To become a Marine Corps JAG, one must be a lawyer or law student, meet qualifications, and complete specified training. The Marines’ legal arm is similar to the JAG corps in other military services, but with a different officer designation for attorneys.
To become a JAG of the Marine Corps – or to become a member of what is commonly known as the Marine Corps General Counsel Corps – a person must first be a lawyer, law student, or an individual who wants to become an expert in legal services. A candidate must also meet Division of Maritime Judges Lawyers qualifications and complete specified training.
Since the Marines are a division of the Navy, its JAG corps is not an entirely separate entity. This is reflected in the use of “Division” instead of “General Corps” in the organization’s title. The result of this situation is a single chain of command.
An attorney desiring to become a Marine Corps JAG must have a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and must have been admitted to the bar of law in a federal court or in the highest court of a U.S. state or the District of Columbia . These qualifications make the person eligible for acceptance into the Officer Candidate Course Law Program. Upon acceptance, the attorney attends Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia. Graduates of the Office Candidate School enter the ranks of Marine Corps officers as second lieutenants and enter active duty.
Law students can also begin taking the necessary steps to become a Marine Corps JAG officer under the Platoon Leaders Class Law Program. Graduates of bar-accredited law schools, as well as first- and second-year students at accredited law schools, are eligible to apply for the program. An accepted candidate attends the same program at Quantico as lawyers and also becomes a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps JAG, but the person remains in an inactive duty status until he receives a law degree and is admitted to the bar.
There are dozens of specifics, qualifications, and training required to become a Marine Corps JAG Legal Services Specialist. Legal services specialists are generally assigned to support legal offices throughout the Marine Corps. They usually perform administrative, administrative and managerial tasks associated with legal operations. General tasks usually involve operational, managerial, administrative and administrative tasks.
Although the Marines do not technically have a JAG corps, their Judge Advocate Division is usually given that designation. Officially, the Judge Advocate Division works in support of the Marines’ senior legal officer, the Judge Advocate on the Staff of the Marine Corps commander. In the chain of command, the Navy’s senior legal officer, its Judge Advocate General, occupies a higher position than the Judge Advocate for the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps.
Despite differences in organizational name and chain of command, the Marine Corps’ legal arm is still quite similar to the JAG corps in the other military services. It has virtually the same job descriptions as the Navy’s JAG corps, with the sole exception of the officer designation for attorneys. JAG officers in the Navy and all branches of the military except the Marines are non-combat officers. JAG Navy officers are line officers, which means they can assume command roles in combat situations.
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