General Counsel of the Department of Defense

General Counsel of the Department of Defense
Flag of the General Counsel^[1]
Incumbent Jennifer M. O'Connor since 2016
Department of Defense Office of the Secretary
Style	The Honorable
Reports to	Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 140
Precursor	Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legal and Legislative Affairs
Formation	1953
First holder	H. Struve Hensel
Deputy	Principal Deputy General Counsel
Salary	Executive Schedule, level IV^[2]
Website	www.dod.gov/dodgc/

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.

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

General Counsels of the Department of Defense^[3]
Name	Tenure	SecDef(s) Served Under	President(s) Served Under
H. Struve Hensel	August 17, 1953 – March 4, 1954	Charles E. Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
Wilber M. Brucker	April 23, 1954 – July 20, 1955	Charles E. Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
Mansfield D. Sprague	October 6, 1955 – February 27, 1957	Charles E. Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
Robert Dechert	February 28, 1957 – July 15, 1959	Charles E. Wilson Neil H. McElroy	Dwight Eisenhower
J. Vincent Burke, Jr.	September 14, 1959 – January 20, 1961	Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates	Dwight Eisenhower
Cyrus R. Vance	January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962	Robert S. McNamara	John F. Kennedy
John T. McNaughton	July 5, 1962 – June 25, 1964	Robert S. McNamara	John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	July 1, 1964 – September 19, 1966	Robert S. McNamara	Lyndon Johnson
Paul C. Warnke	October 3, 1966 – July 31, 1967	Robert S. McNamara	Lyndon Johnson
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	August 1, 1967 – August 20, 1970	Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Melvin R. Laird	Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.	August 20, 1970 – January 4, 1974	Melvin R. Laird Elliot L. Richardson James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	May 22, 1973 (sic) – March 13, 1974	James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon
Martin R. Hoffmann	March 14, 1974 – August 5, 1975	James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	August 6, 1975 – January 1, 1976	James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Richard A. Wiley	January 2, 1976 – January 15, 1977	Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Deanne C. Siemer	April 28, 1977 – October 15, 1979	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	October 15, 1979 – February 1, 1980	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Togo D. West, Jr.	February 1, 1980 – January 20, 1981	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	January 20, 1981 – April 1, 1981	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
William H. Taft IV	April 2, 1981 – May 2, 1984	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Chapman B. Cox	May 3, 1984 – December 16, 1985	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
H. Lawrence Garrett III	February 5, 1986 – August 6, 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Leonard Niederlehner (Acting)	August 7, 1987 – October 25, 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Kathleen A. Buck	October 26, 1985 – December 30, 1989	Caspar W. Weinberger Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV Richard B. Cheney	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Terrence O'Donnell	October 30, 1989 – March 6, 1992	Richard B. Cheney	George H. W. Bush
C. Paul Beach, Jr. (Acting)	March 7, 1992 – August 11, 1992	Richard B. Cheney	George H. W. Bush
David S. Addington	August 12, 1992 – January 20, 1993	Richard B. Cheney	George H. W. Bush
John H. McNeil (Acting)	January 20, 1993 – May 5, 1993	Leslie Aspin, Jr.	Bill Clinton
Jamie S. Gorelick	May 5, 1993 – March 17, 1994	Leslie Aspin, Jr. William J. Perry	Bill Clinton
Stephen W. Preston (Acting)	March 28, 1994 – September 28, 1994	William J. Perry	Bill Clinton
Judith A. Miller	September 29, 1994 – November 7, 1999	William J. Perry William S. Cohen	Bill Clinton
Douglas A. Dworkin	November 7, 1999 – June 14, 2000 (Acting) June 14, 2000 – January 19, 2001	William S. Cohen	Bill Clinton
William J. Haynes II	May 24, 2001 – February 26, 2008^[4]	Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates	George W. Bush
Jeh Charles Johnson	February 10, 2009 – December 2012	Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta	Barack Obama
Robert S. Taylor (Acting)^[5]	January 2013 – October 2013	Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel	Barack Obama
Stephen W. Preston	October 2013 – 2016	Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter	Barack Obama

References

↑ http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/UniformedServices/Flags/Pos_Colors_DoD.aspx. Accessed on 2013-07-04.
↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5315
1 2 "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
↑ "Pentagon lawyer to leave administration: The Swamp". Swamppolitics.com. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
↑ "General Counsel Bio". Dod.gov. Retrieved 2013-07-04.

External links

Official website

United States Department of Defense

Headquarters: The Pentagon

Office of the Secretary of Defense
(including Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities)

Deputy Secretary of Defense	Deputy's Advisory Working Group Office of Net Assessment Special Access Program Oversight Committee

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics	Director, Defense Research and Engineering Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Missile Defense Agency Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Technical Information Center Defense Threat Reduction Agency Office of Economic Adjustment Defense Acquisition University Defense Acquisition Board

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy	Defense Security Cooperation Agency Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee

Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)	Defense Contract Audit Agency Defense Finance and Accounting Service

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness	Defense Commissary Agency Department of Defense Education Activity DoD Human Resources Activity Military Health System Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development

Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence	Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Security Service Defense Information Systems Agency National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency (Director)

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs	Defense Media Activity (American Forces Press Service, American Forces Radio and Television Service, Stars and Stripes, The Pentagon Channel)

General Counsel of the Department of Defense	Defense Legal Services Agency

Director of Administration and Management	Pentagon Force Protection Agency Washington Headquarters Services

Military Departments

Department of the Army	Secretary of the Army The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Army Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Assistant Secretary (Financial Management and Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs General Counsel of the Army The Administrative Assistant The Army Staff: Chief of Staff of the Army Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Sergeant Major of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-8 Chief of Chaplains Judge Advocate General Provost Marshal General Surgeon General U.S. Army field organizations: see Structure of the United States Army

Department of the Navy	Secretary of the Navy The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) General Counsel of the Navy Judge Advocate General Naval Criminal Investigative Service Naval Inspector General Headquarters Marine Corps: Commandant of the Marine Corps Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Chaplain U.S. Marine Corps field organizations: see Organization of the United States Marine Corps Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: Chief of Naval Operations Vice Chief of Naval Operations Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Director of Naval Reactors Chief of Chaplains Chief of Naval Personnel Surgeon General United States Navy field organizations: see Structure of the United States Navy

Department of the Air Force	Secretary of the Air Force The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Air Force Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management & Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment & Logistics) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) General Counsel of the Air Force Air Force Office of Special Investigations The Air Staff: Chief of Staff of the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Chief of Chaplains Chief of Safety Chief Scientist Judge Advocate General Surgeon General U.S. Air Force field organizations: Major Commands Direct Reporting Units Field Operating Agencies

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Joint Requirements Oversight Council Director of the Joint Staff Joint Staff National Military Command Center Alternate National Military Command Center National Defense University

Combatant Commands

Africa Command Central Command European Command Northern Command Pacific Command Southern Command Special Operations Command (Joint Special Operations Command) Strategic Command (Cyber Command) Transportation Command

National Guard Bureau

Chief of the National Guard Bureau Air National Guard Army National Guard

Office of the Inspector General

Defense Criminal Investigative Service

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General Counsel of the Department of Defense

Office Holders

See also

References

External links