Briefly: Reserve general officer assignments announced

The Army chief of staff has announced several Army Reserve general officer assignments.

Brig. Gen. Roosevelt Barfield has been nominated to become deputy commander of the Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa command in Djibouti.

Barfield is currently Army National Guard action officer, Homeland Defense Directorate, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs, in Washington.

Brig. Gen. Charles D. Luckey has been tapped to become chief of the Office of Security Cooperation, Multi-National Security Transition Command—Iraq. He most recently served as commander (troop program unit), 78th Operations Group, Fort Dix, N.J.

And Col. James T. Walton, has been selected for brigadier general and named commander of the 335th Theater Signal Command (provisional) in Kuwait. Walton is currently deputy commander of the 63rd Regional Readiness Command, Moffett Field, Calif.

Navy names destroyer after fallen SEAL

The Navy has named its newest destroyer after Lt. Michael Murphy, a SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in 2005 in Afghanistan.

Murphy led a four-man SEAL team that was tracking a high value target when they got into a fierce battle with close to 200 Taliban.

Surrounded by Taliban fighters, Murphy exposed himself to enemy fire to call in for backup. Despite being shot twice in the back, he was able to complete the call.

Murphy and two of his teammates died, and the backup team was shot down, but his actions allowed the one surviving SEAL from the team to be rescued later.

The Michael Murphy will be the 62nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Gitmo judge threatens to suspend trial

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A military judge at Guantanamo Bay is threatening to suspend the trial of a Canadian detainee unless the government provides defense lawyers with day-to-day records of his confinement.

Attorneys for Omar Khadr say details of his interrogations and mental health could provide grounds to suppress self-incriminating statements at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba. Khadr is accused of killing a U.S. solider in Afghanistan.

The judge is Army Col. Peter Brownback, who expressed frustration at a pretrial hearing Thursday that the government has not complied with his instructions to give the records to the defense.

He gave government until May 22 to comply or he will suspend proceedings.