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Lexington native Hayes Larsen has been selected as the new Commanding Officer at Defense Service Office, West in San Diego, Calif. Starting on Aug. 3, Capt. Larsen will assume oversight of all defense counsel services for sailors on the west coast. His promotion to Captain in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps in May 2022 paved the way for this position. The promotion ceremony was held on the historic battleship USS Wisconsin, with Admiral Jonathan Stephens presiding over the event, surrounded by Larsen’s loved ones and colleagues.
Following his graduation from Rockbridge County High School in 1993, Larsen embarked on a mission for his church in Venezuela. Upon his return, he became part of the inaugural graduating class of Southern Virginia University in 2000. Larsen earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2003 and received a commission in the Navy.
A veteran of the Iraq war, Larsen served from 2004 to 2005 as part of the detainee operations team, ensuring compliance with the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of detainees. Throughout his career, he has held various leadership positions, including an assistant professorship at the United States Naval Academy, Senior Defense Counsel in the Asia-Pacific region, and Command Judge Advocate for the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Since 2017, Larsen has served as a military judge in Norfolk, handling cases in the Navy’s busiest circuit.
In 2021, Capt. Larsen was appointed by the current administration to the Office of Military Commissions, Trial Judiciary, where he has been presiding over certain detainee cases in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
