Then-MAJ Eugene Y. Kim in a 2007–2008 deployment to Iraq. (Photo courtesy of author)
Pivotal Perspective
Reflections on Service
By Colonel (Retired) Eugene “Gene” Y. Kim
Three years—that was “the Plan.”Having just graduated from law school and passed the bar, I embarked on what I was certain would be an exciting but brief Army adventure. I was eager to serve my country and learn my trade, and, having convinced myself that these were achievable within a three-year active-duty service obligation, “the Plan” never contemplated staying one day beyond that commitment. Buoyed by optimism borne of naiveté, I began my career, infused with confidence that the next three years would be very well spent.
And, happily, they were . . . as were the additional two-plus decades that I would serve in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. But what about “the Plan?” In retrospect, the fundamentals of “the Plan” remained the same—only the timeline changed. And I am glad that it did, because it gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve the very best clients in the world, with the very best lawyers and paraprofessionals in the world, in the very best law firm in the world, in the most consequential practice of law.
It was during my service as a judge advocate (JA) that I would meet and marry my wife, have and raise a child, and see the world. It was during my service as a JA that I would develop proficiency in multiple legal practice areas, including three specialties that I would grow to love: contract law, fiscal law, and administrative law. It was during my service as a JA that I witnessed the true meaning of servant leadership, both in garrison and in a combat zone.
Having recently retired from active duty, I am very grateful for this opportunity to share my personal reflections about my service in the JAG Corps and, more specifically, prevailing professional dynamics that I invariably encountered throughout my career. These perspectives are in no way intended to be either prescriptive or definitive; rather, they represent my experience-shaped beliefs on what I consider to be five distinct “truisms” of service as a JA.
You Are Your Best Career Manager
Life happens, and the degree to which you can readily and responsively adapt will have a direct impact on how you manage your career. Marriage, children, health, and evolving work-life balance expectations are factors that will assume ever-increasing prominence as time passes. Discounting these considerations in favor of those that are solely career-focused may set you on the divergent paths of professional progression and personal regression. To avoid this unenviable fork in the road as you navigate the assignment process, know in advance those factors that, for you and your family, are negotiable (such as location or practice area) and non-negotiable (such as spouse employment or a family member’s special needs), and explicitly convey this information to your office leadership and the Personnel, Plans, and Training Office. Only you know what is really important to you, and this makes you your best career manager.
Ask For What You Really, Really Want
Throughout my career, I tracked career progression trends in an effort to identify assignment and professional military education patterns that seemed to enhance promotion potential. Although this was an illuminating exercise, it also could be self-defeating because it would often lead me to make conclusions such as, “That position has been filled by JAs who had x, y, and z experience . . . I don’t have z experience, so I’ll never be considered, and I shouldn’t even ask.” But the assignment process is a dynamic and fluid endeavor that, ultimately, must satisfy the needs of the Army. And if it just so happens that you are, objectively, reasonably qualified for a position that you really, really want, you are doing yourself (as well as the Army and JAG Corps) a disservice if you do not ask for it.
COL (Retired) Eugene Y. Kim (Photo courtesy of author)
Use the Tools That Have Been Given to You
While some aspects of a JA’s career are outside of their control, this circumstance does not excuse complacency. On the contrary, it requires JAs to focus on those aspects of their career that they can influence. The JAG Corps has made incredible progress in providing JAs with a plethora of talent management resources, such as JALS Publication 1-1,1 the JAG Corps Personnel Directory,2 the available assignment and projected promotion zone lists, the JAG Connector3 and, most notably, the Bench Builder Program.4 The availability of these tools and the level of personal input into assignment decisions makes the JAG Corps a truly unique Army branch (as my prior-service friends often remind me). These tools will not guarantee your dream assignment or next promotion, but these outcomes are far more likely if you keep these tools in your rucksack—and use them.
