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Judge advocates represent the U.S. Army JAG Corps at the 2023 conference of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (from left: CPT Dat Vo, CPT Brenda Lin, LTC Brian Song, LTC Thomas Hong, MAJ Quan Vu). (Photo courtesy of LTC Brian Song)
What’s It Like?
The JARO Outreach Officer Experience
By Captain Dat T. Vo
Everyone is a recruiter!1
Just before I was heading out to attend a routine recruiting event during my Reserve mobilization as an outreach officer (ORO) for the Judge Advocate Recruiting Office (JARO), my inbox received a warning in blaring, bold text. Paraphrased, it read:
Safety Warning. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have notified us of a threat to judges and lawyers. We take the safety of our members very seriously. Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to local, state, and Federal officials and arranged for duty patrol cars to be stationed outside of the venue twenty-four hours a day until the conclusion of the convention.
The situation was unusual. I was in a metropolitan city in the United States of America about to attend a major bar association’s annual convention to recruit for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. One hardly thinks of a JARO assignment as a dangerous endeavor. Fortunately, shortly after the initial warning, law enforcement apprehended the individual who made the threat and we went on with our day. It was a successful recruiting mission, where “over twenty . . . members comprised of lawyers and current law students discussed their commitments to pursue the U.S. Army JAG Corps, including six who have already started their applications.”2
Infrequent moments like mass security warnings notwithstanding, a normal
day at JARO is comprised of working hard while having fun. The Judge
Advocate Recruiting Office is small but mighty, and the workload is
organized by portfolios that fall under the two main branches of
recruiting and accessions. More specifically, the portfolios include
outreach/marketing, field screening officer (FSO) coordinator,
intern/extern/Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and board
coordinator, active-duty accessions, Reserve accessions, and the Funded
Legal Education Program (FLEP).
Each of these portfolios provides crucial support to the common
recruiting mission of bringing in new judge advocates (JAs) via three
sources: direct commission, the ROTC Educational Delay Program, and the
FLEP. Recruiting and outreach programs are incredibly important along
each of these sources, and JARO works closely with JAs in the field to
support local efforts.
Outreach Officers Program
In 2023, the JAG Corps leadership sent a message to the Judge Advocate
Legal Services community encouraging everyone to be a recruiter and
highlighting to the field that “[r]ecruiting occurs at every
echelon.”3 Since then, JARO has revamped the ORO program to assist offices throughout the JAG Corps with recruiting. The primary intent of the ORO program is to have OROs geographically aligned with their offices to assist in local recruiting and serve as liaisons with FSOs. We concentrate on our untapped talent pools in diverse, densely populated locations.
Figure 1. The JARO recruiting structure.
Outreach Officer Training
In May 2023, JARO debuted the ORO training. We timed the ORO training to coincide with the FSO training so both groups of attendees could meet and find common ground, overlaps, and the distinct responsibilities of each. The FSO/ORO training began with opening remarks from the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Major General Joseph B. Berger. He emphasized the importance of the recruiting mission, set expectations, and thanked the attendees. The Chief of JARO, Lieutenant Colonel Angel M. Overgaard, provided an overview of the JARO mission. Then, OROs moved to a separate room for the newly launched ORO training. Attendees learned methods to identify outreach and engagement opportunities. We practiced pitching the JAG Corps and fielding questions from prospective recruits. Shortly after the training, OROs submitted their SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and outlined outreach activities for the year. Sixty-eight OROs attended the training. They were certified and, for the most part, assigned to major cities and communities near their assigned installations. In summary, OROs work in tandem with FSOs. Figure 2 above provides a quick side-by-side comparison of the ORO and FSO roles.
Figure 2. ORO & FSO role comparison
In addition to boots-on-the-ground efforts, JARO modernized its recruiting website to make it more user friendly. We share the updated website at every conference and convention this year and distribute the QR code to attendees. If you have not been to the JARO website lately, please check us out by scanning the QR code4
above.
BG Ronald Sullivan (center), CPT Jordan Robertson (left), and then-1LT
Dat Vo (right) attend the 98th National Bar Association (NBA) Annual
Convention in August 2023 to collaborate with NBA senior leaders,
lawyers, and prospective law students from around the country. (Photo
courtesy of author)
Broadening Opportunity
The Judge Advocate Recruiting Office collaborates with the Strategic
Initiative Office (SIO) to plan and conduct general officer (GO) tours
to reach diverse communities and major conferences. As one of JARO’s ORO
coordinators, I plan and coordinate with the major bar associations to
generate exposure and effective engagement with law students and
practicing attorneys. Frequently, a conversation at a major conference
goes like this:
JAG Corps General Officer: (talking to a potential candidate (PC))
PC: “But I am too old!”
JAG Corps General Officer: (turns and introduces the PC to me) “Let’s
talk to Dat.”
Me: “Hi, I am CPT Vo. I am turning fifty years old soon and recently
joined the JAG Corps.”
The PC usually pauses for a quick second to assess the information, and
then we talk about a range of things, from the high standards and
competitive process of joining the JAG Corps to the age waiver and other
requirements.
MAJ Sean Flynn speaks to a competitor in the Inaugural BG Wayne E Alley
Moot Court Competition in one of the U.S. Army Advocacy Center’s
courtrooms at Fort Belvoir, VA, on 20 October 2023. (Photo courtesy of
author)
The Judge Advocate Recruiting Office also partners with the U.S. Army
Legal Services Agency (USALSA), The Judge Advocate General’s Legal
Center and School, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, OSJAs, and legal
operations detachments (LOD) to conduct outreach events.
While JARO reports to the Personnel, Plans & Training Office (PPTO),
we do not share the same office space; PPTO is at the Pentagon, and JARO
is at Fort Belvoir, a tenant unit of USALSA. During my short tenure as a
full-time ORO at JARO, I have attended multiple key JAG Corps events
organized by USALSA, including the fiftieth anniversary of USALSA, The
Judge Advocate General’s regimental barbecue on the Fort Belvoir USALSA
lawn, and the USALSA Commander’s Calls. The pinnacle of my experience as
an ORO thus far was the helicopter ride that introduced the interns to
the Soldier half of a JA’s dual profession.
However, working with all the OROs and FSOs in the field is the greatest
honor and pleasure I have experienced in the role. Every ORO and FSO is
unique in their own way, and I learn from every single one of them. As
my tenure as an “official” ORO—and my mobilization as an active-duty
JA—comes to an end, I look back and know I’ll treasure my time at JARO.
And, I will always be an ORO for life: “Everyone is a
recruiter-including you!”5 TAL
CPT Vo is a Trial Counsel in the Army Reserve Element, 120th Infantry Brigade at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
Notes
1. The Judge Advoc. Gen. et al., U.S. Army, The Foundation Sends, Vol. 41-22, Everyone is a Recruiter! (2023), https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/FoundationSends41-22 [hereinafter The Foundation Sends].
2. U.S. Army JAG Corps, LinkedIn (Aug. 4, 2023), https://www.linkedin.com/posts/u-s-army-jag-corps_jagcorps-armyjagcorps-usarmyjagcorps-activity-7093687279444996096-v-vH.
3. The Foundation Sends, supra note 1.
4. See The Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Army, https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/GoArmyJAG (last visited Jan. 10, 2024).
5. The Foundation Sends, supra note 1.