Judge Advocate General of the Department of the Navy
JAG
Seal of the Office of the Judge Advocate General
Navy
Incumbent RADM Lia M. Reynolds Acting  since 21 February 2025
Department of the Navy Office of the Secretary
Reports to	Secretary of the Navy Chief of Naval Operations
Seat	The Pentagon,Arlington County,Virginia, United States
Appointer	Thepresident withSenateadvice and consent
Term length	Four years
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 8088
Formation	1880
First holder	Colonel William Butler Remey, USMC
Deputy	Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy
Website	Official website

Thejudge advocate general of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in theUnited States Department of the Navy. The judge advocate general is the principal advisor to thesecretary of the Navy and thechief of naval operations on legal matters pertaining to the Navy.^[1] The judge advocate general also performs other duties prescribed to him under10 U.S.C. § 8088 and those prescribed under theUniform Code of Military Justice.

The judge advocate general of the Navy, according to theUnited States Navy Regulations, has three principal roles: Staff Assistant in theOffice of the Secretary of the Navy, commanding theOffice of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG), and is Chief of theJudge Advocate General's Corps.

The judge advocate general maintains a close working relationship with thegeneral counsel of the Department of the Navy, the senior civilian lawyer in the Department of the Navy.

The judge advocate general:^[2]

• provides or supervises the provision of all legal advice and related services throughout the Department of the Navy, except for the advice and services provided by thegeneral counsel;
• performs the functions required or authorized by law;
• provides legal and policy advice to thesecretary of the Navy onmilitary justice,administrative law, claims, operational andinternational law, and litigation involving these issues, and;
• acts on other matters as directed by the secretary of the Navy.

The principal deputy to the JAG is thedeputy judge advocate general of the Navy.

The judge advocate general is nominated for appointment by thepresident with the advice and/or suggestion of thesecretary of defense and the secretary of the Navy, and must be confirmed via majority vote by theSenate. The judge advocate general is appointed to a four-year term of office but they historically serve for three. The judge advocate general has also historically been a naval officer; however, statute states that aMarine officer can be appointed to the position as long as they meet the requirements stated in the section.^[1]

Previously, the judge advocate general was appointed as a two-starrear admiral. In 2008, theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 advanced the position of the judge advocate general to a statutory three-starvice admiral orlieutenant general.^[3][4] The statutory three-star rank was amended and struck from U.S. law in theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017;^[5][6] however, the Navy continued to appoint the JAG to that rank until 2025.

Other than age and years of military service, there is no other statute of limitations on how many times the JAG can be renominated for appointment to that position if the president so chooses; however, the JAG normally serves one term.

No.	Name	Photo	Branch	Term began	Term ended
1	ColWilliam Butler Remey		USMC	1880	1892
2	CAPT Samuel Conrad Lemly		USN	1892	1904
3	CAPT Samuel Willauer Black Diehl		USN	1904	1907
4	CAPTEdward Hale Campbell		USN	1907	1909
5	CAPT Robert Lee Russell		USN	1909	1913
6	CAPTRidley McLean		USN	1913	1916
7	CAPTWilliam Carleton Watts		USN	1917	1918
8	RADMGeorge Ramsey Clark		USN	1918	1921
9	RADMJulian Lane Latimer		USN	1921	1925
10	RADMEdward Hale Campbell		USN	1925	1929
11	RADMDavid F. Sellers		USN	1929	1931
12	RADMOrin Gould Murfin		USN	1931	1934
13	RADMClaude C. Bloch		USN	1934	1936
14	RADMGilbert Jonathan Rowcliff		USN	1936	1938
15	RADMWalter Browne Woodson		USN	1938	1943
16	RADMThomas Leigh Gatch		USN	1943	1945
17	RADM Oswald Symister Colclough		USN	1945	1948
18	RADM George Lucius Russell		USN	1948	1952
19	RADM Ira Hudson Nunn		USN	1952	1956
20	RADM Chester Charles Ward		USN	1956	1960
21	RADM William Chamberlain Mott		USN	1960	1964
22	RADM Wilfred Asquith Hearn		USN	1964	1968
23	RADM Joseph Bryan McDevitt		USN	1968	1972
24	RADM Merlin Howard Staring		USN	1972	1975
25	RADM Horace Bascomb Robertson Jr.		USN	1975	1976
26	RADM William Owen Miller		USN	1976	1978
27	RADM Charles Eager McDowell		USN	1978	1980
28	RADM John Smith Jenkins		USN	1980	1982
29	RADM James Joseph McHugh		USN	1982	1984
30	RADM Thomas Edward Flynn		USN	1984	1986
31	RADM Hugh Don Campbell		USN	1986	1988
32	RADM Everett Don Stumbaugh		USN	1988	1990
33	RADMJohn Edward Gordon		USN	1990	1992
34	RADM William Leon Schachte Jr.		USN	1992	1993
35	RADM Harold Eric Grant		USN	1993	1997
36	RADMJohn Dudley Hutson		USN	1997	2000
37	RADMDonald J. Guter		USN	2000	2002
38	RADMMichael F. Lohr		USN	2002	2004
39	RADMJames E. McPherson		USN	2004	2006
40	VADMBruce E. MacDonald		USN	2006	2009
41	VADMJames W. Houck		USN	14 August 2009	20 July 2012
42	VADMNanette M. DeRenzi		USN	20 July 2012	26 June 2015
43	VADMJames W. Crawford, III		USN	26 June 2015	12 September 2018
44	VADMJohn G. Hannink		USN	12 September 2018	18 August 18, 2021
45	VADMDarse E. Crandall Jr.		USN	18 August 2021	5 September 2024
46	VADMChristopher C. French		USN	5 September 2024	1 January 2025[7]
Acting	RADMLia M. Reynolds		USN	1 January 2025[7]	21 February 2025[8]

• U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division
• Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeal
• Naval Inspector General
• JAG (television series)
• U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps
• U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps
• U.S. Coast Guard Legal Division

• U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps official website

• Judge advocates general of the United States Navy
• Legal occupations in the military
• Flag appointments of the United States Navy

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata