It's been a fairly good day today. I was able to advocate on behalf of my clients using Law of Contracts. Maybe I actually paid attention in Contract Law, considering I got a C in the class back when I was a law student.

Pretty psyched about things in the office lately. I got my second law article published in the installation's newspaper. It is about terminating cell phone contracts under the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act. The law isn't perfect and has a lot of loopholes. However, it gave our Soldiers the abilities to terminate their cell phone contracts without incurring a hefty early termination fee before deploying to harms way. Congress should take another look at the statute and fix the loopholes. Our Soldiers deserve better legal protections.

Will start work on my other law article this week. It's going to be a short summary/FAQ on The Servicemember's Civil Relief Act. My goal is to get it published during this fiscal year. Hopefully, my readers will gain a better understanding of the law and legal protections offered to the Soldiers.

I thought I should probably do an AAR (after action report) for the last 24 weeks of training. I can't believe it's finally over. I am having a lot of mixed emotion right now as I am ready to head out to Ft. Leavenworth in a few hours to start my duty as a legal assistance attorney a week from today.

2 weeks of Ft. Lee + 11 weeks of Charlottesville + 4 weeks of DCC + 7 weeks of BOLC II

2 weeks of Ft. Lee: it was fast and hard. Our cadres meant business and gave us crash courses on military life. As a DCO (direct commissioned officer), I realized I have a lot to learn about officership in such a short time. I bonded with 101 of my fellow JAGs. Most importantly, I bonded with my squad (The JAGuars) within these exhausting days because we sticked together during the good and bad times. There were 10 of us in the JAGuars squad (Mel, Joy, Susan, Jeff, Silas, Marybeth, Sean, Bruce, Ryan, and myself). I saw some awesome displays of leaderships and met some extraordinary officers, who went out of their ways to help DCOs like myself. I will never forget their kindness. By the end of Ft. Lee, our 177th Class Motto was, "with sword and quill, defend and kill." Very hardcore indeed.

11 weeks of Charlottesville: it was a paradise compare to Ft. Lee and Ft. Sill. We learned so much about being a military lawyer. The subjects we studied were interesting (administrative, military justice, legal assistance, fiscal, ethics, and operational/international law). I met some of the most brilliant legal minds and excellent officers who inspired me. I bonded further with my fellow classmates through mock trials, roadtrips/sightseeings, and many sit-down meals. Charlottesville was an awesome regimental home and difficult to say goodbye, both the place and the people. When we graduated as JAs, the 177th splitted off into two groups. Those of us who stationed west of Mississippi River went to Ft. Sill, OK (Home of Field Artillery), and those stationed east of Mississippi River or Airborne candidate went to Ft. Benning, GA (Home of hardcore and motivated Infantry and Ranger). Saying good bye to my 80 dear brothers and sisters in arms was difficult especially when we had such a blast at the JAG school. Of the 101, 22 of us journeyed onto Ft. Sill, OK. The JAGuars stayed together despite by the fact that some of the prior service officers such as Mel, Susan, Jeff, and Joy departed earlier to their duty stations.  

4 weeks of DCC at Ft. Sill: Ft. Sill is wide and windy. This was the place we began our soldier/officer trainings. Our cadres were nicer compared to the ones at Ft. Lee, but they were equally demanding. For the first time, I started to understand how to put military skills in practice such as basic rifle marksmanship, land navigation, squad tactics. Unfortunately, DCC also tested our endurance as soldiers when we took on rough beatings such as combat obstacle courses and 6 mile foot march in the cold Oklahoma wind. By the end of the training, we had many casualties. Everyone was injured one way or the other. 2 of my friends injured their shoulders badly. One had to get a surgery and eventually got a waiver out of the BOLC II class. Two broke their feet during obstacle course training, but soldiered onto BOLC II only to break their feet again (both fortunately got waivers as well for their brave effort to soldier on). I sprained my ankle badly and for the first time during a foot march. All of us got sick or some type of cold weather injuries when we were living in the tent. Life was hard, but it was harder for the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq as we reminded ourselves. 4 weeks passed by, we were tired and got very little rest as BOLC II started 2 days after DCC graduation. Many of us wanted to go home, but we soldiered on. The JAGuars bonded even more as we were placed in the same squad during BOLC II. We were inseparable.

7 weeks BOLC II: As DCC ended, BOLC II started back on after two days. We were hurt and we were tired, but we soldiered on. We told one another only 7 weeks to go before we returned to our perspective law practices in the Army. BOLC II was a repeat of DCC with only a few differences. We got to fire heavy weapons (.50 cal, when you fired it, you would feel your entire body shakes), worked with many fresh-out-of-college OCS 2nd lieutenants, and treated like privates by some of the most devious cadres and commanders ever known. We were frustrated because the trainings were poorly managed both time-wised and resource-wised. We were frustrated by the fact that our cadres took their frustrations out on us, and how lack of professionalism these NCOs had for their future officers. These were some of the darkest and hardest time some of us have ever faced, but we prayed and we soldiered on. We counted the days and the weeks. We spent our Fridays in Santa Fe steakhouse to gripe and enjoy the weekends while they lasted. One by one, we checked off the requirements from passing the physical training test to the last event, 10 mile foot march with 40lb equipment. We survived and learned that lawyers can be good soldiers too through sweat, tears, and blood. Of the 22 JAs, 4 of us were severely injured by the end of the course and have to undergo surgeries or medical treatment afterwards. I was lucky to recover while I was training in BOLC II and passed the course requirement.

Graduation from BOLC II was bitter sweet as we said good-bye to one another after 24 weeks. Many of us will be stationed in the state-side. A few of my JAGuar friends will be in Korea. Two of my close friends will be deployed next year to Iraq along with my other classmates to assist commanders with legal issues in warzones.

I thanked God for this bond and friendships in our 177th class. Training may be over for now, but this is only the beginning of our career as army lawyers. Our decisions and advices could potentially affect soldiers' lives and the U.S. foreign policies. It is something serious and full of consequences.  I prayed to God that He will continue to protect the 177th and guide us through our days with the advices we give and the decisions we make.

Pass the physical fitness test, basic rifle marksmanship, land navigation course. 10-mile foot march to the FOB and 24-hour operations from Monday through Thursday then I will be done.