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As a Fox News commentator and writer, Pete Hegseth spent years The Army’s Judge Advocate General – an expert in military law who advises commanders on the rules and laws of war – was accused of harassing troops in the name of political correctness.
In his position at the top of the Pentagon Newly designated “Secretary of War” He is now acting on those sentiments by taking steps to reduce those lawyers’ influence or completely exclude them from decision-making as his department launches controversial deployments in US cities and unprovoked attacks on alleged drug smuggling craft.
according to cnnHegseth has now fired several top Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force officials who previously led those services’ legal branches — often when they provided legal advice that included concerns about Trump administration policies.
One such officer was Lieutenant General Joe Berger, previously the Army’s top uniformed lawyer.
Berger reportedly raised questions about a series of early decisions made by Hegseth after being sworn in last January, including the legality of using Texas National Guard personnel for civilian immigration enforcement and mass firings by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency at the start of the Trump administration.
In both instances, Berger was either told to “cease interfering” or ignored entirely in favor of civilian Pentagon lawyers – political appointees more likely to bend to any whims of the administration at the time.
Hegseth fired him in February after the right-wing social media account LibsOfTikTok accused him of refusing to carry out administration orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government. He also fired the Air Force’s top uniformed lawyer, a three-star general named Charles Plummer.
At the time, Hegseth told reporters that the two officers were “obstructing orders given by the Commander-in-Chief.”
But Pentagon veterans saw the move as a message to obey without question – otherwise.
A defense official said, “Decapitating those organizations… was an easy way for Hegseth to send a strong message from the beginning and put the entire JAG corps on alert.”
The former Fox News commentator’s comments and actions are consistent with the worldview he has been expressing since entering public life as a conservative activist after serving in the military during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
in his book war on warriors, Hegseth recounted how JAG officers in Iraq once told him to avoid shooting at a person carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher unless the weapon was “pointed toward you with the intent to fire.”
He later wrote that he told soldiers under his command that the military counsel’s directive was a “nonsense rule that will get people killed.”
In the same book, Hegseth also complained that he was ordered to release “Iraqi men who we knew had American blood on their hands” because “Zagoff lawyers told us we had to do that.”
But “current and former officials familiar with Hegseth’s thinking” also told CNN that the war secretary’s disdain for the Army’s JAG corps stems from an investigation into war crimes in his unit that ended with a reprimand for his commanding officer.
The investigation resulted in several people from Hegseth receiving significant prison sentences for misconduct during a 2006 incident which resulted in four unarmed Iraqi men losing their lives.
Years later, Hegseth used his position as a Fox News host to advocate for several service members who were accused or convicted of war crimes, resulting in his receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Now, as Secretary of War, who was formerly known as Secretary of Defense but was unceremoniously replaced by Hegseth and Trump, he is using his power to push the JAG corps out of the rooms where decisions are made.
To begin with, he has reduced the required rank for the top uniformed lawyers of each armed service from a three-star officer to a two-star.
According to a senior defense official who spoke to the television network, the effect of this change is to push those officers to second-class status because two-star ranked officers are often not involved in top-level decision-making by the three- and four-star generals who are theoretically tasked with advising them.
Hegseth has reportedly used the interview process to replace fired top JAG officials to vet candidates for political loyalty by asking questions about their opinions on charged topics like the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate or allowing transgender service members to remain in uniform.
Officials told CNN that the interviews were a “political litmus test,” making officials hesitant to offer advice that is contrary to the administration’s desired outcomes.
A current Army attorney said, “Hegseth’s rhetoric and policies are considered a bit uncontrolled and counterproductive, but the way forward is to just eat it up and keep our heads down and act in accordance with his new policies.” “No one is trying to rock the JAG boat or attract attention.”