Twenty members of the Defense Department are set to begin working as special assistant U.S. attorneys — federal prosecutors — in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia next week, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Tim Lauer, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, confirmed the move, saying members of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps would be joining the office, though he did not know how long the detail would last.