Hegseth memo calls for sweeping, open-ended review of Pentagon's legal system
It’s the secretary's latest unusual move toward DOD’s military and civilian lawyers.
Thomas Novelly | May 15, 2026
Pentagon Personnel
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who last year gutted a Congressionally-created panel that oversaw his department’s legal community, is standing up a new one with a broader purview.
Hegseth’s latest unusual move comes three months after he ordered a “ruthless” review of military lawyers that some saw as an attempt to evade accountability.
On Monday, the secretary released a video in which he said the new panel would conduct an "ongoing, long-term, department-wide review of all aspects of the military legal system as it affects our warriors.”
Hegseth ordered up the panel in a May 8 memo to service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs staff, the military’s criminal investigation divisions, and the uniformed and civilian legal offices.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2026/05/hegseth-pentagon-legal-system-reform/413587/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story