legal studies program for Air Force officers. ELP participants do not receive pay and allowances, but remain on active duty for retirement eligibility and benefits purposes. ELP applicants must have between two and ten years active duty service as of the day they begin law school, and must be in the pay grades O-3 and below as of the first day of law school.

Both the FLEP and ELP programs require attendance at an American Bar Association approved law school. Upon graduation and admission to practice law before any state's highest court, candidates are eligible for designation as judge advocates.

Selection for both programs is competitive. To be considered for FLEP and/or ELP, applicants must have submitted all application forms, applied to an ABA accredited law school (acceptance is not required at the time of application for FLEP/ELP), received their Law School Admission Test (LSAT) results, and completed an interview with a Staff Judge Advocate by March 1, 2009.

AFI 51-101, Judge Advocate Accession Program, Chapters 2 and 3, discuss the FLEP and ELP programs. For more information and application materials, contact the base legal office at 377-4114, or come in and talk to any of our Iceman JAGs about how great it is to serve our county as a JAG officer.