Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing renewed scrutiny and significant backlash from top military officials after he announced further cuts to military lawyers this week. As the investigation into the strike that decimated an Iranian school, Senator Andy Kim recently attributed the tragedy to Hegseth’s controversial decision to gut civilian protection offices. Now, it seems many in the Pentagon saw this kind of tragedy coming.
High-ranking military leaders had unsuccessfully pushed back against Hegseth’s plan to slash these critical oversight offices, like the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence. These offices are designed to limit risks to civilian populations and investigate deaths. Then-Central Command chief Erik Kurilla, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, and Vice-chair Adm. Christopher Grady opposed the cuts.
