A person who wants to become a Marine Corps JAG — or a member of the Marine Corps Judge Advocate General corps — must first be an attorney, a law student, or a person who wants to become a legal services specialist. A candidate must also meet the Marine Judge Advocate Division’s qualifications and complete the required training.
The JAG corps of the Marines is not a completely separate entity because it is a division of the Navy. This is reflected in the organization’s name, which uses the term “Division” rather than “General Corps.” As a result of this situation, there is a one-of-a-kind command chain.
A lawyer who wants to join the Marine Corps as a JAG must have graduated from an American Bar Association-accredited law school and be admitted to practice law in a Federal court, a state’s highest court, or the District of Columbia. These credentials qualify the applicant for admission to the Officer Candidates Course Law Program. The attorney attends Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia after being accepted. Graduates of the Office Candidate School join the Marine Corps as second lieutenants and serve on active duty.
Under the Platoon Leaders Class Law Program, law students can begin the process of becoming a Marine Corps JAG officer. Students in their final year of law school, as well as first and second year students in accredited law schools, are eligible to apply for the program. Accepted applicants attend the same Quantico program as attorneys and have the opportunity to become a Marine Corps JAG second lieutenant, but they are placed on inactive duty until they obtain a law degree and are admitted to the bar.
To become a Marine Corps JAG legal services specialist, you must meet a slew of additional requirements, qualifications, and training. Throughout the Marine Corps, legal services specialists are usually assigned to support legal offices. Administrative, clerical, and managerial tasks related to legal operations are typically performed by them. Legal operational, managerial, clerical, and administrative duties are typical general responsibilities.
Although the Marine Corps does not have a JAG corps, the Judge Advocate Division is commonly referred to as such. Officially, the Marine Corps’ senior legal officer, the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, is supported by the Judge Advocate Division. In the chain of command, the Navy’s senior legal officer, its Judge Advocate General, ranks higher than the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps
Despite the differences in organizational name and chain of command, the Marines’ legal branch is very similar to the JAG corps in other military services. With the exception of the officer designation for attorneys, it has nearly identical job descriptions to the Navy JAG corps. Except for the Marines, JAG officers in the Navy and all other military branches are non-combat officers. Marine JAG officers are line officers, which means they can command troops in combat.