KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Col. Thomas Pappas — the officer in charge of interrogations at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during the infamous prison abuse scandal — has lost his command.
Pappas, who has been in charge of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade in Wiesbaden since 2003, was relieved of command effective Monday, the Army said Thursday.
The official announcement came one day after a Pentagon official told Stars and Stripes that Pappas had been given nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of duty and fined $8,000. Pappas’ punishment stems from two instances related to interrogation operations at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and early 2004.
Maj. Gen. Bennie Williams, commander of the 21st Theater Support Command, acted as the convening authority in the case. Following a two-hour Article 15 hearing Monday evening at Panzer Casern in Kaiserslautern, Williams rendered his decision.
Williams found that Pappas had failed to ensure that subordinates were adequately informed of, trained, and supervised in the application of interrogation procedures.
Williams also found that Pappas failed to obtain the approval of superior commanders before authorizing a nonsanctioned interrogation technique, specifically, the presence of military working dogs during the questioning of a detainee, according to the release.
“Col. Pappas did present a defense on his own behalf, and Gen. Williams took all the evidence into careful consideration before making his decision,” said Maj. Mark Wright, 21st TSC public affairs chief.
The maximum punishment that could have been imposed was 30 days’ house arrest or 60 days’ restriction, a written reprimand, and forfeiture of $4,087.00 per month for two months, according to the Army release.
Pappas, who did not demand a trial by court-martial, did not appeal Williams’ decision, the release stated.
Attempts to reach Pappas through the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade and V Corps were unsuccessful Thursday.
Thursday’s action severely damages Pappas’ military career that began in May 1981. He was scheduled to rotate out of his current position as 205th commander in early June.
“Something like this is considered extremely damaging, if not career-ending,” Wright said. “It would be extraordinarily difficult for an officer to recover after having something like this put in his record.”
As it stands, Pappas will work at V Corps headquarters in Heidelberg, on duties yet to be determined, until his reassignment, said Col. Roger King, chief of public affairs for U.S. Army Europe.
Pappas is the second-highest officer to be punished as a result of the Abu Ghraib scandal. Last week, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski was reduced to the rank of colonel and forced to relinquish command of the 800th Military Police Brigade, part of the Army Reserve.
Karpinski was responsible for all prison facilities in Iraq when the Abu Ghraib abuses took place in the fall of 2003. The abuses were highlighted in photos showing naked detainees posed in humiliating situations, handcuffed in painful positions or frightened by police dogs.
Other high-ranking officials with ties to Abu Ghraib have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, current V Corps commander and commander of U.S. troops in Iraq at the time, along with his deputy, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, and his senior intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, were cleared in a Army inspector general report earlier this month.
In previous statements, Pappas has said he felt he never had full control of Abu Ghraib operations.
Pappas told Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, the initial investigator of the abuse allegation, in Feb. 2004 that he “had no visibility over the operation” once prisoners left the confines of the interrogation rooms, “nor did I concern myself with it. Perhaps I should have.”
Pappas’ military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and several others.
