Leadership

Leadership of the Office

A presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed civilian General Counsel, a Senior Executive Service Principal Deputy, and three Senior Deputy General Counsels leading the office’s legal practice groups.

General Counsel

The General Counsel of the Army

The Honorable Charles L. Young, III

24th General Counsel of the Army

The Honorable Charles L. Young, III assumed the position of the 24th General Counsel of the Army in December 2025. He was originally commissioned in the Army in 1989 as an aviation officer and served as an Apache attack helicopter (AH-64) pilot and platoon leader. He then attended law school through the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program and served as an active duty judge advocate until 2005, when he transferred to the West Virginia Air Guard and accepted an active duty role at the Office of Chief Counsel, National Guard Bureau (NGB). He deployed in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, deployed to Iraq to work Rule of Law issues for Multi-National Forces-Iraq, and assisted in the deployments for numerous border security missions.

He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2009 but continued his service to our country as an Air Force Civilian attorney. He has also served as the Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense and most recently served as the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Department of War. While serving as the General Counsel of the Army, he also remains a principal legal advisor to the Secretary of War and the Deputy Secretary of War.

The Role

Appointed from civilian life by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, the General Counsel has the primary responsibility for advising on civilian legal subject matters, including environmental law, civilian personnel law and management law, civil litigation, contracts, fiscal and acquisitions law (excluding operational contract and fiscal law), and intellectual property and patent law, in coordination with The Judge Advocate General. The General Counsel serve as counsel for the Department, the Secretary, and other Army Secretariat and Staff officials; determine the Army’s position on legal questions and procedures; and provide professional guidance and technical supervision to attorneys across the Army, including those serving under The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army Materiel Command, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Principal Deputy

Principal Deputy General Counsel

Mr. Daniel S. Zevitz

Principal Deputy General Counsel

As a Department of the Army Senior Executive, Mr. Zevitz is the Principal Deputy General Counsel. Prior to this role, he was the Deputy General Counsel of Litigation and Employment Law for the Office of the General Counsel, National Guard Bureau (NGB). In that role, he was the chief labor and employment law attorney advising the 54 States and Territories, and the primary legal advisor to the General Counsel and Chief of the NGB for all matters in litigation.

Mr. Zevitz enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1986 and served as a Security Forces M60 gunner, leaving the Air Force in 1994 as a Staff Sergeant. He received a direct commission as an Air National Guard judge advocate in 2003 and served as the Title 32 Deputy Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) at the 131st Bomb Wing and SJA at the 167th Airlift Wing. He deployed as a Rule of Law attorney with Multi-National Corps–Iraq. Upon returning from Iraq, he served as the Executive Officer and Deputy Chief of Litigation and Employment Law at National Guard Bureau, where he wrote their litigation handbook. He served as the senior National Guard personnel legal advisor for over 60,000 employees and advised high-level working groups within the Department of War and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In his military capacity, Brigadier General Zevitz currently serves as the Director, Office of Complex Investigations at NGB.

Senior Deputy General Counsels

The Three Practice Group Leaders

Each Senior Deputy General Counsel (SDGC) is a Tier 3 Senior Executive Service attorney-advisor who manages a legal practice group of legal professionals. They are organized around the substantive areas of law where specialization best serves the Army.

Mr. Drew K. Kernan

Senior Deputy General Counsel for Acquisition & Fiscal Law

Mr. Kernan leads the Acquisition and Fiscal Law Practice Group, advising senior leaders on matters relating to the research, development, procurement, and sustainment of all weaponry, equipment, and technology used by the U.S. Army—as well as the budgeting, execution, and oversight of the Army’s $250 billion annual budget. In carrying out these responsibilities, Mr. Kernan serves as the principal legal advisor to both the Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) and the ASA (Financial Management and Comptroller). As the Army’s most senior Deputy General Counsel, he routinely performs the duties of the Principal Deputy General Counsel and General Counsel in their absence, directly advising the Secretary of the Army and senior staff.

Mr. Kernan assumed the Senior Deputy General Counsel (Acquisition & Fiscal) for the Army after serving as the Deputy General Counsel (Fiscal) for the Department of War. These Senior Executive roles follow 25 years of active military service in the U.S. Army, with 20 years as a Judge Advocate. Mr. Kernan’s military career centered on advising commanders and strategic leaders of the operational force, to include multiple select roles within U.S. Special Operations Command, Office of the Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Office of the General Counsel to the Department of War. He is a combat veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Mr. Kernan was commissioned as an Artillery Officer following graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He holds a law (J.D.) degree from the University of Oklahoma School of Law (Order of the Coif, summa cum laude), a masters of law (LL.M) degree in National Security Law from Georgetown University Law School (cum laude), and a Masters of National Security Studies at the National War College in Washington.

Mr. Craig R. Schmauder

Senior Deputy General Counsel for Installations, Environment, & Civil Works

Promoted into the Senior Executive Service in November 2002, Mr. Schmauder currently serves as the Senior Deputy General Counsel for Installations, Environment and Civil Works (IECW), Headquarters, Department of the Army. From 2002–2004, Mr. Schmauder served as Deputy Chief Counsel and Acting Chief Counsel at Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prior to being reassigned to the Army General Counsel’s office.

In 2021, Mr. Schmauder served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of General Counsel. As the chief legal officer of the Army, Mr. Schmauder had responsibility for the delivery of legal services in support of world-wide Army missions. Upon confirmation of the new General Counsel in 2022, Mr. Schmauder assumed the position of Acting Principal Deputy General Counsel.

As Senior Deputy General Counsel (IECW), Mr. Schmauder currently provides counsel to the Secretary of the Army and other senior leaders on a broad range of activities, including Army installations, land and facilities management, energy resilience and sustainment, environmental compliance, water resources development, civil works construction, real estate acquisition and condemnation, base realignment and closure, as well as cultural and natural resources. Mr. Schmauder also advises Army leadership on all matters involving the administration of Arlington National Cemetery and Army cemeteries worldwide.

Mr. Francis P. King

Senior Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Employment, and General Law

Mr. King was appointed to the Senior Executive Service on April 2, 2018, and began service as the Senior Deputy General Counsel (Litigation, Employment, and General Law) in the Office of the General Counsel on August 23, 2026. Mr. King is responsible for a diverse legal portfolio, leading senior attorneys working in specialized areas of law, including litigation, civilian labor and employment law, information law, administrative law, and government ethics, providing expert legal advice to the Secretary of the Army, the General Counsel of the Army, and other Senior Officials in the formulation, interpretation, and implementation of Army policies, procedures, and programs in the litigation, employment and general law arenas. He also provides oversight of sensitive criminal, intelligence, administrative, senior official investigations, and matters involving the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts. Mr. King previously served as the Deputy General Counsel (Operations and Personnel) in the Office of the General Counsel.

Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Mr. King served as the Chief Counsel, Army Materiel Command Legal Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, during which time he also served a detail as the Civilian Deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command.

Mr. King previously served in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps for more than 26 years culminating with his assignment as the Executive Officer for The Judge Advocate General of the Army. He served in various assignments throughout his military career including Staff Judge Advocate, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, Division Chief, Assistant Executive Officer, Chief Commissioner, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Litigation Attorney, Command Judge Advocate, and various other developmental assignments, receiving numerous awards and commendations for his work.