Selection of Brigadier General (Retired) Susan K. Escallier as the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions

 

I am pleased to announce the selection of Brigadier General (Retired) Susan K. Escallier to serve as the convening authority for the Office of Military Commissions, effective 8 October 2023. In this position, Brigadier General (Retired) Escallier will oversee the Guantanamo war court, a position that includes approving plea deals and deciding whether prosecutors can seek death sentences.

 

Brigadier General (Retired) Escallier was commissioned in the U.S. Army Signal Corps upon graduation from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988. Following an assignment with the 25th Infantry Division, she received her Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University. She also holds an LL.M in Military Law and a Masters Degree in Resource Strategy. Brigadier General Escallier attended the Judge Advocate Officer Basic and Graduate Courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2021 after 31 years of service.

 

Brigadier General (Retired) Escallier has demonstrated unparalleled expertise in criminal law, both as a prosecutor and military trial judge, with extensive experience in both international and operational law. She most recently served as the Commander of the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency and Chief Judge of the Army’s Court of Criminal Appeals. BG (Ret) Escallier has also served as the Assistant Judge Advocate General for Military Law and Operations, as a Military Judge for both Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, as a Staff Judge Advocate on three separate occasions, as a Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, a Chief of Justice, a Chief of Operational Law, and a Division Chief for the Army Office of the Chief Legislative Liaison, among many other assignments.

 

Throughout her esteemed career, BG (Ret) Escallier has provided superb legal advice in dynamic and multifaceted military operations, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as the legal advisor for the Security Agreement Secretariat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009, as the senior attorney in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve in 2015, and as the Staff Judge Advocate for Joint Force Command United Assistance, which assisted U.S. Government agencies in containing the Ebola virus in Liberia. She has advised on the most difficult of decisions in the most difficult of times, holding the rule of law in the highest regard. I have no doubt that she will continue to excel as the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions.

 

Please join me in congratulating our colleague and friend, Brigadier General (Retired) Escallier, on this well-earned and deserved selection!

//ORIGINAL SIGNED//

 

STUART W. RISCH

Lieutenant General, USA

The Judge Advocate General