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"FOUR YEARS IN THE ARMY JAG CORPS IS PROBABLY EQUIVALENT TO SIX OR EIGHT YEARS IN A CIVILAN LAW FIRM."

When Captain Kay Wakatake told her law school classmates that she was joining the Army JAG Corps instead of civilian practice, they warned she'd be "missing out." After four years of building her legal career in the Army—and comparing her experiences to her former classmates'—she knows she hasn't missed a thing.

Captain Wakatake began her Army career as an ROTC Cadet and received a scholarship for her undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. Then she took advantage of the Army's Educational Delay Program to attend law school.

Upon acceptance into the JAG Corps and completion of the Officers Basic Course, she began her first position in legal assistance. Here, Captain Wakatake found great satisfaction in helping fellow Soldiers, "I represented and advised Soldiers on various legal issues, such as family law, estate planning, consumer law and military law."

Soon after, she was attached to the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. She made the most of this experience, she recalls, "I had a blast—it was probably my best assignment for a lot of reasons. You socialize with the people you work with and develop close relationships." Her role in Korea as criminal prosecutor was a challenge she looked forward to, "Almost every lawyer dreams of being in court and handling his or her own cases. Here I was not even a year in the military—not even a year practicing as a lawyer—and already handling my own trials, first chair, making my own decisions."

Captain Wakatake's experience in Korea was about more than just the work. "Every chance I got, I went off-post to go to a restaurant or shopping or sightseeing. Not a lot of jobs out there offer the opportunity to work in a foreign country."

For Captain Wakatake, the JAG Corps experience has been a valuable one, she says, "Four years in the Army JAG Corps is probably equivalent to six or eight years in a civilian law firm." In all three of her capacities as a JAG Attorney—legal assistance, trial counsel and medical malpractice claims attorney—satisfies her most is "feeling like I make an impact. Every job that I've had I've been able to help someone."