John D. Altenburg
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Major General John D. Altenburg Jr. (U.S. Army ret.), (b. June 10, 1944), is a former Green Beret, who worked as a camp counselor and high school English teacher before becoming a lawyer for the U.S. Army. In December, 2003,[1] Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld named Altenburg as the appointing authority for military commissions covering detainees at Guantanamo. He resigned, effective November 10, 2006[2]
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[edit] Childhood, education and enlisted military service
Altenburg grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Chaminade High School, before his parents moved to Detroit, Michigan in his senior year. While living in the Detroit area he graduated from Redford St Mary's High School in 1962. From 1960 to 1965, Altenburg worked as a camp counselor at Dayton Catholic summer camp, Fort Scott Camp. He earned his B.A. in English and International studies at Wayne State University in 1966. He taught High school English in the Dayton area.
After serving in Vietnam as an enlisted soldier, he enrolled at the University of Cincinnati Law School. He received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 1973.
[edit] U.S. Army career
Altenburg was commissioned as a U.S. Army officer after law school. He was assigned to the office of the Judge Advocate General. He served for 28 years as a lawyer in the Army. From 1997 to 2001, he was the Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Department of the Army. Altenburg retied from duty at the rank of major general. He gained extensive experience in military justice and operations law during his 28 years of service.
- Assistant Judge Advocate General, Department of the Army, 1997–2001
- Assistant Judge Advocate General, Military Law and Operations, Department of the Army, 1995–1997
- Lawyer U.S. Army before 1995
[edit] Awards and decorations
- Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2),
- Bronze Star Medal (2)
[edit] Civilian law practice
Following his retirement from the Army, Altenburg worked for Washington D.C. corporate law firm, Greenberg Traurig, where he focused his practice on contract litigation and international law. In 2002, he served as a consultant, Office of the President, World Bank Group.
His community activities included:
- Vice President, Board of Directors, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
- U.S. Representative, Experts Panel, International Institute of Humanitarian Law
- Member, Board of Trustees, Joseph House for Homeless Veterans
- Member, Joint Regional Land Use Committee
- President, Board of Governors, VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association
[edit] Named appointing authority for Military Commissions
In December, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appointed General Altenburg to serve as the appointing authority for military commissions.
Military Commission Order No. 1 , dated March 21, 2002, describes the duties of the appointing authority. The appointing authority is responsible for overseeing many aspects of the military commission process, including approving charges against individuals the president has determined are subject to the military order of Nov. 13, 2001. Among other things, the appointing authority is also responsible for appointing military commission members, approving plea agreements and supervising the Office of the Appointing Authority. Altenburg will serve in this capacity as a civilian.[1]
Both the defense and the prosecution teams challenged whether Altenburg was in a conflict of interest is overseeing the commissions, due to his close relationship with Peter Brownback the first commission's President.[3]
After the authority was declard unconsitutional by Supreme Court, new legislation was passed in order to allow a modified form of the commissions to proceed. "Altenburg said he agreed to stay on the job until a draft manual implementing the new Military Commissions Act was done. He said the draft went to higher ups at the Pentagon and Justice Department on Oct. 27, and he submitted his resignation immediately afterwards. His last day was Nov. 10." [2]
[edit] Quotes
- My name is John Altenburg, and I'm a soldier. [4]
[edit] Bibliography
- Co-Author, "Terrorism, State Responsibility, and the Use of Military Force," Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 4, Number 1, pp 97–119, (Spring, 2003).
[edit] References
- ^ a b DOD biography John D. Altenburg, jr. Appointing authority for Military Commissions: biography, US Department of Defense
- ^ a b "Head of Military Commissions Quits", Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2006.
- ^ Prosecutor doubts over Guantanamo trials, Washington Post, September 16, 2004
- ^ UC law grad oversees war trials Cincinnati Enquirer, January 18, 2004
