This Colonel Rocks!

I wrote a post last year (that I later deleted) about J's then SJA (Colonel boss). It was no secret that he was not the most desirable SJA to say the least. Anyways, I wrote a post comparing our first SJA to our second one. It was night and day. The first one took the time to know not only J but our family. He made sure office functions happened with families, checked in with me personally etc. Then we came to Germany and had a completely different experience. The SJA had no idea who I was when I walked into the office nor took the time to hold office functions or helped facilitate office camaraderie, etc. I had a reader write me a lengthy comment saying how that is silly to compare the two because Germany's office is much, much larger and it's just plain impossible for an SJA to have the same kind of relationship with me or the Captain's as J's first SJA who was running a much smaller legal office.

Well J has had a new SJA since this summer and....HE IS AWESOME!! Just like our first SJA was. He knows my name, takes time to know our family (the whole office even threw me and two other wives a huge baby shower), holds regular family functions and cares about his Captain's. To top it off J gets a shopping day next week. Yes, his SJA is giving each Captain a free day off to go Christmas shopping!

My faith in amazing SJA's has been restored!

Update regarding assignment choice

One of my readers who just got accepted to the JAG Corps had this to say.

"Also, in case you weren't aware of the changes, they now only provide one (instead of two) options for first base assignment. Also, I guess their policy now is to only give you 24 hours to decide. Thought there may be some others reading your blog who are interested to know that."

So be prepared when they call to make a quick decision.

The Mrs Claus Affair

Christmas 2011. My girlfriend and I sat with our families around the dining room table gazing at the what remained of a perfectly fabulous holiday feast. Everything about Christmas had been fantastically memorable; from the nativity skit starring our children to the frantic last minute gift wrapping after tuck-ins. The entire holiday was almost perfect. Almost. We had invited one of our girlfriends to join us for Christmas dinner since she was not only newly wed, but her husband was newly deployed and both their families were an ocean away. "So what did your hubby get you this year?" I asked in my best I'm-nosier-than-you-are tone. "Nothing," she replied. Wait, what? "What do you mean nothing?" "Actually I did get a package from him in the mail this week but it was something he'd bought himself and had shipped home..." What could we say to that? This story has been repeated hundreds of times all over the world by wives of service men deployed for the holidays. Deployments are hard enough on a man. Throw in Christmas and shopping (which most men hate) with hundreds or thousands of miles separating them from malls and families and what is the final Christmas result? A nice phone call. Not a purse or a Kitchen Aid, no massage or two months worth of housekeeping. Men who are fighting for our freedom don't always have the time to make sure Santa remembers the sherpa lined boots or the Brighton charm bracelet. That's where we come in. The Mrs. Claus Affair is dedicated to taking care of the wives of deployed service men during the holidays. We're not out to cure breast cancer (although that would be kind of awesome) or build houses for the homeless, and we don't want to save the world. But we do want to make sure that we teach our children the importance of serving others, especially mothers and wives who are hoofing it alone and, in many cases, have been overlooked. Our goal is to raise enough money through donations and fundraisers to make Christmas something special for some of the women in our local community. We don't need to save everyone, but we'd like to make a real difference this Christmas for somebody. We want women to have something to open on Christmas morning. We want them to feel remembered. Through nominations we're hoping to find a list of women to bring together and celebrate with this Christmas. Not through mass bulk gift giving, but something with a more personal touch. We're more devoted to the experience than the numbers. And if you don't live in our area and want to participate, join our movement by locating a wife in your area and get her a gift to open on Christmas morning. Just sign it, "The Mrs. Claus Affair" and send us a letter telling us about your experience. Anyone can be involved. If you would like to donate or participate in one of our local fundraisers, or if have someone to nominate, please contact us at themrsclausaffair@gmail.com.

You can also vist TheMrsClausAffair.blogspot.com to donate!!

Air Force JAG Core still very competitive

This is a quick post to say hello and that I'm still alive! We found out that we are expecting a baby in the spring. Between being super sick and a crashed computer I have neglected the blog but hope to get on track again very soon.

On another note, it looks like the JAG Core is still very competitive. At the last JAG hiring board only 5% of those who applied were accepted. If you were part of that 5% be very grateful!

SOS = 8 weeks of My Man Gone

SOS is an 8 week course held in Montgomery, Alabama. Not everyone gets selected to go so your spouse may never have to complete it in residence (meaning attend the course in Alabama). Everyone has to complete it in correspondence though, which basically means via computer. For the Enlisted side having taken SOS in residence looks really good and will help them promote quicker. For Officer's it looks good but isn't essential. It definitely won't hurt you if you haven't completed SOS in residence. SOS is a course on the Air Force, it's mission, and leadership training. If you ask me, most days it sounds like the t.v. show Survivor! They complete missions, obstacle courses, team building games and the like. J is enjoying the break but he's ready to get home and start work again (or maybe he says that so I don't think he's having such a great time!).

J has been gone for 5 1/2 weeks now. I miss him terribly. Not simply because he's a STUD and I can't get enough of him as is, but because he's thousands of miles away and we can't talk on the phone often due to the time difference. Deployments and TDY's will happen, be prepared. 8 weeks is a long time and no matter how many spouses you meet in the military that say, "Ah, that's nothing," because their spouses may have deployed for 6+ months and laugh at your measly few weeks; it's STILL A LONG TIME. Sometimes all you need is to feel validated. I am grateful it's only 8 weeks (haha, you know you've been in the military long enough if you say only!) It hasn't been bad except for the missing his physical touch and presence in our lives. Always having people around you that have endured longer keeps you from complaining. Luckily I have great friends who are compassionate, always asking if I need anything. Which I don't but the fact that they care makes all the difference.

Keeping busy is such a blessing. The girls and I went on a 7 day cruise with friends and are headed on another week long vacation in 2 weeks. We'll get home the same day J does. Hey, J specifically told me he didn't want me sitting around all summer doing nothing! I know how to listen to My Man!

JAG hiring board

In one of the most recent JAG hiring boards they had over 700 applicants to review. Out of those 700 the board only hired 25. In the last board to meet the hiring number was greater, which is a good sign. Either way, it's an extremely competitive time to get accepted right now. Try to stay optimistic. For those that recently got accepted...welcome to a grand new adventure!!

Do I have to wait for bar results before they can start the Medical Clearance process?

You can reference my post in November of 2009 regarding the timeline of getting started with the JAG core. J couldn't start the Medical Clearance until he had passed the bar. If I remember correctly, pretty much once they accepted him, contingent on him passing the bar, there wasn't a single thing further we could do but wait.

UPDATE: Looks like you can now be medically cleared before receiving your bar results.