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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he wants to remove bureaucratic roadblocks by replacing the military's top legal officers. That move could affect hard-fought reforms to military justice that began after missteps in the early days of the war on terror. Steve Walsh, with WHRO in Norfolk, has the story.

STEVE WALSH, BYLINE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was recently asked to clarify what he was looking for after he moved to replace the top judge advocate generals for the Navy, Army and Air Force.

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PETE HEGSETH: I want the best possible lawyers in each service to provide the best possible recommendations no matter what lawful orders that are given. And we didn't think those particular positions were well suited. And so we're looking for the best. We're opening it up to everybody to be able to be the top lawyer of those services.

WALSH: Opening the process to everyone would be difficult. After 20 years of war, Congress and the services put rules in place to stop commanders and administrations from pushing aside the JAG Corps when tough decisions are being made. Mark Nevitt is a former Navy JAG based in Norfolk. He's now a professor at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta.

MARK NEVITT: Sometimes a lawyer has to provide guidance, has to be actually a roadblock if someone desires to do something illegal. And so I think that Hegseth has a very different view of the JAGs that does not understand the need for independent, objective legal advice.

WALSH: During the early years of the Bush administration, JAGs were either not in the room or overruled when the White House was authorizing enhanced interrogation methods like waterboarding after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Nevitt says.

NEVITT: After the enhanced interrogation techniques, Congress passed a law basically authorizing JAGs to wear three stars - prior they were at two-star rank. So Congress, at some point, recognized that you needed to have military JAGs in the room for these important discussions.

WALSH: The restriction was loosened in 2016, but ultimately, the Senate will have to hold hearings and vote on the final selections. Hegseth says he's looking for the best people. Over the years, he has expressed contempt for JAG officers. Here he is at his confirmation hearing, where he was asked to define what he means when he uses the slur jagoff to describe some of them.

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HEGSETH: It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the war fighters - their promotions, their medals in front of having the backs of those who are making the tough calls on the front lines.

WALSH: Hegseth served with the Minnesota Army National Guard in Iraq and as a trainer in Afghanistan. He has long expressed his frustration with a strict interpretation of the rules of engagement - basically, the rules set down by commanders which say what a unit can or cannot do in the field. Rachel VanLandingham is a former Air Force JAG and a law professor at Southwestern Law School, LA.

RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM: Judge advocates provide a legal review on that because the rules of engagement are rules that are bounded by the law. Commanders do whatever they want. And even if commanders wanted to exceed those left and right limits, lawyers provide advice. They don't order war fighters to do anything.

WALSH: She has worked with the top Air Force JAG, Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer, and found him to be a loyal and accomplished lawyer, even when they clashed over the best way to change the system to handle cases of sexual assault. Those cases led Congress to give more independence to JAGs while limiting the role of commanders in certain criminal cases.

VANLANDINGHAM: And I wish Mr. Hegseth had really taken some time to do this in a smarter way that doesn't just send this signal that it's his way or the highway and, JAGs, you just better get out of the way.

WALSH: VanLandingham is now concerned that some of that independence is now in jeopardy.

For NPR ¹ÏÉñapp, I'm Steve Walsh.

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