Mark Steven Martins (born July 26, 1960) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer. He attained the rank of brigadier general in the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers ("judge advocates"), who provide legal service ...

. Martin's final position was Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions, overseeing the trial of

Khalid Sheik Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaykh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born 14 April 1965), often known by his initials KSM, is a terrorist, and the former head of propaganda for the pan-Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. He ...

and four co-defendants.

Early life

Martins attended high school in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

. His father was a colonel in the US Army as well as the chief of neurosurgery at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

Education

Martins attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

for one year before being admitted to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point. He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BS) from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1983, graduating first in his class of 833 students. After graduation, Martins attended Army Ranger School. He was then awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

and attended

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) in 1985 with first class honors. He also holds a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

(JD) from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

where he served on the

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

with

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and graduated magna cum laude, a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LLM) in

Military Law Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

from

The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

(graduating first in his class), and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences (MMAS) from the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

(graduating first in his class).

Military career

Martins commissioned into the Infantry Branch of the US Army and served as a platoon leader in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

in 1983. In 1987, he was accepted into the Army's Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP). Upon his graduation from

in 1990, Martins became a

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in the

. His military education includes: * Infantry Officer Basic Course * Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course * Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course * Combined Arms and Services Staff School *

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

Since becoming a judge advocate, Martins has held a number of positions. This includes Trial Counsel, Chief of Legal Assistance, Chief of Administrative Law, Operational Law Attorney, and Senior Trial Counsel for the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

. Martins was also the Instructor of International and Operational Law and deputy director of the Center for Law and Military Operations. Additionally, Martins served overseas as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the 1st Infantry Division while stationed in Germany. he was also the Chief of Staff of USKFOR and the Legal Advisor to Commanding General, Task Force Falcon while stationed in Kosovo. Furthermore, he was also the Deputy Legal Counsel to the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

. From 2006 to 2008, Martins led the Rule of Law campaign for

Multi-National Force - Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more na ...

. While in Iraq, Martins coordinated the work of United States and coalition investigative, corrections, and judicial experts and directed MNF-I support to Iraq's courts and law enforcement institutions. He is reportedly a close friend of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...

, and the two frequently went running together in Iraq. In September 2009 he was appointed the Deputy Commanding General of Joint Task Force 435, charged with reforming military detention operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. During this time, he also co-led the interagency Detention Policy Task Force. By February 2010 he was overseeing detainee operations at the Detention Facility in Parwan (DFIP) which replaced the

Bagram Theater Internment Facility The Parwan Detention Facility (also called Detention Facility in Parwan or Bagram prison) is Afghanistan's main military prison. Situated next to the Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, the prison was built by the U.S. during ...

. In the fall of 2010, Martins assumed command of the new Rule of Law Field Force - Afghanistan, which works to transform problem areas into secure and accountable legal environments. In a lecture following his acceptance of Harvard Law School's Medal of Freedom in 2011, Martins said:

fghanistan'slack of governance … is accompanied by a lack of confidence in the government's ability to deliver justice, resolve civil disputes and address a perceived culture of impunity among the powerful. Establishing the rule of law in these districts is critical to the kind of sound governance that will enable an enduring transition of security responsibility to Afghan forces and deny that rugged country as a sanctuary for global threats.

Martins became the Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions in 2011 at

Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by ...

. During this time, he reportedly requested not to be considered for a promotion as Martins was in-line for a promotion to major general, though he felt that a promotion would be disruptive to his work in Guantánamo. In 2013, the army extended Martin's retirement beyond the scheduled late 2014 date, then to 2019, and finally to 2023. In 2021, he decided to retire effective September 30, 2021, before the start of the 9/11 trials. Martins' retirement announcement came as a surprise to many, though Martins was actually due to retire many times before 2021.

Military awards

Martins is a recipient of the

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

(two awards), and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

(multiple awards). His badges include the Ranger Tab, the

Expert Infantryman Badge The Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) is a special skills badge of the United States Army. The EIB was created with the CIB by executive order in November 1943 during World War II. Currently, it is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold infantry ...

, the

Senior Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings", is a Military badges of the United States, military badge of the United States Armed Forces. Some services, such as the Marine Corps, officially refer to it as an insignia instead o ...

, the

Pathfinder Badge The Pathfinder Badge is a military badge of the United States Army awarded to soldiers who complete the U.S. Army Sabalauski Air Assault School's Pathfinder Course or the Army National Guard, Warrior Training Center, Mobile Training Team's Pathf ...

, and the

Air Assault Badge The Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, dated 18 January 1978, last accessed 16 October 2020 is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the United States Army Air Assault School, Air Assault School. The course includes ...

Personal life

Martins is married. His wife Kate is also a West Point graduate, and was a helicopter pilot in the US Army. They have two children. Martins' son Nate also attended West Point and completed

Ranger School The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training w ...

in the US Army. His daughter, Hannah, was in

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Mark S. 1960 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford United States Army Rangers Harvard Law School alumni United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal American military prosecutors American people of Portuguese descent