Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy

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US Navy Judge Advocate General Corps Seal

The Judge Advocates General's Corps also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG" is the legal arm of the US Navy and Marine Corps. Today the corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 730 Judge Advocates, 30 Limited duty Officers (law), 630 enlisted and nearly 275 civilian personnel.

The headquarters of the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Department of the Navy is located at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C..

1 History
2 The Insignia
3 Offices
4 Previous JAGs
5 See also
6 External link

[edit] History

In 1775, the Continental Congress enacted the Articles of Conduct, governing the ships and men of the Continental Navy. However, soon thereafter, all of these ships were sold and the Navy and Marine Corps were disbanded. In July 1797, Congress, after authorizing construction of six ships, enacted the Rules for Regulation of the Navy as a temporary measure. Then, in 1800, Congress enacted a more sophisticated code adopted directly from the British Naval Code of 1749. There was little or no need for lawyers to interpret these simple codes, nor was there a need for lawyers in the uncomplicated administration of the Navy prior to the American Civil War.

During the Civil War, however, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles named a young assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia to present the government's case in complicated courts-martial. Without any statutory authority, Secretary Welles gave Wilson the title of "Solicitor of the Navy Department," making him the first House Counsel to the United States Navy.

By the Act of March 2, 1865, Congress authorized "the President to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for service during the rebellion and one year thereafter, an officer of the Navy Department to be called the 'Solicitor and Naval Judge Advocate General.'" Congress maintained the billet on a year-to-year basis by amendments to the Naval Appropriations Acts. In 1870, Congress transferred the billet to a newly established Justice Department with the title of Naval Solicitor.

In 1967, Congress decided to establish the Judge Advocate General's Corps within the Department of the Navy. The legislation was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 8, 1967, and ensured Navy lawyers' status as Staff Corps officers within the Navy, similar to physicians and chaplains.

[edit] The Insignia

Officers Insignia

Enlisted Insignia

The official insignia of the JAG Corps consists of two gold oak leaves, curving to form a semi-circle in the center of which is balanced a silver "mill rinde", In ancient France, the fer de moline, or mill rinde, was a symbol of equal justice for all under the law. The two counterbalancing oak leaves are identical and connote the scales upon which justice is weighed. Oak leaves denote a corps, and symbolize strength, particularly the strength of the hulls of the early American Navy, which were oak-timbered. In the milling of grains, the mill rinde was used to keep the stone grinding wheels an equal distance apart to provide consistency in the milling process. It, thus, symbolizes that the wheels of justice must grind exceedingly fine and exceptionally even. In the sixteenth century, this symbol was adopted in England as a symbol for lawyers.

The mill rinde can also be found in both the Staff Corps Officers Specialty Insignia and in the Enlisted Rating Insignia (LN Legalman).