| Post: | General Counsel |
| Body: | the Department of Defense |
| Flag: | Flag of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Defense.svg |
| Flagsize: | 120 |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the General Counsel[1] |
| Insignia: | DOD Office of General Counsel seal.gif |
| Insigniasize: | 120 |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of the Office of General Counsel |
| Incumbent: | Caroline Krass |
| Incumbentsince: | August 2, 2021 |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Department: | Department of Defense Office of the Secretary |
| Reports To: | Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense |
| Seat: | The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Appointer Qualified: | with Senate advice and consent |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
| Precursor: | Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legal and Legislative Affairs |
| Formation: | 1953 |
| First: | H. Struve Hensel |
| Deputy: | Principal Deputy General Counsel Corin R. Stone |
| Salary: | Executive Schedule, level IV |
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).
| Image | Name | Tenure | SecDef(s) served under | President(s) served under |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 17, 1953 – March 4, 1954 | Dwight Eisenhower | |||
| April 23, 1954 – July 20, 1955 | ||||
| October 6, 1955 – February 27, 1957 | ||||
| Robert Dechert | February 28, 1957 – July 15, 1959 | Charles Erwin Wilson Neil H. McElroy | ||
| September 14, 1959 – January 20, 1961 | Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates | |||
| January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962 | John F. Kennedy | |||
| July 5, 1962 – June 25, 1964 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson | |||
| July 1, 1964 – September 19, 1966 | Lyndon B. Johnson | |||
| October 3, 1966 – July 31, 1967 | ||||
| Leonard Niederlehner | August 1, 1967 – August 20, 1970 | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon | ||
| August 20, 1970 – January 4, 1974 | Richard Nixon | |||
| Leonard Niederlehner | May 22, 1973 – March 13, 1974 | James R. Schlesinger | ||
| March 14, 1974 – August 5, 1975 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford | |||
| Leonard Niederlehner | August 6, 1975 – January 1, 1976 | Gerald Ford | ||
| January 2, 1976 – January 15, 1977 | Donald Rumsfeld | |||
| April 28, 1977 – October 15, 1979 | Jimmy Carter | |||
| Leonard Niederlehner | October 15, 1979 – February 1, 1980 | |||
| February 1, 1980 – January 20, 1981 | ||||
| Leonard Niederlehner | January 20, 1981 – April 1, 1981 | Ronald Reagan | ||
| April 2, 1981 – May 2, 1984 | ||||
| May 3, 1984 – December 16, 1985 | ||||
| February 5, 1986 – August 6, 1987 | ||||
| Leonard Niederlehner | August 7, 1987 – October 25, 1987 | |||
| October 26, 1987 – December 30, 1989 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush | |||
| Terrence O'Donnell | October 30, 1989 – March 6, 1992 | Dick Cheney | George H. W. Bush | |
| March 7, 1992 – August 11, 1992 | ||||
| August 12, 1992 – January 20, 1993 | ||||
| January 20, 1993 – May 5, 1993 | Bill Clinton | |||
| May 5, 1993 – March 17, 1994 | Lee Aspin William Perry | |||
| March 28, 1994 – September 28, 1994 | William Perry | |||
| September 29, 1994 – November 7, 1999 | William Perry William Cohen | |||
| November 7, 1999 – June 14, 2000 (Acting) June 14, 2000 – January 19, 2001 | William Cohen | |||
| May 24, 2001 – February 26, 2008[3] | George W. Bush | |||
| February 10, 2009 – December 31, 2012 | Barack Obama | |||
| Robert S. Taylor [4] | January 1, 2013 – October 25, 2013 | Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel | ||
| October 25, 2013 – June 2015 | Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter | |||
| Robert S. Taylor | 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 | |
| August 20, 2018 – January 20, 2021 | James Mattis Mark Esper Christopher C. Miller (acting) | |||
| Beth George | January 20, 2021 – August 2, 2021 | Joe Biden | ||
| August 2, 2021 – present | Lloyd Austin |