Eight months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Air Force's top lawyer, the acting Judge Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Rebecca Vernon, has stepped down. Maj. Gen. Mitchel Neurock is now the acting JAG, but no one has been nominated to permanently fill the service's top legal positions. This leadership vacuum creates uncertainty, negatively impacting the JAG Corps' morale, retention, and policy decisions. Hegseth had stated he fired TJAGs for being roadblocks to orders. Additionally, the Pentagon's practice of diverting lower-level JAGs to serve as temporary immigration judges further raises concerns about military readiness.
Read more: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2025/10/hegseth-fired-air-forces-top-lawyer-jag-who-took-job-stepping-away/409070/
