Director of Operations, Planning and Development for Military Commissions
Encyclopedia
The Director of Operations, Planning and Development for Military Commissions was a new position, created on 19 September 2008.
The position was to be filled by a flag officer, who was to report directly to the Department of Defense
's General Counsel, who was at the time William J. Haynes.
Haynes has subsequently resigned, and the first Director reported to Gordon England and acting General Counsel Daniel J. Dell'Orto. England had two separate jobs: Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Designated Civilian Official
, the individual in charge of the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants (OARDEC).
The Operations Director's duties included the initiation, review, staffing, coordination and execution of all planning and development matters relating to Military Commissions, including organizational, systems and legal policy improvements to the commission process.
The Director was to serve as the point of contact between the Office of Military Commissions
and all other Agencies.
The first officer to be appointed Director was Brigadier
Thomas W. Hartmann
a military lawyer in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Hartmann had previously been the Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority
for the Office of Military Commissions. The Convening Authority is a civilian position, currently held by VADM Bruce MacDonald, the former TJAG of the US NAvy (Pentagon).
As Legal Advisor Hartmann was essentially the second in command.
Hartmann had been reassigned from the position of Legal Advisor after the officers Presiding over three separate Guantanamo military commissions had barred him from participation after he was accused of putting "undue command influence" on Prosecutors. These allegations were later found to be unsubstantiated. On 2 November 2008 Carol Rosenberg
, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that Hartmann had filed a request to retire from the Air Force on 17 February 2008.
Hartmann was replaced by his deputy Michael Chapman
, who had been the deputy Legal Advisor since April 2005.
Hartmann attributed his reassigment, and appointment to the new position, to the:
"explosive growth of the commissions over the last 10 or 12 months."
The Air Force described Hartmann new appointment as a promotion. Hartmann's boss at the Pentagon
, William J. Haynes, had resigned in February.
The Operations Director position was "civilianized" in the fall of 2009 following General Hartman's retirement. The current Director of Operations, Mr. Ward K. Johnson, III, was appointed to the post in November 2009. Mr. Johnson had previosuly served on active duty with the U.S. Army as a Branch Chief, Presiding Officer and Tribunal President with (OARDEC) under the control of the DEPSECDEF, Mr. Gordon England. Mr. Johnson had previously served as Director of Operations (J-3) of the North Dakota National Guard, Provost Marshal for the North Dakota Joint Forces Headquarters, and Commander of the North Dakota Joint Training Center among other senior positions in the North Dakota National Guard. Mr. Johnson is a 2005 graduate of the United States Army War College and has been a lawyer licensed to practice law since 1988.
The position was to be filled by a flag officer, who was to report directly to the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
's General Counsel, who was at the time William J. Haynes.
Haynes has subsequently resigned, and the first Director reported to Gordon England and acting General Counsel Daniel J. Dell'Orto. England had two separate jobs: Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Designated Civilian Official
Designated Civilian Official
The Designated Civilian Official is the title of the civilian appointed to head the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants .The DCO and OARDEC were officially created on June 23, 2004.-Announcement:...
, the individual in charge of the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants (OARDEC).
The Operations Director's duties included the initiation, review, staffing, coordination and execution of all planning and development matters relating to Military Commissions, including organizational, systems and legal policy improvements to the commission process.
The Director was to serve as the point of contact between the Office of Military Commissions
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
and all other Agencies.
The first officer to be appointed Director was Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Thomas W. Hartmann
Thomas W. Hartmann
Thomas W. Hartmann is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He has 32 years of criminal, commercial and civil litigation experience. Between 1983 and 1991 he was a prosecutor and defense counsel in the Air Force, including duties as Chief Air Force Prosecutor in...
a military lawyer in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Hartmann had previously been the Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority
Convening Authority
The term convening authority is used in United States military law to refer to an individual whose job includes appointing officers to play a role in a court-martial, or similar military tribunal or military commission...
for the Office of Military Commissions. The Convening Authority is a civilian position, currently held by VADM Bruce MacDonald, the former TJAG of the US NAvy (Pentagon).
As Legal Advisor Hartmann was essentially the second in command.
Hartmann had been reassigned from the position of Legal Advisor after the officers Presiding over three separate Guantanamo military commissions had barred him from participation after he was accused of putting "undue command influence" on Prosecutors. These allegations were later found to be unsubstantiated. On 2 November 2008 Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg is a senior journalist, currently with the McClatchy News Service.Rosenberg works at the Miami Herald, which has provided extensive coverage of the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-Biography:...
, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that Hartmann had filed a request to retire from the Air Force on 17 February 2008.
Hartmann was replaced by his deputy Michael Chapman
Michael Chapman (lawyer)
Michael Chapman is an American lawyer, and former senior officer, in the United States Army's Judge Advocate General corps, who was appointed the legal adviser to the Office of Military Commissions, in Guantanamo on September 19, 2008....
, who had been the deputy Legal Advisor since April 2005.
Hartmann attributed his reassigment, and appointment to the new position, to the:
"explosive growth of the commissions over the last 10 or 12 months."
The Air Force described Hartmann new appointment as a promotion. Hartmann's boss at the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, William J. Haynes, had resigned in February.
The Operations Director position was "civilianized" in the fall of 2009 following General Hartman's retirement. The current Director of Operations, Mr. Ward K. Johnson, III, was appointed to the post in November 2009. Mr. Johnson had previosuly served on active duty with the U.S. Army as a Branch Chief, Presiding Officer and Tribunal President with (OARDEC) under the control of the DEPSECDEF, Mr. Gordon England. Mr. Johnson had previously served as Director of Operations (J-3) of the North Dakota National Guard, Provost Marshal for the North Dakota Joint Forces Headquarters, and Commander of the North Dakota Joint Training Center among other senior positions in the North Dakota National Guard. Mr. Johnson is a 2005 graduate of the United States Army War College and has been a lawyer licensed to practice law since 1988.