Joseph B. Berger III, Chief of the Army Legal Service

Date of dismissal: 21 February 2025. Berger was the Army's top legal officer, i.e. the figure called upon to oversee military justice and provide legal advice on the legality of orders, procedures and operations. He had a long career in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, the military lawyer corps of the US armed forces, and assignments as legal advisor for highly sensitive facilities, including the Joint Special Operations Command and Army Cyber Command. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, a few days later, publicly explained that he wanted to replace the top lawyers because he did not consider them 'well-suited' to provide adequate advice on the legitimacy of orders issued.