The Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) provides both commissioned officers and enlisted Airmen and Guardians and/or USAF Academy cadets the opportunity to apply to attend law school and become judge advocates.  Enlisted applicants must apply to commission before attending law school through FLEP.

Officers and Enlisted

To be eligible to apply for assignment under the FLEP, an applicant must satisfy the following criteria:

• Be a commissioned officer in the USAF on extended active duty or an enlisted member on active duty
• Have served on active duty (enlisted and/or commissioned service) for a period of not less than two years and no more than six years based upon the total active federal military service date at the time legal training begins. This eligibility requirement is non-waivable as established by Title 10 United States Code Section 2004, Detail as students at law schools; commissioned officers; certain enlisted members.
  • Active Federal Service Exceptions. Periods of attendance at United States Service Academies do not count towards computation of the total active federal military service date with the exception of periods spent at the USAFA Preparatory School.
  • Service credit acquired during participation in the Excess Leave Program does count towards computation of federal active service if personnel later apply for the Funded Legal Education Program.
• Be in pay grade O-3 or below at the time legal training begins.
• Be a graduate of a regionally accredited college or university with a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent at the time the selection board meets.
• Discuss this program with their functional manager at AFPC and obtain a conditional release from their career field should the Judge Advocate General (TJAG) select them for ELP
• If enlisted, have six months’ retainability past the projected Officer Training School (OTS) graduation date and meet the other requirements of the Enlisted to Officer Training commissioning program in DAFMAN 36-2032, Chapter 10.

If rated and on flying status, have served three years from the date of completion of the training which resulted in the award of an aeronautical rating as of the first day of legal training.  If selected, applicants for the program who are on flying status must provide a separate request for voluntary disqualification from aviation service. AF/JAX will forward this request to AFPC for those applicants selected for the program. AFPC will publish aeronautical orders terminating the applicant’s flying status, effective the date of class entry.

The Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) provides a unique opportunity for service members to attend law school fully funded by the Air Force and become judge advocates. Enlisted personnel have the opportunity to apply to commission as an officer and attend law school through FLEP. Airmen and Guardians continue to serve on active duty, receive full pay and allowances, and benefits while attending law school. The cost of tuition, fees, and books are paid by the Air Force. Application fees and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) fees are the applicant’s responsibility.

The FLEP tuition limits are set by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) on an annual basis and vary from year to year based on available funding. If selected for FLEP, participants are not permitted to supplement tuition expenses or fees with any need-based scholarships, private/personal funding sources or the GI Bill.

Prerequisites:

Applicants must meet the following prerequisites:

Apply to an ABA-approved law school and furnish a statement listing law schools where the applicant has been accepted or has applied by the application deadline. Note: Do not delay the application process awaiting final acceptance by a law school. To participate, applicants ultimately must be accepted unconditionally for fall entry to a fulltime program at an ABA-approved law school located in the United States. TJAG reserves the authority to specify the law school that the applicant will attend.

Application Procedures:

Service members can apply online at: https://jagusaf.jag.af.mil/. You must upload the following items when applying:

• Motivational Statement (limited to 1 page, double-spaced)
• Resume
• Full-length [Head to Toe] photograph facing forward (Maximum File Size: 1 MB) in courtroom attire. If applying for Ed-Delay or FLEP, you must be in uniform (service dress) in the full length photograph
• Law School Acceptance Letters (if applying for Ed-Delay In)
• List of Applications to Law Schools
• Law School Transcripts
• Undergraduate Transcript
• LSAT Percentile (LSAT Report Score Sheet)
• Bar Certificate or Letter of Good Standing (if licensed)
• DD Form 214 (if prior military)
• Officer Performance Reports or Enlisted Performance Reports (if applicable)
• Officer SURF and Training Reports
• Release Letter from AFPC Functional Manager
• FLEP/ELP Agreement
• AF ROTC Field Training Report (if applicable)
• Writing Sample (Optional - 10 pages or less)
• Letter(s) of Recommendation (Optional - up to five)
  • Recommendation letters should be written by someone who can attest to his or her observations of your work ethic, duty performance, leadership potential, etc.
  • Address all letters to "Selection Board Members" at the address below. DO NOT mail recommendation letters directly to the selection board. The address below is provided only for inclusion in letters of recommendation.

HQ USAF/JAX
1500 W. Perimeter Road, Ste. 3330
Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762

The online application allows the applicant to select which Air Force Base they would like to have their Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) interview. When the online application is submitted, the SJA or a representative from the legal office will contact the applicant to schedule an interview.

Legal Internships:

During the first two years of the program, officers must participate in legal internships during summer breaks. Internships must begin within two calendar days of the officer’s last examination or class and may not end earlier than two calendar days before the start of fall classes. No later than February 1, officers must contact Air Force Institute of Technology and The Professional Development Directorate (AF/JAX) with the beginning and end dates of your summer break along with the names of the closest Air Force Bases. AF/JAX will make internship assignments.

During winter break periods extending 14 calendar days or more, officers may perform internships if the following conditions are met:

• The student must have already performed a summer internship at a DAF installation
• Winter internships are only available to students who attend law school at an institution in the same local area as a DAF installation. Officers must work a minimum of 10 duty days during the winter internship period. Leave is not authorized during the winter internship. Pay and allowances will be authorized for these periods.

Upon Graduation:

Upon completion of law school, the officer is responsible for the fees and expenses of bar review courses and bar examinations.
Officers must obtain a legal license as soon as possible and take the first scheduled bar examination following graduation from law school.

An active duty service commitment of two years active duty for each academic year or part thereof of legal training is accrued. Officers who are dropped from the program incur an active duty service commitment of one year for each year of participation in the program.

The active duty service commitment for commissioning through Officer Training School is four years.

The service commitments run consecutively and begin following law school.

Department of Air Force Instructions 51-101
https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_ja/publication/dafi51-101/dafi51-101.pdf

The Judge Advocate General’s Corps
https://www.afjag.af.mil

U.S. Air Force Careers
https://www.airforce.com/careers/specialty-careers/jag

Air Force Institute of Technology
https://www.afit.edu/CIP/page.cfm?page=1638