Criminal Investigation Task Force The Criminal Investigation Task Force ( CITF ) was an organization created in early 2002 by the United States Department of Defense to conduct investigation s of detainees captured in the War on Terrorism . It was envisioned that certain captured individuals would be tried by a military tribunal for war crime s and / or acts of terrorism . CITF was initially activated in February 2002 under a mandate from the Secretary of Defense addressed to the Secretary of the Army . The Secretary of the Army formally tasked the US Army Criminal Investigation Command ( CID ) , and CID activated the Criminal Investigation Task Force solely for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations against suspected terrorists detained by US forces . Under the Secretary of Defense directive , the Army was directed to maximize the capabilities of all the Services , and therefore coordinated with the US Air Force and US Navy to assist . The CITF included members from four of five of the branches of the U . S . armed forces ; Army Criminal Investigation Division ( CID ) , the Naval Criminal Investigative Service ( NCIS ) , the United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division ( CID ) , and the U . S . Air Force Office of Special Investigations ( OSI ) . Other personnel for the CITF came from military intelligence and support organizations . From time to time , liaison personnel and others from Federal Law Enforcement and other government agencies were attached to the CITF . An element from the CITF was initially deployed to Afghanistan with the goal of identifying captured terrorists , and to collect evidence for use in Military Commissions . Suspected terrorists were temporarily held at the Kandahar or Bagram Dentention Facilities . Another element of the CITF was deployed to US Naval Base , Gunatanamo Bay , Cuba . After the invasion of Iraq , CITF deployed yet another element to Iraq , initially to prepare for the possible transfer of detainees in Iraq to Guantanamo . Later , CITF began to collect evidence for use in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq . CITF also maintained its role in military operations by assisting Special Operations Command ( SOCOM ) with forensic evidence collection . In military , and law enforcement agencies , " Task Forces " are temporary organizations created to conduct a specialized mission or task . Members of " Joint Task Forces " are drawn from many different units . However , the CITF was never formally given the designation of a " Joint Task Force . " The CITF has operated worldwide and by 2005 had conducted over 1500 investigations and 10 , 000 interviews , and collected large amounts of evidence both in places where persons were captured and elsewhere . The results of CITF investigations has been used in military commissions ( tribunals ) at the Guantánamo Bay detainment camp and other legal proceedings in Afghanistan and Iraq . . The CITF has provided evidence to Iraqi Courts to prosecute insurgents and foreign fighters captured in Iraq for crimes there , and has assisted other US and international law enforcement agencies . As a result of widespread criticism of reported human rights abuses at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan , Iraq , and elsewhere , most notably the Iraq prison abuse scandals , including torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib and Bagram , a great deal of media and public attention was given to the methods used by the CITF and other U . S . military and civilian agencies in interrogation s and other activities . Senior law enforcement agents with the CITF told msnbc . com in 2006 that they began to complain to Department of Defense officials in 2002 that the interrogation tactics used by a separate team of intelligence investigators were unproductive , not likely to produce reliable information , and probably illegal . Unable to achieve a satisfactory response from the U . S . Army commanders in charge of the detainee camp , they took their concerns to both the Army Criminal Investigation Command under General Donald Ryder , and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service under David Brant . Brant alerted Alberto J . Mora , the general counsel for the Navy . The first commander of the CITF was Colonel ( now retired ) Brittain Mallow , and his Deputy was Special Agent Mark Fallon . Their names have been in several articles and also mentioned during Congressional testimony . Some copies of government documents detailing CITF policies and practices have become publicly available through after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act request and subsequently a lawsuit . There have been numerous discussions in congress and in the press and online regarding the differences between the CITF and other law enforcement methods , and those of the intelligence organizations involved with detainees . The CITF staff by all reports appear to have used only non - coercive , non - torturous methods in questioning detainees .