Military Commissions Personnel Announcement
September 30, 2014

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appointed retired Maj. Gen. Vaughn A. Ary to the position of convening authority for military commissions.

Ary’s three-year term begins Oct. 1.

During his 27-year career as a Marine Corps officer and judge advocate, Ary served on the staffs of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy where he was responsible for advising senior leadership on the law of armed conflict. His Marine Corps assignments include combat deployments in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Operations Iraqi Freedom I and II; command of 2d Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Depot San Diego; and staff judge advocate for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. His final active duty military assignment was as staff judge advocate to the commandant of the Marine Corps, a position he held until his retirement in July 2014.

Ary received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, his Master of Laws Degree (International Law) from George Washington University, and a Masters of Military Studies from Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

His expertise on international and military law, the depth and breadth of his experiences for more than two decades was taken into consideration for this appointment.

The position of convening authority was created by Congress in the Military Commissions Act. The convening authority is responsible for overseeing many aspects of the military commission process and the administration of the Office of Military Commissions. Among other things, the convening authority reviews and approves the charging of persons alleged to be alien unprivileged enemy belligerents as defined in the Military Commissions Act, appoints military commissions members, and reviews military commissions’ verdicts and sentences.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ary’s biography is available at the Office of Military Commissions website, http://www.mc.mil