Pete Hegseth to overhaul US military lawyers in effort to relax rules of war

The defense secretary has empowered his lawyer Tim Parlatore to remake the judge advocate general's corps

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected in the coming weeks to start a sweeping overhaul of the judge advocate general's corps as part of an effort to make the US military less restricted by the laws of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The changes are poised to have implications across the military, as Hegseth's office considers changes to the interpretation of the US rules of engagement on the battlefield to the way that charges are brought under the military justice system.