GEOFF BENNETT: Late Friday night, President Trump fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q.

Brown, breaking with decades of precedent, as part of a broader purge of senior military leaders.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced the administration would replace the top lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Here's Hegseth explaining the decision "FOX News Sunday."

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. Defense Secretary: Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don't exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything - - anything that happens in their spots.

GEOFF BENNETT: For perspective, we turn now to retired Rear Admiral James McPherson.

He served as undersecretary of the Army and as the Army's general counsel during the first Trump administration.

It's great to have you here.

So let's start with President Trump's decision to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General C.Q.

Brown.

Brown is the first in the job since 2007 to not serve a full term, and there's the added detail that Brown, a four-star general, is being replaced with a now retired three-star general, Dan Caine, whose military service does not include any of the key assignments that were identified in law as prerequisites for the job.

He will need to get a waiver.

So how do you interpret this pick?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

), Former U.S.

Undersecretary of the Army: Well, it's not surprising that he fired General Brown.

That was rumored in the media many times before the inauguration and then even afterwards.

Perhaps even a greater surprise was his firing the chief of Naval operations, Admiral Franchetti, who was the first female admiral that the Navy had as its chief of naval operations.

It speaks of a profound concern that perhaps the president is putting in place individuals who he can be assured would be loyal to him, and not loyal to the Constitution or loyal to the rule of law.

That's the greatest concern I think many people have.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there's also his decision to fire the military's top lawyers, those judge advocates general known as JAGs.

You had a 25-year career and the Navy, also served as its top lawyer in uniform.

First, help us understand what those lawyers do in providing independent legal advice to senior military leaders.

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET).

: It's profoundly disappointing to hear the secretary of defense describe the men and women of the services; Judge Advocate General's Corps, some of the attorneys that this country has, many of whom forwent, forgo lucrative civilian careers, to serve their country.

They answer their country's call.

They truly are embracing a lifestyle of service.

And to hear the secretary of defense describe them in a term that's not only crude, but vulgar, is just intolerable and, quite frankly, shameless.

But it also evidences a lack of understanding of what a judge advocate on the staff of a warfare commander does, what their role is.

Their role is advising that warfare commander as that commander puts together an operational plan.

Their role is not one of a roadblock, but one that facilitates the successful completion of a mission within the bounds of the law.

They are not the ones that, if you will, say, shoot, don't shoot.

They're not the ones that promulgate the rules of engagement that guide our warriors, but they advise the commander, who is the one that makes those decisions.

GEOFF BENNETT: Secretary Hegseth has often spoke about restoring what he calls a warrior ethos to a military that he views as having become too soft and bureaucratic.

So when he says that he views the JAGs as obstacles and removing them would ostensibly remove an obstacle, what are the practical implications of that?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET).

: Well, there's a common denominator among the three judge advocate generals of the services that he removed.

They were all selected, they were all nominated by President Biden and they were confirmed by the Senate in the Biden administration.

So, clearly, the commonality is, they came into office during the Biden administration, and that's why the secretary wants -- wanted to get rid of them, so he could put his own people in there.

What's interesting is, he directed the service secretaries to nominate names for him.

The law requires that the service secretary convene a board, and that board consists of senior officers, line officers, who will review the records of the eligible officers, that is, captains and colonels, and make a recommendation to the service secretary of the next judge advocate general.

The service secretary forwards that to the White House and it's the president's decision.

So it's not going to be the secretary of defense's decision.

It's going to be a decision based upon, again, a recommendation that comes from a board, something also that Secretary Hegseth in his time with the FOX News interview seemed not to understand.

GEOFF BENNETT: And yet a president has the right to assemble a team of military leaders as he chooses.

Supporters of the president have been quick to point out that Truman ousted Douglas MacArthur, Obama ousted Stanley McChrystal.

Do they have a point?

Or do you see something missing in their justification of President Trump's actions?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET).

: I see something missing.

And what I see missing is, they didn't take issue with any decision that the officers made.

They didn't -- there was no misconduct involved.

They simply dismissed them because they weren't, if you will, perceived as being loyal to the president.

My fear is that they're putting people in place when that fateful day arrives and the suggestions made, as it was, in the Oval Office, should we just shoot them in the legs, my fear is that there won't be a Secretary Esper or a General Milley who says, no, Mr. President, we can't.

My fear is there will be officers in the room that say, sure, we will shoot them in the legs.

GEOFF BENNETT: Admiral McPherson, thanks again for joining us this evening.

We appreciate it.

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET).

: Thank you.