BEING AN AIR FORCE PARALEGAL

By Staff Sergeant Rachel Barr

I still remember the night I called the Air Force Recruiting hotline. I was in my car, sobbing, feeling like a miserable failure and wondering what I was doing with my life. A situation to which many who sign the dotted line can likely relate. There is no doubt that without the Air Force Reserve, I would not be where I am today.

I’ll briefly back up to about seven years ago. I was living in southern Minnesota working in the cattle breeding industry. I had dropped out of college to move out on my own, and to say it was a struggle would be an understatement. Although I loved working with the farmers in that industry, I knew I had to go back to school. It was then I decided to pursue an associates degree in paralegal studies. (How I went from farming to the legal industry—that’s another story.)

Right before I was about to finish my paralegal degree, I realized how competitive the job market was, and how hard it would be for me to break into an industry to which I really had no connection. Enter—the United States Air Force Reserve.

My father is a retired Master Sergeant from the U.S. Air Force, my mother served as an Air Force avionics systems specialist, and my stepfather served time as an active-duty Air Force member as well as an Army National Guard member. Military service runs deep in my family, but I was not convinced it was for me right after high school. But after life put me through the ringer the first few years after I graduated from high school, I started to seriously think about what the military could do for me. Returning to that night I called the hotline—all I remember was that it was night time, and I was shocked they actually answered the phone. The person I spoke to gave me the name of a local recruiter in my area, and within a week I was in her office. Every thing that has happened to me since that night is, without a doubt, attributable to the United States Air Force.

I signed my contract on 1 October 2015. At first, I was afraid because I was still working on my paralegal degree, but the Reserve gave me the flexibility to choose when to leave for basic training. I was able to finish my degree, and not only that, but because of the education I had, I was able to sign my contract with a guaranteed position as a Paralegal in the Air Force JAG Corps.

Because I enlisted with the Reserve, I knew long before any of my active-duty counterparts what my job would be, where I would be going for technical training, and how long tech school would last. Furthermore, I enlisted into a Traditional Reserve Unit. I already knew where I would be assigned, as do all Reserve and Air National Guard paralegals when they enlist. This gave me tremendous peace of mind throughout the process.

Technical training was held at the Air Force JAG School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. There, my class was able to work side-by-side at various times with attorneys, receiving instruction from them; we even got a chance to watch the attorneys do a mock trial demonstration.

It was at that time that I realized I did not simply want to stay a paralegal; I wanted to go to law school. I had no lawyers in my family or extended family, and I had no idea where to start. But I did have lawyers I worked with side-by-side in my Reserve unit who helped guide me through the complicated process. I was also lucky enough to have another paralegal in my office who had applied and was accepted to law school. (Shout out to the 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

To put it bluntly, the Reserve gave me so many opportunities, especially in my early career. But to this day, the most important thing the military gave me was not the money, benefits, or good temporary duty tours. The military made me realize that it was possible for me to break free from a “traditional life.” Meaning, I did not just have to be a housewife for the rest of my life, and I was worth more than working as someone’s secretary or assistant in my “civilian life.”

In 2018, I took a tour of duty to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, which changed the trajectory of my life. At that point, I had applied once to law school, but was not accepted. It was devastating, but looking back now, it was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me. I realized that although all of my family was in the Midwest, I needed to get out on my own and start over.

I returned to Holloman a second time, which was when I made the decision to move to New Mexico permanently. I was fortunate enough to be put on active-duty orders and served almost a year-and-ahalf in the base legal office at Holloman.

Though I had not gotten into law school the first go around, the extra year of experience in a base legal office—and not to mention full-time pay—set me up for success when

I finally did get into law school. Not only was I equipped with the discipline necessary to be successful in my first year of law school, but I also had more well-developed substantive skills than my peers by virtue of having been an Air Force Paralegal for almost four years. All of the time spent on active duty also gave me G.I. Bill benefits, which I have been able to use toward tuition and fees, as well as living expenses.

I’ll end by echoing the same thing I said in the beginning. Without the Air Force Reserve, I would not be where I am at today. I am entering my third year of law school, with plans to apply as a JAG. And regardless of whether I go active duty, or choose another career path, I have the comfort of knowing I can boast on my resume that I am part of the elite few who volunteered to serve this country. Whether you are looking for a way out or to simply be a part of something bigger than yourself, I urge you to pick up the phone and talk to a recruiter. Do something for yourself that’s all yours; something that no one can take from you. The Air Force changed my life, and with hard work and dedication, it will change yours.

STAFF SERGEANT RACHEL BARR is currently a paralegal in the United States Air Force Reserve assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston where she specializes in Military Justice. She is also in her final semester of law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas and hopes to become an Air Force attorney upon completion.