Do you pay for Insurance in the AF?

Health Insurance is paid for by the military, if you have Tricare Prime. This means you must see base doctors or doctors Tricare has approved. We have Tricare Prime. In Texas I knew one girl who had Standard because she wanted to use a mid wife to deliver her baby and with Tricare Prime in my area of Texas that wasn't an option. (However over here there are a couple mid wives who work on base). If you opt to have Tricare Standard, then you can choose your own providers but you will pay a percentage. You can call Tricare directly to start your paperwork. It will take some time to process. Here is the link on my blog to their contact numbers.

When I say Health Insurance that includes Vision as well. I've seen Dermatologists, Pain Specialists, Neurosurgeons, Physical Therapists, Podiatrist etc. All covered 100%. It's great!

Dental is different. You can join United Concordia which is essentially a Tricare Dental plan through the military but you do pay a monthly fee. For a family of4, not including J, it costs us $30 a month. You do pay a percentage for work done outside your 2 cleanings a year. I don't remember exactly the percentage but when my daughter had a filling it costs us around $20 if I remember correctly. The active duty member is seen on base and their dental is covered 100%.

There are exceptions!! As a dependent some bases will see you in the Dental Clinic. It just can be extremely difficult to get in. But if you need major work done, like a root canal, and don't want to pay the percentage United Concordia will bill you, then you can try to make an appointment on base to get it done...for free. Some bases may have a policy that they don't see dependents simply because they are understaffed and have a difficult time as is filling their active duty members needs. It's always worth a try to call your base dental clinic to see if they have availabilities. I know several people that would go off base to get their cleanings done but whenever they had any work needed they would wait it out until they could be seen on base.



Another exception for dental is when living overseas! If you are stationed overseas your Dental is covered by the military. Again, it can be difficult to be seen on base but if you do have United Concordia while overseas they will cover more than they would if you lived in the states.

Loan Repayment Program from Law Schools

GeekDada:

Law Schools aren't going to hide this information. Ask any law school you are contemplating applying to if they offer any kind of loan repayment program if you chose to work for government or public interest groups. They are forthcoming about these programs during recruitment.

Either way, the Air Force now has a Loan Repayment Program for incoming JAG's. Just search my blog and you'll find the info regarding the LRP on my June 30th 2010 post.

Also, to quickly answer your other questions. Yes, as a JAG you are still susceptible to deployments and long separations. On a day to day bases, we see J plenty. But yes, he could and JAG's do, regularly deploy with the Air Force for 6 months. J also has TDY's (long separations as you put it in your question) anywhere from 1 day to his longest one thus far lasting 8 weeks. In his 3 years of service he's only had a handful of TDY's, which have mostly been 1 week long.

Advice for those seeking JAG position

Question from a reader: Do you or J have any advice for an active attorney applying to JAG? What is JAG looking for in a candidate these days? What should you stress in your interview? Does the interview even matter?

This is what little I know about the board. The board members are always changing. A board will meet and review each candidate. They then rank the candidates and how ever many slots they need to fill, the top will get the acceptance.

This is my opinion on the hiring process. Let me first explain why I've concluded such. First, I reflect on the JAG's we know and what kind of work, if any, they did before becoming a JAG. The majority we know have come right from law school but a few of the types of work some have done beforehand were public interest work, criminal defense, and litigation. The one accessing your application is going to bring their own bias into the process. For example, you may think your resume is outstanding but look at your resume from the eyes of a Colonel in the Air Force who has served his country for 15+ years. He has chosen less pay, hard work, sacrifice, and commitment to the AF. What is he looking to see? What will impress him?

I only know thoroughly what one JAG's resume reflected...J's. His resume from the beginning of his first summer internship in law school never reflected that he wanted to work for a big law firm, or head that route, (even though at the time that is what he wanted) The type of work he did was more along the lines of public interest groups and government related. That showed the Air Force that here's a guy more likely committed to staying in the JAG Corps long term and not just temporarily. Now, that doesn't mean if you do work for private law firms the AF doesn't like that, I am NOT saying that at all. I am only saying what J's impression was after he got accepted into the JAG Corps.

Also in my opinion, if you have anyone i.e. father, brother, sister, grandfather who served in the military, bring that up in your interview! Military honors its own. With that said, YES, I do think the interview matters. If you get a bad write up, then the board is going to listen to the opinion of their own with great regard. J's interviewer gave him positive feedback at the end of the interview and told him point blank that he thought he would be very competitive.

Remember the Air Force has always been very competitive when it comes to being accepted in the JAG Corps. It has become even more competitive lately. We all know this. Good luck and I hope this post helps even just a little because I realize I'm not saying much you all don't already know.

Do I work? Is the JAG pay 'enough'?

