Charles Pede

Lieutenant General Charles N. Pede is a military lawyer who currently serves as the 40th Judge Advocate General of the United States Army. General Pede was promoted from the rank of Brigadier General to the rank of Lieutenant General, bypassing the rank of Major General on July 26, 2017.

Education
Lieutenant General Pede graduated from the University of Virginia and received a commission through R.O.T.C. He then attended the University of Virginia Law School. He attended the Judge Advocate Officer Basic and Graduate Courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Career
Lieutenant General Pede’s previous assignments include: Trial Defense Counsel, Mannheim Field Office, Germany; Chief, Criminal Law, and Chief, Administrative & International Law, 21st Theater Army Area Command, Mannheim, Germany and Army Forces-Turkey; Chief, Military Justice, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York and Operation Restore Hope, Mogadishu, Somalia; Professor of Law, Criminal Law Department, The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia; Assignments Officer, Office of The Judge Advocate General; Assistant Executive Officer, Office of The Judge Advocate General, Washington, DC; Staff Judge Advocate, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York and Joint Task Force Mountain and Combined Joint Task Force-180, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; Legislative Counsel, Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison, Pentagon, Washington, DC; Chief, Criminal Law Division, OTJAG; Staff Judge Advocate, United States Forces Iraq, Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; Chief, Criminal Law Division, OTJAG; Executive Officer to The Judge Advocate General of the Army, Washington, DC; and Commander, United States Army Legal Services Agency and Chief Judge, United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Brigadier General Pede assumed command of the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 13, 2015. In 2017, he was nominated for promotion to Lieutenant General and for service as the Judge Advocate General of the Army.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Meritorious Service Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters. He is also entitled to wear the Parachutist Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Lieutenant General Pede is married and has one son.