Saw the Wood in Front of You
I can readily attest that this often-used mantra is no mere slogan; rather, it represents a de facto challenge to JAs to show that they can succeed regardless of their mission or assignment. By concentrating on professional excellence, teamwork, and developing—and, if the opportunity presents itself, applying—your leadership skills, you will enhance the prospects for mission accomplishment and generate a positive impression at all echelons. Additionally, you will be providing your office leadership—who plays a significant role in the JAG Corps’s talent management efforts—with an opportunity to highlight your commitment and dedication to PPTO’s career managers, who are always on the lookout for JAs who willingly accept “opportunities to excel” and exceed expectations.
Mentorship Matters
While I was attending the Officer Basic Course, one of my professors (who tried valiantly to teach me Government contract law) became the first of many JAs from whom I would be fortunate to receive mentorship over the course of my career. My Officer Basic Course mentor was the archetype for my future mentors: selfless, proactive, willing to tell me what I needed to hear rather than what I wanted to hear, and genuinely empathetic to my professional and personal considerations. My mentors gave me a wealth of practical advice and represented, in my eyes, the JAG Corps at its very best. I firmly believe that success in a JA’s career—however it is defined—is directly proportional to the level of mentoring that they receive. I am convinced that JAs who seek and receive mentorship, and who, in turn, mentor others, will excel as the next generation of ready and resilient JAG Corps leaders.
These “truisms” not only significantly influenced my service as a JA; they helped me navigate the road to retirement. The career management skills that I developed over time were especially instrumental in guiding me to the assignments that had the greatest potential to equip me with the legal and leadership skills I needed to successfully transition to my post-Army life. In addition, my mentors—particularly those who had preceded me into civilian endeavors—were and continue to be incredible sources of much-needed wisdom and encouragement. Although I have been blessed with the good fortune of continued service with the Department of the Army as a Civilian attorney, I have no doubt that, without the lessons that I learned from the “truisms” of my service in the JAG Corps, my journey on the road to retirement would have been a far more tumultuous experience.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower observed that “[p]lans are worthless, but planning is everything.”5 In my case, “the Plan” possessed some value, but only in the beginning of my career (as it provided me with goals to strive for), and only because I was willing and able to change it. I was willing to change “the Plan” because I loved being a JA, and I was able to change “the Plan” by leveraging the “truisms” of service. I sincerely hope that the readers of this article will be encouraged to continuously refine their versions of “the Plan,” so that, on the day they receive their DD 214, they can reflect upon their service with the JAG Corps—as I do—as time very well spent. TAL
COL (Retired) Kim is the Chief, Fort Belvoir Division, Army Material Command Legal Center—Aberdeen Proving Ground. He was a direct commission in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and served on active duty for over twenty-four years. His final assignment was as the Chief, Contract Litigation & Intellectual Property Division, U.S. Army Legal Services Agency and Legal Function Lead (aka “Bench Builder”) for the U.S. Army JAG Corps’s Contract and Fiscal Law Legal Function.
Notes
1. Off. of the Judge Advoc. Gen., U.S. Army, Judge Advocate Legal
Services Publication 1-1, Personnel Policies (June 2020) [hereinafter JALS
Pub. 1-1].
2. The JAG Corps Personnel Directory, published annually in December, is available at https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/ppto#.
3. JAG Connector is an electronic newsletter published by the Strategic Initiatives Office, Office of The Judge Advocate General.
4. Legal Function Leads, or “Bench Builders,” identify and track:
JAs in each legal function who display an interest and exceptional proficiency in a particular legal function. . . . Bench Builders will exercise a sense of active ownership in identifying skilled practitioners in their legal function to ‘build the bench’ and ensure the JAG Corps has a deep pool of talented JAs in a particular legal function.
JALS Pub. 1-1, supra note 1, para. 5-3.b.
5. Quotes, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libr., Museum, and Boyhood Home, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/quotes#War (last visited Feb. 22, 2023) (quoting President Eisenhower’s November 14, 1957, remarks at the National Defense Executive Reserve Conference).