John D. Altenburg
Encyclopedia
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
John D. Altenburg Jr. (U.S. Army ret.) (b. June 10, 1944) is a former Green Beret
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
and a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
for the U.S. Army. In December 2003,
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald 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...
named Altenburg as the appointing authority for military commissions covering detainees at Guantanamo
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
. He resigned, effective November 10, 2006.
Childhood, education and enlisted military service
Altenburg grew up in DaytonDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, where he attended Chaminade High School
Chaminade-Julienne High School
Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School is a private, co-educational, center-city, Catholic high school located in downtown Dayton, Ohio, operated by the Society of Mary and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. It is named after Blessed William Joseph Chaminade and St...
, before his parents moved to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
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 a Hamilton County, Ohio Catholic summer camp, Fort Scott Camps. He earned his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and International studies
International studies
International Studies generally refers to the specific University Degrees and courses which are concerned with the study of ‘the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues that dominate the international agenda’...
at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
in 1966. He taught English at Cincinnati Elder High School from 1967 to 1968, the spring of 1970, and the 1970 Summer Enrichment Program.
He entered the US Army in June 1968, serving as an enlisted soldier at Fort Knox, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
; Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
; and finally Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
until honorably discharged in March 1970. He enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Law
University of Cincinnati College of Law
The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the fourth oldest continually running law school in the United States and a founding member of the Association of American Law Schools. It was started in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School...
, where received his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1973.
He completed the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course in 1973, and later the Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course. He was awarded a Master’s Degree in Military Art and Science by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1986, in conjunction with his completion of the Command and General Staff Officer Course. He completed the year’s study in National Security Strategy at the National War College in 1992.
U.S. Army career
Altenburg was commissioned as a United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer after law school. He was assigned to the office of the Center Judge Advocate, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After serving as a criminal defense attorney, he was the Judge Advocate, 5th Special Forces Group, and Prosecutor for the JFK Center for almost four years. He subsequently served as the Chief Prosecutor at XVIII Airborne Corps before moving to Germany for service with the 3rd Armored Division, again as Chief Prosecutor for three years.
He authored a training film, “NCO Authority: Destroying the Myths”, that became mandatory viewing by all Army noncommissioned officers for several years and continues in use more than 25 years after production. Following tours in the Pentagon Office of the Judge Advocate General and the Office of the Judge Advocate in Heidelberg, Germany, he was the Staff Judge Advocate, 1st Armored Division, including deployment to Desert Storm in 1991. He helped demonstrate the ability of Army units to maintain proper discipline in a combat theatre when his office tried three general courts-martial near the front lines the day before the ground assault into Iraq.
As the Staff Judge Advocate, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg he deployed to south Florida in 1992 for humanitarian relief operations after Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
. He deployed to Haiti with Joint Task Force 180 in 1994 for peacekeeping operations. During his three years at Fort Bragg, he was instrumental in resolving land use issues and protecting the Army’s interests by working closely with the Fayetteville City Council and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. He played a key negotiating and coordinating role in effecting the eventual purchase of 10,000 acres (40 km²) of additional training land contiguous to Fort Bragg.
He served for 28 years as a lawyer in the Army. From 1997 to 2001, he was the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Army. Altenburg retired at the rank of Major General. His service was marked by extensive experience in military justice, international law and operations law. He was one of several key JAG Corps leaders who helped transform the practice of law in the Army by insisting that lawyers acquire soldier skills and immerse themselves in their clients’ business to become more effective advocates.
- Deputy Judge Advocate General, Department of the Army, 1997–2001
- Assistant Judge Advocate General for Military Law and Operations, Department of the Army, 1995–1997
- Judge Advocate, U.S. Army, 1973-1995
Awards and decorations
Army Distinguished Service MedalDistinguished Service Medal (Army)The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...
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...
(2)
Bronze StarBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
(2)- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Meritorious Service Medal (4)
- Joint Service Commendation Medal
- Army Commendation Medal (3)
- Army Achievement Medal
- Master Parachutist Badge
- Combat Diver’s Badge
- Special Forces Tab
Civilian law practice
Following his 2002 retirement from the Army, Altenburg was a consultant on corporate governance and ethics issues to the President, World Bank Group in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
before moving to Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig LLP and Greenberg Traurig PA is an international law firm based in Miami, Florida.The firm has approximately 1,800 attorneys and governmental professionals in 32 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its founding office is in Miami, Florida with its largest office in...
, a large, international, corporate law firm, where he focused his practice on contract litigation, corporate investigations and governance, and international law.
His community activities included:
- Vice Chair, Board of Directors, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
- U.S. Representative, Experts Panel, International Institute of Humanitarian Law
- Trustee, Board of Trustees, Joseph House for Homeless Veterans
- President, Board of Governors, Judge Advocates Association
- President, Board of Governors, The Army and Navy Club
- Member, Joint Regional Land Use Committee
- President, Board of Governors, VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association
- Member, House of Delegates, American Bar Association, 2010
- Chairman, Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law, American Bar Association, 2011
- Director, Board of Directors, The Washington Ballet, 2008-2011
Named appointing authority for Military Commissions
In December 2003, 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...
appointed General Altenburg to serve as the appointing authority for 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 :...
.
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 November 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.
After the Military Commissions were declared by the Supreme Court to require additional Congressional authority, the Congress effected new legislation in order to allow a modified form of the commissions to proceed. The Military Commissions Act passed in September 2006. "Altenburg said he agreed to stay on the job until a draft manual implementing the new Military Commissions Act was complete. He said the draft went to superiors at the Pentagon and Justice Department on October 27, and he submitted his resignation immediately afterwards. His last day was November 10."
Named Bradley Chair for Strategic Leadership
Altenburg served as the 2010-2011 General of the Armies Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Bradley Chair was established in 2002 as a joint academic chair offering a visiting scholar the opportunity to encourage civilian-military dialogue and share lessons on leadership, globalization, technology, and cultural change with students and faculty at Dickinson College, the Army War College, and Penn State University's Dickinson College of Law. The Chair is sponsored by the three colleges and supported by the Army War College Foundation.External links
- Department of Defense press release
- Detainments, definition of war questioned: A retired military lawyer probes the legality of the war on terror while at the College of William and Mary, Daily Press, November 10, 2005
- Guantanamo Bay detainees topic for military lawyer, William and Mary News, November 18, 2005
- Thomas Zimmerman, Army War College Public Affairs Office, Altenburg shares lessons on officership, freedom of speech
- http://www.media.wayne.edu/2011/05/11/alumni-association-celebrates-75th-anniversary-at-alumni
- http://www.law.uc.edu/alumni/connect/distinguished-alumni-award