DoW General Counsel

The DoW General Counsel is the chief legal officer of the Department of War (DoW). As such, the DoW General Counsel provides legal advice directly to the Secretary of War, the Deputy Secretary of War, and senior DoW leaders on operational, technological, and other issues critical to DoW's ability to execute its mission. The DoW General Counsel leads the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of War (DoW OGC) and is the Director of the Defense Legal Services Agency (DLSA).

Mission

DoW OGC and DLSA provide comprehensive and timely legal advice across the DoW enterprise (except for the Military Departments and Combatant Commands, and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of War) on issues, such as:

• the impact of domestic and international legal obligations on DoW military operations, intelligence operations, and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence
• fiscal authorities for conducting operations
• military and civilian personnel regulations
• environmental requirements for DoW operations and installations
• legislative proposals
• litigation

Organization

DoW OGC is composed of eight divisions:

• Acquisition and Logistics
• Personnel and Health Policy
• Intelligence
• International Affairs
• Fiscal
• Environment, Energy and Installations
• Legal Counsel
• Legislation, Investigations, and Oversight

These divisions both focus on their core areas of expertise and collaborate with each other to ensure DoW OGC's legal support is well-informed, deliberate, and actionable. DoW OGC team members work directly with their DoW client organizations to resolve legal issues at the lowest possible level and to help inform operational and policy proposals at the earliest opportunity.

DLSA includes the Offices of General Counsel of the Defense Agencies and DoW Field Activities (DAFAs). The DAFA GCs report directly to the DoW GC to ensure alignment of legal guidance across the DoW enterprise. More information about each DLSA organization can be found here.