Becoming a JAG Published April 19, 2016 By by SSgt. Tamara Williams and Capt. Andre Bowser 439th Airlift Wing WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- Air Force Academy graduate Capt. Tara Dunn has long had a career as a military Judge Advocate General in her sights. Now she’s closer to hitting her mark. The executive officer of the 439th Mission Support Group had always been considered ambitious, and since majoring in one of the more challenging programs at the academy then tackling the rigors of her second year of law school at Northeastern University it was easy to understand why. But just like the axiom “the race is not for the swift…” she has endured some trials along the way. “Trying to balance out the demands of work in the midst of preparing for the Law School Admission Test was one of the most challenging aspects of my journey thus far,” Capt. Dunn recounted during an interview over one busy drill weekend in February at Westover. She said balancing the key role in the Patriot Wing of supporting a commander has helped her develop core strengths and skills that carry over to her academic pursuits, and ultimately her pursuits in becoming a lawyer and a JAG. The dream of joining the JAG corps goes back to Capt. Dunn’s early years. “I’ve always been interested specializing in civil rights because of my grandfather,” she said. Capt. Dunn said her grandfather was the main driving force behind her decision to go Air Force. She said he joined the military when it first started to racially integrate back in the 1940s. “Throughout his technical training, he remembered being one of the only African-American members in his class,” Capt. Dunn said. “Each squadron had to be comprised of at least one African-American during that time period in order to be considered integrated.” Capt. Dunn said she always knew she wanted to become a lawyer even as a youngster, given her early proclivity for reading. Although her first passion was education, years later she found her second driving force: playing division one basketball at the Air Force Academy. Her passion for college basketball was cut short, teaching her a life lesson in resilience and tenacity, she said. “After my last big injury, my basketball coaches cut me from the team at the end of the season while I was still going through rehabilitation,” Capt. Dunn said. “I was absolutely devastated.” Capt. Dunn said she was approached by the Academy’s head volleyball coach, just as she was contemplating transferring to another school in order to play college basketball elsewhere. “She pulled me into her office and said that she heard what I was going through,” she said. Capt. Dunn spent the remainder of her time at the Academy balancing books and military drill with volleyball—finding the physical activity as a healthy outlet for stress. After graduating from the Academy as a volleyball athlete, Capt. Dunn said she went on to play her first favorite sport for the All Air Force Basketball Team as a lieutenant and a captain. All of the training, preparation, discipline and balancing of a busy schedule at the Academy and in the active-duty Air Force paid off when Capt. Dunn left the full-time military to pursue her passion for law. Although the long nights and even longer days as a law school student are tough, Capt. Dunn said she derives her strength from the rigors of her undergraduate education in the Space and Missile program at the Academy. “As a second year law school student, 12 hour days, prep course after prep course, and even longer nights, are the norm,” said Capt. Dunn. She said in addition to calling on family and friends to help her through the trials of law school, Capt. Dunn calls on her faith, which was instilled in her by her family. “Having that reassurance helped me build a type of mental toughness and hard work ethic that I continue to rely on throughout law school.” When asked how she does it from day to day: serving as a reserve executive officer; a full-time law school student; keeping up her physical fitness regimen, Capt. Dunn mentioned her faith, family, and friends, again. She pointed out that as a life-long athlete, she quickly learned that the best support is often found among peers. “I still have strong connections with my teammates because we were all right there in it together,” she said, adding that her team has now grown to include the entire Air Force family. In her journey to becoming a Judge Advocate General in the Air Force, Capt. Dunn has especially relied on her military family, she said, including Patriot Wing JAGs who have offered her advice along the way. “The connections I made will endure for life as they are all my brothers and sisters,” she said. Once she earns her Juris Doctorate, Capt. Dunn said her next step will be applying for and competing to become an Air Force Reserve JAG.