Dirk Padgett is an American lawyer and officer in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

's Judge Advocate corp. Padgett is notable for his appointment to serve as a prosecutor for a Guantanamo military commission. In civilian life Padgett is a Prosecutor in Bedford County

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was hired as the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Bedford County in late 1995. He was recalled to serve a hitch of active duty in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

on October 14, 2004. On January 5, 2005 the ''

Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

'' published an op-ed by Padgett, entitled ''""Beware uninformed blathering about Iraq from the safety of home". Padgett, then a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

serving in

, was critical of civilians at home who criticized the conduct of the war, without ever experiencing military service.

Carol Rosenberg Carol Rosenberg is a senior journalist at ''The New York Times.'' Long a military-affairs reporter at the ''Miami Herald'', from January 2002 into 2019 she reported on the operation of the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, at its nav ...

, writing in the '' Lakeland Ledger'', on July 15, 2009, described the Military Commission's new electronic audio management system malfunctioning when

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Padgett tried to make his opening remarks. According to Rosenberg Padgett requested a delay, while the Obama administration reviewed the military commission system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padgett, Dirk Guantanamo Bay attorneys Living people Year of birth missing (living people)