Albert T. Church
Encyclopedia
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
Albert Thomas Church III (born 1947) is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Church served as the Naval Inspector General
Naval Inspector General
The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Navy was established during World War Two to make invistigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations...
and then Director of the Navy Staff until his retirement from active duty in 2005.
Admiral Church is the nephew of the former Idaho Senator Frank Church
Frank Church
Frank Forrester Church III was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981....
, who was an outspoken critic of the U.S. military and national security agencies. The admiral's grandfather, Albert T Church I, was a roommate of Chester W. Nimitz while at the U. S. Naval Academy.
Partial list of postings
| USS Excel | CO | August 1979 – October 1981 |
| USS Fox | XO | April 1983 – April 1985 |
| Surface Warfare Program and Budget Office (OP 30) and the General Planning and Programming Division (OP 80) of OPNAV | staff | May 1985 – October 1987 |
| USS DeWert USS De Wert (FFG-45) USS De Wert , an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is a ship of the United States Navy named for Hospitalman Richard De Wert... |
CO | April 1988 – April 1990 |
| OPNAV N81, BUPERS, Officer Plans and Career Management Division (Pers 21) | Director | |
| Naval Station Norfolk | CO | August 1992 – August 1994 |
| Program and Budget Analysis Division | Chief | August 1994 – July 1996 |
| Shore Installation Management, US Pacific Fleet | Deputy Chief of Staff | September 1996 – June 1988 |
| Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy | Director, Office of Budget | July 1998 – March 2003 |
ISTF - The Church Report
On May 25, 2004, under the direction of Secretary of Defense Donald RumsfeldDonald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, Church assembled a team to conduct an inquiry into detainee interrogation and incarceration, in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. His team interviewed 800 Armed Service members, and Washington policy-makers, and issued their report
Church Report on detainee interrogation
The Church report on detainee interrogation and incarceration is a report completed under the direction of Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, an officer in the United States Navy. Church was then the Naval Inspector General....
on March 2, 2005.
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
Church's committee did not interview a single detainee.
While much of the report remains classified a 22 page narrative, written by Alberto J. Mora
Alberto J. Mora
Alberto J. Mora is a former General Counsel of the Navy. He led an effort within the Defense Department to oppose the legal theories of John Yoo and to try to end coercive interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay, which he argued are unlawful....
, the General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, has been made public.
Mora's narrative was in reply to a request from Church dated June 18, 2004.
Mora's narrative chronicles his efforts, and those of his staff and associates, to make sure the rules for the interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo were brought back into compliance with United States law, and the USA's international obligations.
Mora's narrative describes learning that extended interrogation techniques, which, at least, straddled the border of what could be considered "torture", from David Brant
David Brant
Dave Brant is a retired career Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent and executive. He served NCIS from 1977–2005, leading the agency as its director from 1997 until his retirement in December 2005.-Background and education:...
, the Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
, on December 17, 2002.
Mora's narrative contains several dozen dated entries describing the efforts of him, his staff and associates to get on record an alternate view to that expressed by John Yoo
John Yoo
John Choon Yoo is an American attorney, law professor, and author. As a former official in the United States Department of Justice during the George W...
and Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
.
Mora's narrative sometimes refers to the abuses as alleged abuses, and, in other passages, refers to them as
abuses, without the qualifier that there were merely "alleged".
Awards and medals
Church's personal awards and decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service MedalNavy Distinguished Service Medal
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The decoration is the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Coast...
, Defense Superior Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
The Defense Superior Service Medal is a senior United States military decoration of the Department of Defense, awarded to members of the United States armed forces who perform "superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility."...
, Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(three awards), Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
(three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards) and the Combat Action Ribbon
Combat Action Ribbon
The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard , have actively participated in ground or...
.
Navy Distinguished Service MedalNavy Distinguished Service MedalThe Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The decoration is the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Coast...
Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
with two award stars
Defense Superior Service MedalDefense Superior Service MedalThe Defense Superior Service Medal is a senior United States military decoration of the Department of Defense, awarded to members of the United States armed forces who perform "superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility."...
Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal (United States)The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
with two award stars
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action RibbonCombat Action RibbonThe Combat Action Ribbon is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard , have actively participated in ground or...
External links
- Copy of the report
- PDF Copy of the report
- official USN biography of Albert T. Church
- Statement of Rear Admiral Albert T. Church, Before the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee on The President's Budget Request for Readiness Programs, March 7, 2000