To answer the first question, no, I don't work. We had 3 kids when J joined the AF and I have never felt like we didn't make 'enough' money. To start, Texas was a very cheap area to live. Coming from California EVERYTHING was cheaper in Texas! Out of seven JAG wives in Texas only one worked. She was a school teacher and they didn't have kids so it made perfect sense for her to get a job. I remember her saying once that the money she made allowed her to buy more things she wanted not just the things they needed. Most of the JAG wives here in Germany don't work either, but we are in a foreign country which may make job hunting a little difficult :)

However, 2 factors come into play for us. First, we don't currently pay any law school loan payments each month. The University J went to offers a loan repayment program for those graduates who take government jobs and make under a certain $$ amount each year. Well, we fit that category. Otherwise we would have to pay $700 a month toward student loans. Which we save at least that much a month anyways but if we had to pay it then our savings wouldn't be as high and we wouldn't feel comfortable like we do.

Second factor, I am frugal by nature. I don't buy whatever I want but at the same time I don't feel deprived. If we want to go out to eat, we do, just not multiple times a week. If I want a new dress, I buy it. Our home has nice things, (admittedly I'm on the vain side a little) I like nice clothes for me and my family but somehow we have enough money.

I'll also note that once J became a JAG we have NEVER received such huge tax returns before. Last year we received nearly $11,000 and the year before that (where we were AF for only half a year) we got $8,000 back! BAH is not taxed so you actually make more money than the IRS docks you for.

Lauren, I remember thinking the same thing you did before J started working as a JAG. J went to a top 10 law school and his peers we're coming out making double, nearly triple with bonuses than what he started off earning. With that said, for our family, money hasn't been a worry at all. Obviously, we're not rolling in the dough like his peers are but my girls get to be with their Dad each day so it's worth the pay off :)

If there are other JAG wives reading this and you have good input please speak up and I will post your comments because this is a good question. It was definitely one of my main concerns before J accepted the position.

Q & A: Support System & Childcare

Question: My husband and I are considering JAG too and I am currently pregnant with our third child ( our other two are two and one years old). My concern is feeling overwhelmed with no support system in an unfamiliar place. How have you managed with your three? What type of support system do you find on base? Are their daycares on base and what's the pricing generally for them?

To start off, I am extremely lucky and grateful that I belong to a world wide church. With that said, wherever I move I instantly have a Bishop to call and a church family who is there to help me with my move, adjustments, really anything I need. So I am not the most qualified to answer your question. BUT, the JAG Core is a great resource to start from.

Both bases I've been at have had a great support system among the JAG wives. They do regular get togethers, playdates, park groups, etc. When someone has a baby we offer help with meals, watching siblings, etc. At a larger base you will have more JAG spouses, at a smaller base there may only be a few of you so support will vary. Your concern is valid but if you are the least bit outgoing you will find your own support system because EVERYONE around you is in the same boat and you become each other's temporary family.

I don't use the CDC (on base childcare) so I'm not much help there either. In Texas, drop in was difficult and it was $5 an hour per kid, if you could actually get in. That was the rate for drop in only. Also, I'm pretty sure there is priority to children whose parents are both serving in the military. That sums up what I know about CDC...sorry!! But you can look up any base on the web, search for the CDC and ask them for more information.

I'm still here!

I'm still here, we've just been travelling a ton!! I wanted to post the comment from a reader for all to see (in case you don't actually go to the comments and read them yourselves.) Here is what an anonymous fellow JAG wife has to say.

"I'm an Air Force JAG wife too! I agree with most of what you said. I was so scared of what it would mean for my husband to join the military, but fortunately it has been a great blessing to our family. I, too, had a lot of civilians telling me that being an officers wife would mean entertaining, going to important functions and so forth. I have not experienced that one bit. As far as my husband liking the work: he likes the legal work. Unfortunately, he gets stuck with a lot of non-legal work as well. I'm not sure if that is the case with your husband, but it is something that my husband is tiring of. Anyway, things might change with our new assignment. He will be in 2 years in January, and next summer we will go to our 2nd assignment. Perhaps he will start to be able to specialize and enjoy the work more."

Options for JAG's exiting the military

JAGs leave the military and go onto work in a wide range of areas. There are good numbers of prosecutors, state and federal, that are former JAGs. JAGs can obtain a wide range of experience. Every JAG does not become experienced in the same areas of law. There are JAGs that get a lot of experience in government contracts, labor, environmental, and information privacy law. Others just focus on military justice, aka criminal law. That experience can determine what marketable skills they will have once they leave the service. There are also a lot of JAGs that leave the military and go into the reserves. One advantage people have said is that being in the reserves can help when transitioning between jobs.
After the first couple of assignments JAGs are typically not doing the criminal trial work unless they want. Instead they are going into positions where they might be able to specialize, act more in an advisory role at a higher headquarters legal office, or serve in a leadership role. There are so many different jobs in the JAG Corps. You can express your desire for the area of law that you want to gain experience in and bosses will typically try to help you achieve your desires. Of course your preferences only go so far.