Dan is an incredible combat leader and a meticulous planner that I have had the honor to know since our days together at West Point. Because of his attention to detail, planning ability, and extraordinary intellect, Dan tends to achieve his goals and then some. He is a great example of how you should think about and plan your post-military life.
This interview with Dan contains a WEALTH of information, primarily geared toward junior military officers who are considering applying to law school, business school, or both. I selected infantry as my branch and began my initial training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the summer of My first position was as a rifle platoon leader in Infantry for about a year in Washington, including rotations to the National Training Center and Yakima Training Center and for part of a month deployment to Iraq beginning in July I was a rifle platoon leader in Mosul, Iraq, and I became an executive officer shortly before we moved to Baghdad.
After several months in Baghdad the unit moved to Baqubah and I spent the rest of the deployment there before heading home. After returning to Fort Lewis, Washington in September , I continued as an executive officer for a few more months. I commanded for the next eighteen months and went on terminal leave in July I had many reasons for staying in the Army and many for going, but what it really came down to is that I long had an interest in practicing law.
I also had an interest in possibly pursuing a business career. So, those were the primary reasons I decided to pursue graduate school as a civilian. What was your transition timeline like? How far before you left the service did you take the necessary tests and decide on schools. I was a bit more interested in law school than business school, so I applied to only a few business schools but I applied to several more law schools.
For the most part, joint degree programs still require individuals to apply independently and be accepted independently to each school. Business schools have a more demanding application process. B-schools require applicants to write highly specific application essays and personal statement questions. Likewise, the personal statement question is usually the same for most law schools, but you would be wise to modify or tailor it a little bit for each school β especially if you have a geographic or some other tie to the school that may not otherwise be obvious.
