From the Marines to BU Law
Billy Wilson (’18) began a new chapter when he arrived at BU Law after nine years of service as a helicopter pilot and captain in the Marines.
When Billy Wilson (’18) arrived at BU Law in September 2015, it was the culmination of a cross-country road trip—a transition from the rigors of his old life in Hawaii and into the challenges awaiting in his new one in Boston. He had just completed the last of nine years of service as a helicopter pilot and captain in the United States Marine Corps.
“I think my whole life I knew I wanted to serve in some way,” he says.
Wilson spent three demanding years of initial training and flight school in Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina before being stationed at the Marine Corps Base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, starting in 2009. He was deployed twice—once to Afghanistan in 2011 and once with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong in 2013.
Over his six years as a pilot, he flew a variety of missions in a CH-53, the US military’s largest helicopter. At home, he participated in firefighting operations, dumping water on wildfires in Hawaii. Overseas, he took part in multinational exercises, transporting gear and personnel between ships out at sea. In Afghanistan, he flew rapid response missions carrying special forces to interdict high-value targets based on time-sensitive intelligence.
“I had toyed with the idea of law school in college, but ultimately I wanted to join the Marines,” he says. “But in the Marines, I kept bumping into all these coincidences.”
In 2007, while waiting for his assignment to a unit in the months between basic training and flight school, Wilson was sent to work for a judge advocate. Four years later, after his first deployment and promotion to captain, Wilson’s commanding officer asked him to serve as the squadron’s legal officer. Wilson worked in that role for two years supervising disciplinary proceedings—including administrative separations and non-judicial punishments—and serving as a liaison between judge advocates and his commanding officer.
Wilson particularly enjoyed that liaison role, and during his last year in the Marines, he focused his ambitions back on law school, studying for the LSAT and filling out applications. As the acceptances came in, he took a good look at the materials filling his mailbox. “There’s really an effort to push BU Law to the next level. You can see it in the publications; in the building; even the personal touches, like the Dean calling you for your acceptance,” he says. “All these little things convinced me this is a special place.”
Wilson says one of the best aspects of his military experience is the “selflessness” that exists among Marines. Everyone works together to complete tasks quickly and efficiently until a mission is accomplished. This thinking is instilled in Officer Candidates School and can be found even in the most menial tasks, such as squaring away your bed in the morning. Along with this training comes trial by fire and points of attrition to push through, but it creates a strong bond among Marines. He explains, “When you are wearing your flight suit and have your rank on there, everyone already knows a lot about you.”
Transitioning to BU Law and civilian life, Wilson comments on the variety of backgrounds of his peers as well as how many students are younger than him. For the last nine years, so many people he interacted with had shared the same Marine training experience. While BU Law has been a big change, he feels like everything at the School has been designed to help him and his peers work through their respective challenges to succeed—from the building’s student-friendly design to guidance of faculty and alumni to the writing labs and research classes. In addition, his role as assistant director of the Legal Follies and as a blogger with the BU Law JD Student Blog provided him with much needed creative outlets.
“The School’s devotion to our success is reflected in the student body. People will drop what they are doing to help you out,” he says. “It has proven to be a very supportive environment to make my way from Marine life to civilian life.”
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