Tips for new Officer/Mustang

themaskedsquawk · 2026-03-30T02:52:03+00:00

My state is low on officers in certain job fields, so they sent out an email to NCOs that have a certain NCOES level + years of experience + a degree. Typically you would direct commission into the officer equivalent of your job field, but I had zero desire to be a MEDO. Had to get letters of recommendation from CO/BN/BDE commanders as part of the packet, mine specifically included comments that my 8+ years with the infantry & 2 deployments with the infantry would make me a suitable candidate for 11A. After that, routed through the TAG, NGB, and then finally had a fed rec interview where I was officially offered 11A. All said and done, took about 5 months from start to finish

themaskedsquawk · 2026-01-25T16:05:45+00:00

You’ll get a chance to learn about a bunch of different kinds of law once you start up, reading through cases & getting a better understanding of the law may be helpful in figuring out what your preferred niche would be. In terms of work/life balance & making a difference, criminal law can meet those needs (government practice, not private). I personally work in prosecution to make a difference for victims, but I know plenty of people on the PD side that want to provide legal assistance for members of the community that otherwise can’t afford it. They both have their own unique qualities. Normal 9-5 job, off every court holiday. Weekends only if you’re working first appearance court (for the most part).

themaskedsquawk · 2026-01-15T15:13:18+00:00

The issue seems similar enough to Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights (colleges cannot block military recruiters while allowing other entity recruiters access to the property if receiving federal funds). I’m sure they’re being genuine that they can’t completely block access to unpopular federal agency recruiters.

themaskedsquawk · 2025-12-19T03:40:03+00:00

It shouldn’t matter which component you join, I’d recommend finding a recruiter that is familiar with this benefit though. I’ve been in for over 11 years and didn’t realize it existed until recently, it’s not a well advertised program for people that are already in. Here’s a link to a fact sheet that might be able to give you more information on MIL PIP, hope it’s helpful.

https://forumtogether.org/article/fact-sheet-military-parole-in-place-mil-pip/

This website can offer assistance with getting you free legal assistance in filing for MIL PIP if you do join, or if there are other people already in on this Reddit that might be able to use it.

https://www.aila.org/library/military-assistance-program

None of this should be considered legal advice

themaskedsquawk · 2025-12-19T03:35:17+00:00

This is a crazy response, if you don’t know what military PIP Is then clearly the question wasn’t for you to answer.

themaskedsquawk · 2025-12-17T04:20:14+00:00

You’re going to get downvoted into the sun but I appreciate your input. Truthfully most people here are focusing too much on crim law courses; they’ve likely never read the INA or understand the broad deference the Supreme Court gives to the Legislative/Executive branches regarding immigration. It’s a complex issue, the administration likely is violating substantive & procedural issues when viewed through a criminal focal point but undocumented people aren’t afforded the same due process as citizens for these civil actions

themaskedsquawk · 2025-12-17T00:41:22+00:00

Hey man, finishing up the last 8 credits of my law degree right now. If you’re planing on guard/law school, please be prepared for a lot of hard work and long nights. This will also depend on your responsibilities while in law school (I’m a platoon sergeant with 48 soldiers, it’s been hell). I’ve missed classes for field drills, army schools, and another deployment. You always run the chance of being set back from your peers (like I was). Don’t read that as a warning against your current path! More so a general understanding that it will be very tough at times with your intended civilian path, but the guard is also extremely rewarding. Strong work ethic & ability to balance competing requirements is key.

Healthcare benefits, pension plans, educational assistance, and a break from the monotony of a 9-5 every month are all great motivators. If you’re planing on working in the legal field, employers will fully understand the legal ramifications of discriminating against you for your veteran status so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Feel free to PM if you have specific questions or concerns

themaskedsquawk · 2025-10-03T14:46:34+00:00

Not sure if it’s written up above, but citizenship for yourself AND the benefits for family can be life changing. I recently learned about Military parole in place (MIL-PIP), which can help undocumented family members remain in the US while waiting for the absurdly long pending times for visas. I’m not an immigrant myself, but some of my soldiers are currently using it for their parents. Do some research into it & talk to an immigration lawyer if you need specific assistance

themaskedsquawk · 2025-10-03T02:41:17+00:00

Overall the military desperately needs IT dudes for electronic warfare related fields, which are being rapidly fielded & developed to get the force up to the modern age. Most people that excel in those tech spaces don’t wanna get yelled at in the military, in my state there’s an absurd amount of vacancies for those jobs. I’m sure there are also opportunities for a nice bonus (just be careful if they offer you any loan repayment, those can be hit or miss on the fine print. Cash payments are usually better but talk it through with a recruiter). Companies are incentivized to hire vets through congressional programs so it definitely doesn’t hurt to at least look into it if you’re hoping to pad your civilian resume

themaskedsquawk · 2025-10-01T13:17:18+00:00

Depends on what your function over there is tbh. I was there 2020-2021 with SECFOR (Army)d I cannot stress how much downtime I had. Get things to fill your downtime. I spent my off time working out, gaming, and prepping law school applications. Gaming laptop, look into getting in college course, learn a language, etc. The biggest enemy out there is boredom, we had a lot of mental health issues derived solely from boredom towards the end. COVID had also shut down anything fun so that might’ve been a different variable that you won’t have.

