J is for JAG a.k.a Judge Advocacy General
The first time my husband mentioned having to take a trip to JAG to get some paperwork in order before his deployment I figured he wasn’t headed to the sitcom set that ended while I was in college. In the past the only time I heard the term JAG was on television and in the movies, I guess I never really thought about it as a real entity.
However, the Judge Advocacy General is so much more than that, it is actually a great resource for all military families. They do everything from offering legal advice, to creating power of attorneys, revising your Will, and providing any service you could get at any civilian law firm. And the best part is it won’t cost you anything. Now, the JAG can not take on every case that comes their way, sometimes there are too many needs and not enough lawyers. And if this ever happens they will aid in helping you find the right lawyer for your need.
Most JAG offices on bases and posts around the world have walk-in hours at some point during the week, where you can go in and talk to a lawyer about whatever issues you are currently facing. They are there to assist in any way they can. And they make for a great starting point.
Personally, we have used the Judge Advocacy General a few times. We’ve used them to update my husbands Will before each deployment. We’ve used them to make a power of attorney before each deployment. And we’ve used them to help us learn our rights as tenants when we had a landlord that wouldn’t return our security deposit and became hard to track down. We have had nothing but positive experiences each and every time.
