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General Counsel of the Department of Defense

(Redirected from Pentagon General Counsel)

The general counsel of the Department of Defense is the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense (DoD), advising both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on all legal matters and services, and providing legal advice to Office of the Secretary of Defense organizations and, as appropriate, other DOD components.

General Counsel of the Department of Defense
Seal of the Office of General Counsel
Flag of the General Counsel[1]
since August 2, 2021
Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary
StyleThe Honorable
Reports toSecretary of Defense
Deputy Secretary of Defense
SeatThe Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument10 U.S.C. § 140
PrecursorAssistant Secretary of Defense for Legal and Legislative Affairs
Formation1953
First holderH. Struve Hensel
DeputyPrincipal Deputy General Counsel Corin R. Stone
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level IV[2]
Websiteogc.osd.mil

The general counsel develops the department's Legislative Program and coordinates DoD positions on legislation and Executive Orders; coordinates the appeals process for denied FOIA requests; oversees the performance and standards of DoD attorneys; establishes policy on general legal issues and determines the DoD position on specific legal problems; maintains repository for all international agreements coordinated, negotiated, or concluded by DoD personnel; and is "dual-hatted" as director of the Defense Legal Services Agency.

This position was established by Reorganization Plan No. 6 of 1953 and by Defense Directive 5145.1, signed 24 August 1953. The position derived its responsibilities from one of the original three Special Assistants to the Secretary (established in 1947) and the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legal and Legislative Affairs) (established in 1949).[3]

Office holders

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General Counsels of the Department of Defense[3]
Image Name Tenure SecDef(s) served under President(s) served under
  H. Struve Hensel August 17, 1953 – March 4, 1954 Charles Erwin Wilson Dwight Eisenhower
  Wilber M. Brucker April 23, 1954 – July 20, 1955
  Mansfield D. Sprague October 6, 1955 – February 27, 1957
  Robert Dechert February 28, 1957 – July 15, 1959 Charles Erwin Wilson
Neil H. McElroy
  J. Vincent Burke Jr. September 14, 1959 – January 20, 1961 Neil H. McElroy
Thomas S. Gates
  Cyrus Vance January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy
  John McNaughton July 5, 1962 – June 25, 1964 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) July 1, 1964 – September 19, 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson
  Paul Warnke October 3, 1966 – July 31, 1967
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 1, 1967 – August 20, 1970 Robert S. McNamara
Clark Clifford
Melvin Laird		 Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
  J. Fred Buzhardt August 20, 1970 – January 4, 1974 Melvin Laird
Elliot Richardson
James R. Schlesinger		 Richard Nixon
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) May 22, 1973 – March 13, 1974 James R. Schlesinger
  Martin Richard Hoffmann March 14, 1974 – August 5, 1975 Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 6, 1975 – January 1, 1976 James R. Schlesinger
Donald Rumsfeld		 Gerald Ford
  Richard A. Wiley January 2, 1976 – January 15, 1977 Donald Rumsfeld
  Deanne C. Siemer April 28, 1977 – October 15, 1979 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) October 15, 1979 – February 1, 1980
  Togo D. West Jr. February 1, 1980 – January 20, 1981
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) January 20, 1981 – April 1, 1981 Caspar Weinberger Ronald Reagan
  William Howard Taft IV April 2, 1981 – May 2, 1984
  Chapman B. Cox May 3, 1984 – December 16, 1985
  Henry L. Garrett III February 5, 1986 – August 6, 1987
  Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 7, 1987 – October 25, 1987
  Kathleen A. Buck October 26, 1987 – December 30, 1989 Caspar Weinberger
Frank Carlucci
William Howard Taft IV
Dick Cheney		 Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
  Terrence O'Donnell October 30, 1989 – March 6, 1992 Dick Cheney George H. W. Bush
  C. Paul Beach Jr. (Acting) March 7, 1992 – August 11, 1992
  David Addington August 12, 1992 – January 20, 1993
  John H. McNeil (Acting) January 20, 1993 – May 5, 1993 Les Aspin Bill Clinton
  Jamie Gorelick May 5, 1993 – March 17, 1994 Lee Aspin
William Perry
  Stephen W. Preston (Acting) March 28, 1994 – September 28, 1994 William Perry
  Judith A. Miller September 29, 1994 – November 7, 1999 William Perry
William Cohen
  Douglas A. Dworkin November 7, 1999 – June 14, 2000 (Acting)
June 14, 2000 – January 19, 2001		 William Cohen
  William J. Haynes II May 24, 2001 – February 26, 2008[4] Donald Rumsfeld
Robert Gates		 George W. Bush
  Jeh Johnson February 10, 2009 – December 31, 2012 Robert Gates
Leon Panetta		 Barack Obama
  Robert S. Taylor (Acting)[5] January 1, 2013 – October 25, 2013 Leon Panetta
Chuck Hagel
  Stephen W. Preston October 25, 2013 – June 2015 Chuck Hagel
Ashton Carter
  Robert S. Taylor (Acting)[5] June 2015 – June 14, 2016 Ashton Carter
  Jennifer M. O'Connor June 14, 2016 – January, 20 2017 Ashton Carter
  William S. Castle (Acting) August 2017 – July 2018 James Mattis Donald Trump
  Paul C. Ney Jr. August 20, 2018 – January 20, 2021 James Mattis
Mark Esper
Christopher C. Miller (acting)
  Beth George (Acting) January 20, 2021 – August 2, 2021 David Norquist (acting)
Lloyd Austin		 Joe Biden
  Caroline Krass August 2, 2021 – present Lloyd Austin

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=16157&CategoryId=9352 Archived 2023-09-04 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed on 2023-9-3.
  2. ^ 5 U.S.C. § 5315
  3. ^ a b "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  4. ^ "Pentagon lawyer to leave administration: The Swamp". Swamppolitics.com. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  5. ^ a b "General Counsel Bio". Dod.gov. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
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