TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- For years, the dream of becoming an attorney felt just out of reach for Staff Sgt. Jasmine Dawkins, a paralegal assigned to the 72nd Air Base Wing. The demanding tempo of active-duty service left her with a difficult choice: separate from the military or keep pushing her goal of attending law school to the back burner.
"I was going to try to do active duty and full time or part-time law school, which is crazy because law school is very demanding," Dawkins said.
When she hit that wall, her supervisory team stepped in. They advised her to pause and find another path—a decision she now refers to as "wise counsel."
Feeling defeated, Dawkins confided in a friend who told her about the Career Intermission Program.
The initiative is designed to retain experienced talent by offering flexibility, ensuring the military doesn't lose highly trained personnel to temporary life demands such as education or family care. Under the DAFI 36-2008 program, eligible Airmen and Guardians can temporarily transition from active duty to the Individual Ready Reserve for a period of one to three years.
With her commander's backing, Dawkins' application was approved in just two weeks. Suddenly, the paralegal was trading in AFIs for law school textbooks at Oklahoma City University.
"Never give up on your dream of what you want to happen," Dawkins said. "Even as I moved to different duty stations, it was always a goal of mine to figure out, ‘how do I go to law school?’”
While on intermission, participants step away from their standard duties, but the Air Force doesn’t leave them completely out to dry. Members retain full active-duty medical and dental benefits for themselves and their dependents. They also receive a monthly stipend equal to 1/15th of their basic pay.
For Dawkins, that stipend was only a piece of the puzzle. To make the numbers work, she paired her CIP status with her Post-9/11 GI Bill and relied on her husband's income. In exchange for the time away, she incurred a service commitment of one month of active duty for every month spent in the program.
Despite the financial balancing act, the program provided something far more valuable than a stipend: absolute career security.
"I already knew I had a job coming out," Dawkins said. "While my classmates competed for post-graduation jobs, it was such a weight lifted."
Dawkins returned to active duty after three years and is preparing to take the bar exam. Additionally, she has been accepted into the direct appointment program to commission as a Judge Advocate General, or JAG.
Reflecting on her journey, Dawkins said she sees her enlisted experience as an invaluable asset to her future role as an officer.
"I’m able to lead in a more impactful way," Dawkins said. "It's a mixture of everything, seeing the enlisted side and seeing the officer side. I feel like I have had two lenses. I can understand both now."
Dawkins encourages others to consider the program, not just for education, but for any personal or professional need.