Brig. Gen. Eric Widmar, senior legal counsel to the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is stepping down from his position roughly a year before his term is over.
Widmar told ProPublica, the first outlet to report the retirement, that he did not take his decision to retire lightly and that he did so “for personal reasons,” specifically mentioning family challenges.
“Earlier this year, my wife and I reflected on the demands of this role, which have required me to live apart from my wife for the past two years and created additional challenges for me and my family,” Widmar said in an emailed statement to ProPublica. “After careful consideration, I decided it was time to place my family at the center of my life and focus on our next chapter together.”
Military.com reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said in a statement that Widmar “is deeply respected and admired by all” and thanked him for his “remarkable” service, according to ProPublica.
“We will miss his legal counsel, incredible expertise and experience, and his understanding of our responsibility to always speak truth to power,” Caine added.
ProPublica also cited a senior ranking former judge advocate, a military attorney, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, who stated: “A person in that position is a rising star. He’s certainly high-ranking in the legal community and well-thought-of and trusted. It’s a pretty important job.”
The decision to leave his role this early follows numerous high-profile officials leaving their posts this year and last, either by termination at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s behest or for other reasons.
Hegseth fired top lawyers from the Air Force, Army and Navy in 2025.
Earlier this month, Gen. Chris “C.D.” Donahue, head of Army forces in Europe and Africa in addition to being the final American service member to depart Afghanistan, departed his position after serving roughly halfway through a usual term.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, was relieved in April and about 18 months prior to hitting the typical four-year term benchmark.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, who oversaw military operations in the region where U.S. forces attacked alleged drug boats off Venezuela late last summer and headed Southern Command, retired in December with two years remaining in his term.
According to his Army bio, Widmar’s former roles included being a staff judge advocate for Task Force Marne & Fort Stewart, where he led an office of over 100 legal professionals supporting approximately 80,000 service members and their families. Prior, he served as the deputy staff judge advocate for 3d Infantry Division & Fort Stewart.
At the same time, he served as the chief of mational security law and the chief of administrative & civil law, U.S. Army Pacific, and was responsible for providing legal support across a wide spectrum of operations and activities for all U.S. Army forces across the Indo-Pacific region, including forces in Hawaii, Alaska, Korea, Japan, Australia and several other countries.
He served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of both conventional and special operations forces, where he was the senior legal adviser for the 75th Ranger Regiment and 1st Brigade of the 82d Airborne Division.
This story will be updated with any new information.
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