Final Thoughts Regarding the JAG Corps Direct Commission Course (DCC)

In this post, I share my final thoughts on initial Army JAG Corps training at the Army’s Direct Commission Course.

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Over the last several weeks, I have provided detailed accounts of initial JAG Corps training at the Army’s Direct Commission Course. One of my goals for keeping this blog is to provide information to those who will attend the course after me.

Joining the JAG Corps is very exciting but also nerve-wracking. I hope knowing what to expect can help alleviate some of the anxiety associated with joining the military.

In this post, I will provide some of my final thoughts on the course. As I write this post, I do so looking back over the last six weeks in their entirety. These are merely my impressions. So, some of my classmates may not necessarily agree with these assessments.

Fort Benning, Georgia

Fort Benning, Georgia is a vast military base. Both the Infantry and Armor—which recently relocated from Fort Knox—branches call it home. The post is like a small city with all the accompanying amenities, including grocery stores, various shopping centers, restaurants, and bars. You can find everything you need without ever leaving the post.

I discovered, however, that the level of customer service and accessibility that we take for granted in the civilian world is often lacking on post. Stores and restaurants close at very early hours, often making it very difficult to enjoy their services.

Clothing and Sales, for example, closed at 6:00 pm on weekdays. The Starbucks also kept weird hours, closing at 3:00 pm on weekends.

(Of course, it would be absurd to complain about the lack of Starbucks while in military training. I bring it up only to illustrate a point. After all, most of the people on post are not in training.)

Customer Service

The quality of service is not always up to civilian standards, either. That is not to say that the people are rude. I did not find that to be the case at all. They simply did not have access to the tools necessary to provide excellent service.

As a way of illustration, when I purchased my service uniform from Clothing and Sales, I also bought the nameplates that must be worn on the uniform. Three weeks later, the nameplates had not yet arrived. In fact, they never came. So, I went to Ranger Joe’s right off post.

I watched them make the nameplates right in front of me. It took about thirty seconds.

Many local businesses have done very well for themselves offering the same services available on post with a manner of business efficiency and customer service lacking in the military. Prices, however, are often—though not always—significantly better on post. So, it’s a tradeoff. You definitely get what you pay for.

Another thing to realize is that Fort Benning is an open post. Having grown up on military bases, where everyone had to have a military ID—and at that time, stickers on their car—to get onto a military base, this came as quite a surprise. Anyone with a driver’s license can get onto Fort Benning.

So, you still need to be careful on post just as you would anywhere else. While it is still a safe place, you cannot relax as if you were in a completely secure environment. While I was there, for example, our cadre discovered squatters in our barracks.

The Course Requirements

If you put forth your best effort and have a good attitude, you will probably find that the class itself is not that challenging. While we had a handful of people fail to graduate, almost all of them were simply unable to qualify on their weapons.

The other graduation requirements are the ruck marches, the APFT, and land navigation. I don’t believe anyone failed the ruck marches. They aren’t a lot of fun, but they also are not difficult to complete.

I believe we only had two people fail the Army Physical Fitness Test, and I think both of them just barely failed. So, as long as you show up in somewhat decent shape, you should be fine. Remedial PT will be conducted at Charlottesville, so everyone should pass by the time the course is over.

While JAG Corps attorneys often get a bad rap for being out of shape, this reputation is not appropriate. You will be surprised at how many of your fellow JAG Corps attorneys are in exceptional shape. You should, therefore, make sure you are physically prepared when you show up.

I also believe everyone passed land navigation, though some required a few chances. I have a horrible sense of direction and did fine. As long as you listen to the cadre, you should do fine as well.

Hurry Up and Wait

The Army—and the military in general—is notorious for its “hurry up and wait” philosophy. Essentially, you will rush to get things done and get somewhere by a certain time, only then to wait around doing nothing for several hours. Realize that you are in the Army and this is part of it.

This waiting applies to almost everything. When you qualify with your rifle, for example, you will spend all but maybe forty-five minutes of a twelve-hour day waiting around for your turn to shoot. There are a lot of people that all have to have a chance to do one particular activity, so this is just the nature of the beast. Embrace it and keep a good attitude.

Think of DCC like a baseball game. The vast majority of your time is spent waiting around for something to happen. The brief time when something actually does happen, though, is usually pretty cool. Understand this going in, and it’s more likely you’ll enjoy yourself.

Closing Thoughts on JAG Corps Training and DCC

DCC is not that difficult. Anyone with a good attitude who puts forth the effort should do fine. There will probably be some things that frustrate you about the course, but you should just take it all in stride.

There will also be a lot of seemingly stupid rules. If you think something is ridiculous, you should probably just do it without complaining. About half of these seemingly stupid things turned out to make good sense after I learned the reasoning behind them. The other half still seemed stupid.

Realize that it doesn’t matter if you think something is stupid or not. Just follow the instructions you are given, and you’ll do fine. Don’t develop the reputation as the guy who always complains. DCC is not the place to play attorney. (Save that for JAOBC.)

By choosing to join the JAG Corps, you have chosen to put up with some of the tedious requirements of military life.

My Take

DCC was a good experience for me, and I’m glad that I did it. I understand that some people who may be interested in the military are concerned about initial training. If you are a direct commission officer, you shouldn’t be.

The cadre wants you to succeed. It is not a screening process designed to weed people out of the Army. If you put forth the effort and take it seriously—without taking yourself too seriously—you’ll do fine.

I provide a more expansive account of my experience at DCC in my book The DCC Survival Guide: Succeeding at the Army’s Direct Commission Course.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Army, the National Guard Bureau, the Arkansas National Guard, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.

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See also:

Week 6 of the Army’s Direct Commission Course (DCC)

Week 1 of the Army JAG School