JAGC-Off: A Politically Incorrect Memoir of the Real Judge Advocate's General Corps

by Jonathan P. Tomes

The author was a former Infantry officer in Vietnam and Military Intelligence officer in West Germany before going to law school and becoming an Army JAGC officer. JAGC-Off, written in a style similar to that of John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey stories, tells readers how the real JAG Corps was. Each chapter is a fictionalized court-martial or administrative discharge board based on real cases or composites of case vignettes. Set in the past 40 years or so, most chapters focus on particular court-martial or miliatry administrative discharge board the way that Rumpole chapters focus on his trials.

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jonathan P. Tomes is an attorney admitted in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma who practices in the law firm of TOMES & DVORAK, CHARTERED, in Overland Park, Kansas, in the greater Kansas City area. After he had retired from the U.S. Army as a JAGC officer, having been a military judge (which taught him how to read and interpret government regulations) and having spent several years as a military intelligence officer (which taught him about gathering and using information), he taught law at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law before he opened his own private law practice.

Now, he consults and presents seminars around the country on HIPAA and the HITECH Act. He has also served as an expert witness on HIPAA, medical records, and the Federal Tort Claims Act in cases in Illinois, Washington, DC, and Colorado. He has had more than 50 books and dozens of articles published, and two of his novels are now available for your Kindle or Nook: HIPAA Hysteria and JAGC-Off: A Politically Incorrect Memoir of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Contact Jon Tomes at jon@tomesdvorak.com.

Reviews

[Sandra Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

JAGC-Off is a powerful reflection of the insights of LTC (Retired) Jonathan P. Tomes about military justice. His personal experiences as an Infantry platoon leader in Vietnam, a military prosecutor, a military defense counsel, and a military judge, with the lessons learned in Airborne School and from his instructor, Master An, from a Korean karate class, make an valuable background for this fascinating read. The reader can see the JAGC officer’s ability to size up each situation and know just the right angle to overcome all opposition. Even the technique that he used to disarm a client bent on attacking him with a lethal weapon keeps the reader wanting to rush through the paragraph and yet all the while wanting to read slowly enough to catch every word. This memoir keeps the reader alert at all times so as not to miss exactly how this JAGC officer is so successful, even though he admits that he does not always know himself how these brilliant strategies come to him. This book gives a unique perspective of our military. It is skillfully presented with meaningful quotes at the beginning of each chapter that give the reader another dimension of the depth of this author. I would be remiss not to share that the prevailing idea of justice and discipline in the military from the 1960s on, coupled with “real Infantry language,” are somewhat jarring for this reader, but only served to confirm the reader’s belief that each of us needs to wake up and pray for all in our national and civil defense. God bless this author for bringing these things to the Light.

[Joshua Heller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book as a Judge Advocate myself. I will use these tactics myself.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in Goodreads first reads.

My husband is in the Air Force and he constantly talks about stories he heard about military jury duty and how interesting it was. When I saw this book I knew I had to read it, granted it was the Army but I still wanted to see what the hype was about.

After the first few pages I must admit I was completely hooked! It gave me insight to my husbands mysterious world and added some humor to it too. It gave me a clearer image of how my husband is really treated (aka: "They just talked to me." means "They screamed at me until their faces turned blue and they coughed up blood."). It also helped me visualize some of what my father-in-law went through during Vietnam.

The stories made me cringe, laugh and my jaw dropped more than once. I loved this book, I definitely recommend it!

I'm honored to have gotten an autographed copy from a veteran who wasn't afraid to tell his story (exactly how it is)!

[Cell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I won a copy of this book here on goodreads. I honestly have to say if I had seen it on a shelf somewhere i would not have given it a second look. Now what's that saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover."? This is definitely true in this case.
After reading the first few pages I was hooked. This book is witty and fascinating. Military Law does not seem like it would make for a particularly humorous read but JAGC-OFF makes it so. The cases are incredible and the tactics used to win cases is genius.
I really loved how the author takes the time to explain the Military slang and abbreviations. It's written in a way that even those not versed in military jargon or with a law degree can easily understand.
I can easily recommend this book to anyone who loves a good laugh and likes to hear some really crazy stories.

[Kevin Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining read that kept me turning pages. Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I was sad or even a bit angry as I read the tales of woes and troubles that Thomas, the main character, had to help his clients through. Tomes, in his unique story telling fashion, tells tale after tale that kept me engrossed as I debated with prosecutors, defense, and judges alike and as I tried to discern the honesty or lies of the accused all in an attempt to predict the outcome of each case. This book gives insight to not only the trials but to the military mind. JACG-OFF was a good read!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a huge departure from the Harry Potter series. It is definitely an adult read. I liked the book, but it was a slow start - J.K. Rowlings really fleshed out the characters, and by the end of the book you definitely liked or at least had sympathy for characters that you started out disliking. I will definitely continue to read books by this author, but this one definitely did not have the "magic" of the Harry Potter series which were among my most favorite books ever.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just won this book here on First Reads! Started reading - and so far so good!