General Counsel of the Department of the Army | |
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AGC | |
Department of the Army Office of the Secretary | |
Style | The Honorable |
Reports to | Secretary of the Army Under Secretary of the Army |
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. § 3019 |
Formation | 1949 |
First holder | Karl Bendetsen |
Deputy | Principal Deputy General Counsel (PDGC) |
Salary | Executive Schedule, level IV [1] |
Website | ogc |
The General Counsel of the Army (also known as the Army General Counsel, abbreviated AGC) is the chief legal officer of the U.S. Department of the Army and senior legal advisor to the Secretary of the Army.
U.S. law provides that the General Counsel shall be appointed from the civilian life by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, and that the Secretary of the Army prescribes the duties of the office. [2]
The Office of the General Counsel of the Army also provides legal advice to the Under Secretary of the Army and the five Assistant Secretaries of the Army, as well as other members of the Army Secretariat. The General Counsel of the Army also plays a role in supervising the Office of the Judge Advocate General and the Office of the Chief Counsel of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of a chairman (CJCS), a vice chairman (VJCS), the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Each of the individual service chiefs, outside their JCS obligations, works directly under the secretaries of their respective military departments, e.g. the secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of the Air Force.
The secretary of the Army is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.
The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. The secretary of the Air Force is a civilian appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The secretary reports to the secretary of defense and/or the deputy secretary of defense, and is by statute responsible for and has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Air Force.
The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of War James McHenry, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy (USN); since 1834, it has exercised jurisdiction over the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and, during wartime, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), though each remains an independent service branch. It is led by the secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), a statutory civilian officer.
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
Executive Schedule is the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The president of the United States appoints individuals to these positions, most with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. They include members of the president's Cabinet, several top-ranking officials of each executive department, the directors of some of the more prominent departmental and independent agencies, and several members of the Executive Office of the President.
The Judge Advocate General of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on legal matters pertaining to the Navy. The Judge Advocate General also performs other duties prescribed to them under 10 U.S.C. § 5148 and those prescribed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
James Edwin McPherson is an American government official and retired United States Navy rear admiral. He served as the General Counsel of the Army from January 2, 2018, to March 24, 2020. He served as the United States Under Secretary of the Army from March 25, 2020, to January 20, 2021, and in acting capacity from July 23, 2019, to March 24, 2020. He served as Acting United States Secretary of the Navy from April 7, 2020, to May 29, 2020, following the resignation of Thomas Modly.
The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the U.S. Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the Secretary of the Navy. The Office of the General Counsel of the Navy provides legal advice to the Secretary, the Under Secretary of the Navy and the various Assistant Secretaries of the Navy and their staffs. The General Counsel of the Navy is the third highest-ranking civilian office in the Department of the Navy, behind the Secretary and Under Secretary of the Navy.
Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army.
The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), abbreviated as ASA(M&RA), is a civilian official in the United States Department of the Army.
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 of the Department of the Air Force is the chief legal officer of the U.S. Department of the Air Force.
Michele A. Pearce is an American lawyer and former government official. She served as the Principal Deputy General Counsel (PDGC) of the Army from January 6, 2020 to January 19, 2021. As PDGC, Pearce was the first assistant to the General Counsel and the number two attorney in the Department of the Army. Her duties included providing legal and policy advice to the Secretary of the Army, the Secretariat, and other Army senior leaders.