Michael Bumgarner
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Michael Bumgarner (born 1959) is an officer in the United States Armed Services.
In 2005 and 2006, he was the commander of the Joint Detention Group, the guard force component of Joint Task Force Guantanamo
.
Detainees described him as the chief American negotiator during the hunger strike that ended July 28, 2005.
They described Colonel Bumgarner making promises that the Americans failed to fulfill.
In reaction to the three June 10, 2006 suicides Bumgarner said: "The trust level is gone. They have shown time and time again that we can't trust them any farther than we can throw them. There is not a trustworthy son of a ... in the entire bunch."
An epilogue to the June 18, 2006 Charlotte article says that when the author made a final courtesy call to Bumgarner, on June 13, 2006, three days after the bases first acknowledged suicides, Bumgarner's deputy answered his phone because she had been appointed acting commander of the guard force, 17 days before the end of his appointment.
COL Bumgarner has recently been the director of the Maneuver Support Center, Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was responsible for developing new concepts for the Army to help protect the force. In that role, he was a popular enthusiastic leader, who toiled endlessly to bring better capabilities and heart to the troops.
COL Bumgarner's final position from 2008-2010 was as the Professor of Military Science for Virginia Tech's Army ROTC program.
According to the
Associated Press
an email from Bumgarner stated: "this blatant misrepresentation of the truth infuriates me."
According to the Associated Press Bumgarner asserted he wanted to refute the story in more detail, but would have to get clearance from his superiors first.
Journalist and attorney Scott Horton
published an article in Harper's magazine
asserting that the three captives did not hang themselves in their cells, but rather died during their interrogations at "Camp No".
According to Horton, during interviews with former guards, he had learned that Bumgarner had briefed guards at 7:00am, hours after the men's death, telling the guards that the press would be fed a false story that the men hung themselves, and that the guards were expected to back this story up.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Michael Bumgarner (born 1959) is an officer in the United States Armed Services.
In 2005 and 2006, he was the commander of the Joint Detention Group, the guard force component of Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the island. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command...
.
Detainees described him as the chief American negotiator during the hunger strike that ended July 28, 2005.
They described Colonel Bumgarner making promises that the Americans failed to fulfill.
In reaction to the three June 10, 2006 suicides Bumgarner said: "The trust level is gone. They have shown time and time again that we can't trust them any farther than we can throw them. There is not a trustworthy son of a ... in the entire bunch."
An epilogue to the June 18, 2006 Charlotte article says that when the author made a final courtesy call to Bumgarner, on June 13, 2006, three days after the bases first acknowledged suicides, Bumgarner's deputy answered his phone because she had been appointed acting commander of the guard force, 17 days before the end of his appointment.
COL Bumgarner has recently been the director of the Maneuver Support Center, Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was responsible for developing new concepts for the Army to help protect the force. In that role, he was a popular enthusiastic leader, who toiled endlessly to bring better capabilities and heart to the troops.
COL Bumgarner's final position from 2008-2010 was as the Professor of Military Science for Virginia Tech's Army ROTC program.
Disputes assertions he participated in a cover-up of murder at Guantanamo
On January 18, 2010, Bumgarner disputed claims he participated in a cover-up of three murder at Guantanamo, of captives who had at the time been reported to have committed suicide.According to the
Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
an email from Bumgarner stated: "this blatant misrepresentation of the truth infuriates me."
According to the Associated Press Bumgarner asserted he wanted to refute the story in more detail, but would have to get clearance from his superiors first.
Journalist and attorney Scott Horton
Scott Horton (lawyer)
Scott Horton is a New York attorney known for his work in human rights law and the law of armed conflict, as well as emerging markets and international law. He graduated Texas Law School in Austin with a JD and was a partner in a large New York law firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler...
published an article in Harper's magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
asserting that the three captives did not hang themselves in their cells, but rather died during their interrogations at "Camp No".
According to Horton, during interviews with former guards, he had learned that Bumgarner had briefed guards at 7:00am, hours after the men's death, telling the guards that the press would be fed a false story that the men hung themselves, and that the guards were expected to back this story up.