There is a current commercial on TV about Ron DeSantis. It talks about him being a jag (lawyer) for Seals while on active duty. The photo of him shown hs him wearing the rank insignia of an Ensign. An Ensign is the Navy equivalent of an Army 2d Lieutenant, both pay grade 0-1. Lawyers are never 0-1's. They arey typically 0-3 (Army Captain, Navy Lieutenant). Can anyone explain how he was an Ensign as a JAG (lawyer)?
Actually, only the Coast Guard commissions all attorneys as an O-3. All of the other branches will bring them in as an O-1 or O-2, depending on experience. I myself have had interactions with JAG officers in the ranks of O-1 and O-2 myself. I think only an attorney with several years of experience would be brought in as an O-3. But if they had just gotten their Jurisprudence Degree and passed the Bar Exam, then they are normally brought in as an O-1. If they have at least some experience in a field the military needs (specifically prosecution or defense), then they may enter as an O-2. And it is the same with doctors. Most are indeed brought in as an O-3. But if they are just out of medical school, then O-1 or O-2 is the norm. That actually dates back to the era when most doctors were still in private practice, so if they were drafted their income would drop horribly. So their ranks were increased in order to prevent them from trying to get a deferment based on economical hardship. You have to give some advancement for those that already have a civilian career, and make the decision to walk away from that to enter the military. And what is so special in say somebody who gets their JD degree in three or four years, as opposed to a naval or other engineer? Why would somebody that picked law as opposed to engineering be automatically allowed in at a higher rank? And as an FYI, for Mr. DeSantis, he entered the military while he was still attending college but before he finished his JD degree. So that photograph would have been after he graduated from Yale with a degree in history (2004), and before he got his JD degree. He did not even pass any Bar Exam, he took the Navy equivalent which is attending the Naval Justice School, where when he graduated he was advanced to a Lieutenant Junior Grade and was assigned to a prosecution team. So that would have been no different than any other brand new college graduate entering the military. As an FYI, the exact timeline is that he graduated Yale in 2001, started his JD courses and joined the Navy in 2004. Graduated in 2005 and attended the NJS where he was promoted to Lt JG in late 2005. Then in 2006 was promoted to Lieutenant. So very much in keeping with what he had both in education and experience. He did work from 2001 to 2004, but as a history teacher.
