Fred Borch

Colonel Frederic L. Borch (born 1954) was a career United States Army attorney with a master's degree in national security studies, who served as chief prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions.

He was replaced by Robert L. Swann[1][2][3] He worked for a time as a civilian consultant for the prosecution teams of the Guantanamo military commissions.

He continued to serve as the Regimental Historian and Archivist while also taking on the mantle of Professor of Legal History and Leadership until his retirement from Federal civilian service in 2023.

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, specializing in Fourth Amendment application.

Borch oversaw the successful 1997 prosecution of 13 drill sergeants accused of sexual misconduct at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and was promoted to Deputy Chief in the Army's Government Appellate Division.

He attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and graduated at the top of his class, receiving his Master's degree in National Security Studies in 2001.

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.

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.