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The Director of Operations, Planning and Development for Military Commissions was a new position, created on 19 September 2008.[1][2] 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.[2] 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.[1] 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 Bruce MacDonald (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.[1] 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.[3]
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."[1]
The Air Force described Hartmann new appointment as a promotion. Hartmann's boss at the Pentagon, William J. Haynes, had resigned in February.[4]
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 in North Dakota since 1988.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Guantanamo Trials' Overseer Reassigned [1] Peter Finn 2008-09-20 mirror
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Director of Operations, Planning and Development for Military Commissions [2] mirror
- ↑ 'War court czar' wants to retire [3] Carol Rosenberg 2008-11-02[dead link] mirror
- ↑ DOD general counsel Haynes announces resignation [4] David Frueh February 25, 2008