After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

In this podcast, we hear from Captain William "Bill" Toti, who served in the Navy for 25 years, including as a CO of a nuclear fast-attack submarine, and in other command positions before moving on to serve in various leadership positions within industry, including as CEO.  Over the course of his career in industry, Bill kept notes on things that were either not taught or taught correctly during the transition courses, and his observations of common mistakes made by military personnel trying to transition into industry positions after leaving the service.  The result was a book, From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide from Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership, which was just released on April 5, 2022.  Captain Toti's online presence includes his LinkedIn profile and his web site.

As the title states this is part two of our conversation.  A huge thanks to BGen Baker, who was recently sworn in as the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of North Carolina and Butch Bracknell, who retired from the Marine Corps in 2014.

Proving once again that timing is everything in life, the launch of "After the JAG Corps" occurred just as BGen Baker was retiring from the Marine Corps.  Seeing a comment about the podcast on LinkedIn, General Baker and LtCol Bracknell volunteered to sit down for a virtual conversation about their recent and not-so-recent experiences, offer insights, and "play it forward" to future retiring and separating judge advocates.  The result was a free-flowing conversation that lasted about one hour.  Accordingly, this podcast is being released in two parts with the second half of this conversation being released next week (4/2/2022).  BGen Baker's LinkedIn profile can be accessed here while Butch Bracknell's profile can be found here. This conversation was recorded February 11, 2022.

When Aimee retired from the Army on December 1, 2021, it not only meant the end of a 21-year career as an officer, but also meant stepping away from the only life she had known since entering the United States Military Academy as a plebe. Long a mental health and resiliency advocate, Aimee talked candidly about the loss of identity that can come with leaving the military after decades of service, the importance of having a transition buddy, and above all, to ask for help if struggling. Leaving the service means leaving a very distinct way of life, and career progression is a process, not something that is necessarily tied to a specific date.   Aimee's LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. Please note that the audio lags in a few places due to glitches in the matrix (or lagging wifi).

Ben Whitehouse only spent five years in the Navy JAG Corps, during which time he served as a defense counsel, trial counsel, and staff judge advocate, both overseas and at sea, before moving back to Tennessee where he ended up specializing in insurance regulation before moving onto private practice.  Ben explains how his Navy career prepared him to jump into this field where he found his niche in the Volunteer State. Recorded July 2021.

I caught up with Tom Jones, who retired from the Navy JAG Corps in December 2019, this past July, explaining how he went from serving as the deputy staff judge advocate at a combatant command to the panhandle of Oklahoma, where he is a now a rancher, lawyer, and holding public officer.  (Spoiler alert: he is not Kevin Costner in Yellowstone.)  Along the way, Tom explains how he had to take the indirect approach in order to gain admission to the Oklahoma bar without sitting for a bar examination, how a U.S. Marine judge advocate who sought the do the same thing a year or two earlier paved the way, and reminds us that no matter how long one has served, one is a lawyer whose skill sets transcend career progression.   Tom's LinkedIn profile can be accessed here.

“Preparation doesn't assure victory, it assures confidence.”  ― Amit Kalantri, 'Wealth Of Words'. Landing your desired job after leaving the military is no different than what we have done while on active duty.  In this episode, I sit down with Mike Wallace, a retired Navy aviator, who, along with some former shipmates, founded Blue Water Advisors, a professional coaching firm, to equip separating and retiring military members with the knowledge, skill sets and tools to achieve success in their individual career progressions.  Blue Water Advisors strives to provide current, relevant and credible mentoring built upon their individual experiences as retired military personnel who have gone onto work in business and corporate settings.   Additional information regarding Blue Water Advisors is available here and on LinkedIn here.  Mike's LinkedIn profile is here. This interview was conducted in October 2021.

In July 2021, I sat down with Captain Todd Huntley (retired) who serves as the Director of the National Security Law Program and Lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center. His road to Georgetown, however, is an interesting one and an example of how our experiences from our JAG Corps careers as well as some great timing are able to benefit us as we look toward the proverbial next chapter.   Todd's LinkedIn profile can be viewed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-huntley-08b1a164/ This episode was taped in July 2021.

As you listen to today's podcast, you will discover an individual who had a most unusual career path, including one of the rare instances in which an individual left active duty, affiliated with the Reserves, and later returned to active duty.  As I listened to our conversation multiple times during the editing process, I realized that John's journey in the Navy, in hindsight, was preparing him for his post-military calling in a number of ways; from sacrificing his own desire to remain on active duty to be with his father, and continuously doing what Navy JAG leadership asked of him, John's naval career was about service and being a man for others.  And in doing so, he has been blessed with a very memorable and fun career.  John has continued this since leaving the military, which, among other things, includes the practice of law.   Although it is likely that only a few listeners will enter into the line of work that John is in now, he nonetheless offers sound advice on what your service as a judge advocate has prepared you do and offers sound advice regarding discernment. This episode was recorded in July 2021, before John Harbaugh had the successful season for which John Maksym hoped and prayed. John's profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-maksym-963788118/

Retired Navy Captain Mike Luken shares his journey of going from the bench as a military judge in Norfolk, Virginia, to become the Program Director, Global Anti-Corruption at Walmart's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.  His story underscores the importance of keeping an open mind when considering "the next chapter," how his prior experience as a litigator, staff judge advocate, ethics counselor and serving overseas prepared him for his job as a corporate attorney. Mike also provides insight into how he used his network, provides his thoughts on resumes and talks about what to expect as you negotiate the finer details of employment.  A must listen for any judge advocate hoping to make the transition from the wardroom to the boardroom.  (Recorded August 2021.) Mike's LinkedIn profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-luken/