A U.S. Marine is poised to become the top legal officer of the Navy for the first time in over a century, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Bligh, who currently serves as the staff judge advocate to the commandant of the Marine Corps, was nominated for appointment as the judge advocate general, or JAG, of the Navy.
Bligh would become only the second Marine to hold the title of judge advocate general for the Navy, following in the footsteps of Col. William Butler Remey, who became the first uniformed chief legal officer of the Navy in 1878.
After Remey, only sailors have filled the position.
Bligh would replace Rear Adm. Lia Reynolds, who is currently serving as the acting JAG of the Navy, according to the service. Vice Adm. Christopher French, the previous Navy JAG, requested to retire in December 2024, having only served in the position for three months.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed the JAGs for the Army and Air Force in February — saying they weren’t “well-suited” to provide recommendations when lawful orders were given — and said he was requesting nominations for the JAGs for the Army, Navy and Air Force. There was already an ongoing effort to seek a replacement for French, according to The Associated Press.
Bligh was commissioned through the Platoon Leaders Course program in 1988 and afterward served as a platoon commander and company commander at the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, according to his service biography.
He went on to complete Naval Justice School and served as a civil law officer, trial counsel and officer-in-charge of legal assistance at Camp Lejeune.
From there, he became the director of the Joint Law Center at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, during which he deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom with Task Force Tarawa.
Bligh also served as the assistant JAG of the Navy for military law.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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