Fred Borch Colonel Frederic L . Borch ( born 1954 ) is a career United States Army attorney with a Master ' s in National Security Studies , who served as Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions . He resigned his commission in August 2005 after three prosecutors complained that he had rigged the system against providing due process to defendants . He was replaced by Robert L . Swann He worked for a time as a civilian consultant for the prosecution teams of the Guantanamo military commissions . In 2006 he was hired for the position of the first archive historian for the Judge Advocate General Corps . He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship for 2012 - 2013 to serve as a Visiting Professor at the University of Leiden , teaching issues in terrorism and counter - terrorism . Education . Borch earned a B . A . in history from Davidson College in 1976 , and was commissioned into the U . S . Army . He studied law at the University of North Carolina for his J . D . degree , then at the University of Brussels for an LL . M . in International and Comparative Law ( magna cum laude ) < / ref > Military career . A legal assistant to Fort Benning ' s Army Infantry School and the 325th Infantry Regiment , Borch spent two years as a defense counsel at the Army ' s Trial Defense Service in Kaiserslautern , Germany . In 1987 , Borch enrolled for a year at the Judge Advocate General ' s school in Charlottesville , Virginia and received his degree in Military Law . He was assigned to Fort Bragg ' s XVIII Airborne Corps , while also serving as a civilian assistant District Attorney for North Carolina In 1990 , Borch began a 3 - year term as professor of Criminal Law at the JAG school , specialising in Fourth Amendment application . Following this position , he studied at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth . He was next assigned to a job with the Joint Service Committee for Military Justice , between the JAG office and the Pentagon . He drafted legislation related to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and proposed changes to the Manual for Courts - Martial . Borch oversaw the successful 1997 prosecution of 13 drill sergeant s accused of sexual misconduct at Aberdeen Proving Ground , and was promoted to Deputy Chief in the Army ’ s Government Appellate Division . The following year , he was made Staff Judge Advocate for Fort Gordon ' s Army Signal Center . He attended the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island and graduated at the top of his class , receiving his Masters Degree in National Security Studies in 2001 . He took a position as a professor of International Law , focusing on counter - terrorism . Guantanamo Bay military commission . Responding to the United States Supreme Court decision in " Rasul v . Bush " ( 2004 ) that detainees had the right to challenge their detention before an impartial tribunal , the Department of Defense set up a system of Combatant Status Review Tribunals , Administrative Review Boards , and Military Commissions , the last to try defendants charged with war crimes . Borch was appointed as Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commission in 2004 . He worked to prepare for trials starting in 2005 . Alleged corruption of the Guantanamo hearings . On June 15 , 2005 Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that : In August 2005 the prosecutors Capt . John Carr , Maj . Robert Preston wrote that Borch told them that the presiding officers had been chosen because they would be sure to convict . He reportedly said that all evidence that suggested that the suspects were innocent would be given a " secret " security classification , which would exclude it from the defense teams ' review or knowledge . Borch denounced the two men ' s statements , claiming they were " monstrous lies " , but resigned his commission Following Borch ' s replacement both Peter Brownback , the commission ' s President , and Swann , the replacement for Chief Prosecutor , recommended the removal of the other two members of the commission , Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Timothy K . Toomey and Army Lieutenant Colonel Curt S . Cooper . Toomey was an intelligence officer who had helped capture suspects in Afghanistan . Cooper had admitted to referring to Guantanamo prisoners indiscriminately as " terrorists . " Later life . After retirement from the military , Borch worked for the Guantanamo prosecution teams as a civilian consultant . In addition , he has been serving as President of the Orders and Medals Society of America since 2010 and he is an active contributor to its journal . In 2006 Borch was hired for the position of the first archive historian for the JAG office . In 2009 , Borch was hired by The American Film Company as an adviser for the production of " The Conspirator " ( 2010 ) . Directed by Robert Redford , the movie is about the military commission that in 1865 tried Mary Surratt and the other conspirators in the Lincoln assassination . The film stars James McAvoy and Robin Wright . Borch was awarded a Fulbright fellowship for 2012 - 2013 , as a Visiting Professor at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands . He will teach international law relating to terrorism and counter - terrorism . Military works . The Department of Defense published several books by him :