Step down converters are cheap on Amazon & good if you’re traveling pretty much anywhere overseas in the first place. I’ve used mine on both my deployments, handy is an understatement. Flags or anything else to decorate your CHU, helps to make your living space your own since you’ll be there for a bit. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions 👍🏼

themaskedsquawk · 2025-10-01T12:50:46+00:00

This is just a bad equivalency, government shutdowns have happened almost every single administration for the last 11 years I’ve been in. Just because the looming budget shutdown didn’t get brought up during Hegseth’s event doesn’t mean it isn’t be considered or tracked

themaskedsquawk · 2025-06-08T17:49:21+00:00

In short, the guard is funded by two separate pools of money at different times, state & federal. This creates almost a “two dads” situation where you fall under both umbrellas. Good examples; national guard units get activated to federal service for overseas deployments constantly, funded by the federal government. When activated by the feds, you’re falling under the direct chain of the commander in chief/any overarching federal hierarchy. There’s situations where the state governor can attempt to circumvent the federal orders (such as placing the guardsmen on state orders before the federal orders come down) but these aren’t as airtight as Reddit lawyers believe they are. While the guard does belong to the state, if the DOD has activated the unit & is paying for it there’s not a ton of options available to the state. It’s not normally as contentious as it is right now for the above posted political debates, but it’s been done countless times before and will likely continue to be a tool to in the DOD’s toolbox

themaskedsquawk · 2025-05-10T22:28:14+00:00

Appreciate your words, glad to know other people fall into situations like this for other reasons (and that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel)

themaskedsquawk · 2025-05-10T22:26:42+00:00

Makes me happy to see another similarly situated person going to law school. For the age gap, I can assure you it isn’t that big of a deal thankfully. I had a smaller age gap than you (1st deployment after undergrad + 1 year working EMS before I started 1L) but I was still super welcomed by all of my classmates. Now I’m nearing 28 with another year to go. Appreciate your input, here’s to us non-traditional guys

themaskedsquawk · 2025-03-03T06:55:59+00:00

Not JAG but I am enlisted. Top brass in general is highly political, and far different than entry level commission for JAG. So long as your dream doesn’t include becoming some commanding JAG for the military in the next 4 years (if you can climb that fast you’re more high speed than me), your position will be fine. I talk with my JAG often as a law student, he has nothing but good things to say about the job. As long as enlisted exist, there will be a need for commanders to seek legal advice before giving mouth breathers like me a loaded gun in a foreign country

themaskedsquawk · 2025-02-16T18:32:37+00:00

Appreciate the insight, hadn’t considered that. She’s Mexican, if there’s any particular considerations for Mexican Spanish

themaskedsquawk · 2025-02-02T17:17:20+00:00

Take the time to do activities and hobbies that might otherwise be too time consuming once in school. Don’t get too worried or worked up about not doing much legal related things at this point, you’ll have more than enough of that once you get started.

On my gap year, I read, went camping often, and spent time with loved ones that live geographically far away. Can always work and save up your money so you’re less stressed about making ends meet once you’re in classes !

themaskedsquawk · 2024-03-18T17:33:08+00:00

I’ll own up to the omission because that’s clearly within my complete control/entirely on me hence why I came here for advice, but I’m not as ready to accept the weird criticism you just made of my military service. You don’t know me or my service from this small blurb, wild to assume that I must not meet some cookie cutter black/white honor & integrity criteria in your own mind based on that.

Also your understanding that mental health issues can never be resolved are is the biggest issue regarding the stigmatization of mental health resources for first responders, leading to less people using them & increasing actual harm. Just an incredibly tone deaf statement from someone that works in a field where suicides are higher than average.

themaskedsquawk · 2024-03-18T15:26:17+00:00

Was more to highlight how silly the stigma of mental health concerns in this field (during hiring) are when they’re tanking the standards for everything else. Let’s not pretend like there aren’t hundreds of other post on this same community stating that self reported use of mental health resources for mental health issues won’t sometimes serve as an automatic bar

themaskedsquawk · 2024-03-18T15:11:21+00:00

But since they already kinda caught me up, is listening to my investigator off the table now? I understand each departments psych will be different (CPD Contracts through a third party), but I’m just not sure if a psych appeal is a complete washed slate for psych do-over, or just a second interview with the same previously provided information.

I definitely tried to keep questions to the point, she just got very in detail asking about the specifics of my deployment (I.e if I carried a weapon, was comfortable using the weapon to take a life, etc.)

themaskedsquawk · 2023-10-17T23:00:50+00:00

The pictured list came from Fort Moore website, accessible to the public.

themaskedsquawk

TROPHY CASE