After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

In this episode, we hear from retired Navy Captain Scott Thompson, who currently serves as the Director of DoD's SOCO. Scott and I were classmates in the Naval Justice School's basic lawyer course (Class 94020) from January to March 1994, and then spent two weeks together assigned to USS STUMP (DD 978) where we got our first exposure to the Fleet. Scott went onto hold a number high-visibility jobs before retiring in 2015. He then served briefly as the Executive Director of the Board for Correction of Naval Records before moving over to DoD SOCO. Scott's LinkedIn profile can be accessed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thompsonscottf.

Mike Maffei served in active duty in the Navy JAG Corps for 4.5 years before leveraging his experience as a trial and appellate defense counsel to land a job as an assistant prosecutor with the DA's office in San Francisco, where he had clerked during law school. After a stint with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mike is now a senior security counsel with Google. His LinkedIn profile is found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-maffei-attorney.

Don Koenig left the Navy JAG Corps as a lieutenant commander, going from manning the Administrative Law Division's Standards of Conduct and Ethics branch to standing up a healthcare system's corporate responsibility office as it's initial compliance officer.  From there, he became the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as well as the President of a Level I trauma center and now serves in his current position as a member of the Senior Executive Service.  His incredible journey again underscores the tremendous skills and capabilities that judge advocates develop while in service to our nation as both military officers and lawyers.  Don put it best when he described his JAG service as act one of a three-act play. Don's LinkedIn profile can be viewed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/donkoenig/.

In this episode, Major Brooks Rose tells us about the stand-up of a virtual Military Officers Association chapter exclusively for judge advocates, active and retired, providing another avenue for networking. For more info, email Brooks at moaajavc@gmail.com

Drew Massucco and I were classmates in the basic lawyer course at the Naval Justice School in 1994,  After a short stint on active duty, Drew transitioned to the Reserves, but ended up spending approximately one-half of the last 28+ years on active duty stints.  When not deploying to Afganistan, the Horn of Africa, and GTMO, Drew served as a prosecutor in the US Attorney's offices in Puerto Rick and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  In this episode, we talk about the advantages that JAGs have when seeking employment with the Department of Justice.  Drew also explains why he remained in the employment of the U.S. Government all these years, decisions that must be made in the near future, and even sitting for a bar exam almost 20 years after sitting for his last one.   (Note: Contrary to the dates discussed in this episode, Drew has not yet had his retirement ceremony, which is now scheduled for September 30, 2022, in Tampa, Florida.) As for the nickname "Chupacabra," it was his code name in GTMO and is a nod to his Puerto Rican connections.

BG Gross retired in 2015 after 30 years of service. In this episode, he talks about the mental process of transitioning from the military, the importance of finding oneself and what one wants to do after military service. BG Gross’s Post-military has been as diverse as his active-duty career with stints at a law firm, as a general counsel, teaching, serving as a consultant, and as a highly-qualified expert for the DoD. Affable as ever, General Gross shares the challenges that accompanies doing new things, including a new experience of being let go, but offers reassurances that the same drive, willingness to learn new areas of the law, and the ability to provide sound counsel that is instilled in us as JAGs is just as valued in the civilian sector as it is in the military. General Gross’s LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/richgross. This conversation was recorded in August 2022.

This week, I talk to retired United States Air Force Colonel Dawn Zoldi who became the U.S. military's foremost expert on legal matters relating to the domestic operation of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones and then parlayed that expertise into a post-government career as an entrepreneur, business owner, consultant, speaker, writer, and podcaster among other things.   I am really excited about this episode for several reasons.  First, Dawn is the first Air Force JAG to come onto the podcast to share her journey.  Second, Dawn's story highlights the possibilities that may be awaiting one of us who have developed an expertise in a specific subject matter and not only recognizes the potential of possessing such a skill set, but has the confidence to put in in motion.   Dawn is the Founder and CEO of P3 Tech Consulting LLC.  Her LinkedIn profile can be accessed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnzoldi/ while her various podcasts, Dawn of Drones, Full TILT and Full Crew can be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/DawnZoldi.  A prolific writer and speaker, a quick search of "Dawn Zoldi" will result in scores of podcasts, videos and web sites. 

As military officers, we aspire to be viewed by our contemporaries and subordinates as a good or effective leader.  And as we prepare to leave the service, many of us (me included) will often include "Leader" somewhere on our LinkedIn profile or assert it in a resume.  But what does leadership look like and how does one quantify it during a job interview?  I talked Sean Georges, a former U.S. Marine judge advocate who left the Corps as a major, taking a job with a civilian law firm before serving 22 years a general counsel at a publicly-traded company.  Along with his childhood friend and fellow retired Marine, John Buford, Ph.D, Sean distilled their observations and lessons learned about leadership in a book, On Mission: Your Journey to Authentic Leadership.  As I prepare for my impending retirement (sometime in the next 15 months), I found the opportunity to have a conversation with someone who has not only speaks from experience, both in and out of uniform, but is passionate about the subject. This conversation was recorded on August 3, 2022, just days after the book was released.  Sean's LinkedIn profile is available at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-georges-031b486/.

CAPT Kevin O'Neil, JAGC, U.S. Navy (Retired), was serving as a military judge, a job which he absolutely loved, when he was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer and began a long and courageous battle for his health. Medically retired in 2015 and finally turning a corner in his health battle, Kevin realized he was bored in retirement and found a way to return to the bench as an administrative law judge for the State of California's Department of Social Services.  Like many JAGs in retirement, although he had experience as a judge, Kevin had to learn a completely new area of the law.  This week's podcast is an opportunity to learn about working at the state level and an opportunity to hear about Kevin's remarkable journey. Kevin's LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-o-neil-181772aa/. Our conversation was recorded in August 2022.

David Bean served less than 5 years as an Army JAG, but, as he explains in this podcast, the experiences he gained during while wearing the uniform have served him well as he has moved from "Big Law" to corporate law.  David takes us through his year-long search for a job (which included many rejections), how former JAGs of all services were always willing to give him a hand or introduce him to their networks, and how corporate America values military veterans and the experiences, knowledge and skills JAGs bring.  David also invites separating and retiring JAGs to contact him.  David's LinkedIn profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bean-0a4baa145/.  This conversation was recorded August 3, 2022.