Secretary Hegseth Orders Overhaul of Military Legal Offices to Weaken Independent JAG Oversight
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2026
Brian Purchia, brian@protectourdefenders.com
If you would like to interview Josh Connolly, senior vice president of Protect Our Defenders, please respond directly or contact brian@protectourdefenders.com.
Replacing career military lawyers with political appointees will make it easier for commanders to act without consequence and harder for survivors to get justice
Washington, DC – This week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth moved to overhaul the military’s legal offices, directing a restructuring that would shift significant legal authority away from uniformed Judge Advocate General (JAG) lawyers toward civilian general counsels who serve at the pleasure of the administration. Protect Our Defenders (POD) condemned the move as a dangerous assault on the independence of military legal oversight and a direct threat to survivors of military sexual assault.
This comes as the military faces renewed scrutiny over ongoing sexual assault investigations at Fort Hood and the recent prosecution of Army physician Col. Michael Stockin, one of the largest sexual assault cases in recent military history.
Military lawyers have long served as a critical safeguard within the military justice system, ensuring commanders follow the law, protecting service members’ rights, and preserving accountability across the chain of command. In recent years, Congress passed overwhelming bipartisan reforms to strengthen those protections by placing key sexual assault charging decisions in the hands of independent military prosecutors rather than commanders – reforms championed by POD and military survivors.
Last year, Hegseth fired the top JAG lawyers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, dismissing them as “roadblocks.” With this latest restructuring, critics warn he is seeking to formalize that dismantling, replacing experienced military legal judgment with political appointees who answer directly to Pentagon leadership.
For survivors of military sexual assault, this is not an abstract policy dispute. Impartial legal oversight helps ensure reports are taken seriously, investigations proceed without command interference, and perpetrators – including those in leadership – face real consequences. When that impartiality is stripped away, accountability disappears with it.
At a time when the military continues to struggle with recruiting and retention, advocates warn that weakening accountability for misconduct risks further eroding trust in military leadership and the institution itself.
Protect Our Defenders Senior Vice President, Josh Connolly, former Chief of Staff to Rep. Jackie Speier, released the following statement:
“Secretary Hegseth has made clear he views military lawyers not as guardians of the law, but as obstacles to unchecked command authority. This is not happening in a vacuum. Over the past year, this administration has systematically dismantled survivor protections – eliminating independent prosecutors, pausing sexual assault prevention training, issuing guidance that discourages reporting, and cutting victim services. The JAG overhaul is the latest step in that campaign.
“When you replace career military lawyers with political appointees who answer directly to Pentagon leadership, you don’t streamline the system – you corrupt it. You make it easier for commanders to act without consequence and harder for survivors to get justice. Congress must act to preserve JAG independence before accountability becomes impossible.”
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About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is the pre-eminent national human rights organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, victim retaliation, misogyny, sexual prejudice, and racism in the military and combating a culture that has allowed it to persist. We seek to honor, support, and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/
