Fort Meade provides venue for court-martials, legal hearings, telecasts

By Lisa R. RhodesApril 20, 2012

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (April 19, 2012) -- For several years, Fort Meade has provided support for a string of high-profile legal proceedings, from Abu Ghraib abuses to the trial of Pfc. Bradley Manning.

"Our history of support gives us the institutional knowledge to be able to handle the logistics for some of the more high-profile legal cases the Department of Defense is prosecuting right now," said Doug Wise, chief of Plans and Operations for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.

Last week, the Department of Defense's Office of Military Commissions conducted two days of motion hearings from April 11-12 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the case of the U.S. v. Al Nashiri.

A closed-circuit telecast of the proceedings was held at the Media Operations Center at Smallwood Hall for local, national and international media covering the proceedings. The general public could view the proceedings from the Post Theater.

Al Nashiri is alleged to have planned and prepared the attack on the USS Cole in the Port of Aden in Yemen. The attack on Oct. 12, 2000, killed 17 Sailors, wounded 37 Sailors and severely damaged the ship.

On May 5, when OMC arraigns the five men accused of planning and executing the Sept. 11 attacks, the closed-circuit telecasts from Guantanamo Bay will again be available to the media and the public.

These hearings include defendant Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and are expected to draw media attention and interest from the general public.

"The challenge will be in the increased number interested in coming," said David Oten, public affairs officer, Office of Military Commissions. "Where 10 to 20 reporters might attend a normal hearing, we expect to fill all 70 seats with National Capital Region- and New York-based media for 9/11."

In addition to assisting with the OMC hearings, Fort Meade has provided the Military District of Washington, the convening authority in Manning's case, with a location and the logistical support for his court-martial proceedings. Manning is accused of leaking secret government documents to WikiLeaks.

The installation will support MDW in a motion hearing beginning Tuesday as part of the Manning court-martial.

In 2006, Fort Meade provided support to MDW in legal proceedings for military dog handlers charged with the maltreatment of detainees at the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility, Abu Ghraib, Iraq.

In 2010, Fort Meade provided support to MDW in the court-martial of Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, a physician who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama's citizenship.

The court-martials are conducted in the Fort Meade courthouse on Llewellyn Avenue.

DPTMS has tasked for support the Directorate of Emergency Services, the Public Affairs Office, the Directorate of Family and Morale, Recreation and Welfare, the Network Enterprise Center, the Directorate of Public Works and the Directorate of Logistics.

For the OMC closed-circuit telecasts, DPTMS also has supported a contractor for OMC in setting up equipment for the telecasts.

DES has provided security for the Post Theater during the OMC telecasts and has used metal detectors to scan individuals entering the theater.

For the Manning proceedings, DES has assigned military police and Department of the Army civilian police to the courtroom and surrounding grounds.

All court proceedings are open to the public, but Manning's case has drawn strong public attention. The Physical Security Division of DES has manned the Demps Visitor Control Center to ensure that visitors receive the proper credentials to enter the post.

In December 2011, when about 150 people demonstrated outside the gate in protest of the Manning hearing, DES worked to handle the situation with MPs from Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir in Virginia; Department of the Army civilian police officers from Aberdeen Proving Ground; National Security Agency Police; and Anne Arundel County Police.

Although there were no disturbances or arrests, DES Director Maj. J. Darrell Sides said MPs underwent two days of crowd control training to prepare for the protest.

To handle any protesters who were apprehended, the DES stood up an indoor police processing center at the Pavilion.

"FMWR was critical in placing this portion of our response plan into action along with [the] Network Enterprise Center," Sides said. "They basically turned that hollow cold building into a police station."

In addition, the Pavilion was wired to support closed-circuit television, and fiber optic cable was provided for critical computer systems.

DES worked with Emergency Medical Services and the Anne Arundel County Fire Department to handle any possible injuries during the protest.

NSA Police provided DES with a mobile communications vehicle to establish a second dispatch center to handle additional calls in relation to the protest.

"We had collectively accomplished our mission perfectly," Sides said. "I have never been more proud of our entire DES team as I was that day in December."

PAO is responsible for handling logistical support to media reporting on the OMC and MDW proceedings. PAO, along with MDW's public affairs personnel, first meet members of the media at the Reece Road gate to ensure they are credentialed to gain entry on post.

All media are escorted to the Media Operations Center, and at the end of the day, they are returned to the gate.

A maximum of 10 reporters are provided seating in the courtroom, while the remaining reporters view the courtroom activity in the Media Operations Center.

A set-up, which allows broadcast journalists to conduct live shots, is positioned near Murphy Field House.

For the first day of Manning's hearing last December, more than 75 media members arrived on Fort Meade to cover the proceeding.

Chad T. Jones, Fort Meade's public affairs officer, handled all press inquiries in relation to the protesters.

"I think we've got the process down now," said Mary Doyle, Fort Meade's chief of media relations. "Over time, we've developed procedures and we know what the steps are."

Before the legal procedures for the Manning case began, DPW upgraded the courtroom last summer. Upgrades included installing two new bathrooms, adding three small offices, enlarging the jury box, installing a divider between the legal teams and the audience, removing wallpaper, painting the walls and installing acoustical panels to manage the sound.

DPW is now renovating a room in the adjacent Civilian Personnel Advisory Center that also will be used for legal proceedings.

To accommodate the legal teams, DPW acquired six office trailers and two latrine trailers. DPW also provided a walkway canopy from the trailers to the courtroom and purchased two generators to provide electrical power to the trailers. The DOL is responsible for refueling the generators.

The Network Enterprise Center has provided computer and telephone connectivity in the Media Operations Center, trailers and courtroom.

In addition to logistics, Fort Meade also provides meals for the legal teams from the Freedom Inn Dining Facility and for the media from Club Meade.

Oten said Fort Meade's assistance "has been exemplary, making a very difficult task look easy."

Wise said the legal proceedings have given Fort Meade the opportunity to pool its resources to meet consistently high standards.

"It's making us work as a staff," he said. "It really has been a team effort and has required most directorates to provide support in their area of expertise."

Related Links:

Fort Meade on Twitter

Fort Meade, Md.

Office of Military Commissions

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