From May through November of 2014, Kandahar Air Field served as Capt. Carlos Ramirez-Vazquez’s home office.
“I didn’t leave the base,” Ramirez said after returning to his home in Fort Hood, Tex. in mid-November. “You only left if you needed to, and I never needed to.”
Ramirez had been deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as chief of military justice – the lead prosecutor – for the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. It was Ramirez’s first deployment overseas after spending the previous three years as trial counsel and special assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Lee, Va. and then as a senior trial counsel for the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood.
The assignment came as a surprise to Ramirez, who hoped to handle operational law when he reached Afghanistan. But they needed a seasoned prosecutor, and duty called.
Despite the drawdown of U.S. forces that began in 2012, some 10,000 to 15,000 troops from the division remained in several bases stretched across the eastern half of Afghanistan, serving largely as advisors to Afghan forces.
Ramirez supervised a team of five prosecutors that handled some 120 cases over the course of his deployment, including six that were referred back to the U.S. for court martial proceedings.
“Misconduct happens everywhere,” Ramirez said, explaining that the cases ranged from theft of government property to misuse of aircraft and cowardice.
It fell to Ramirez to ensure that whatever punitive action the command sought was pursued and that junior prosecutors did their jobs correctly.
“It is 10 times more difficult to prosecute over there, because everybody is spread out,” Ramirez said. “Most of your witnesses are moving – they’ve got missions to run, equipment to move and a specific set of tasks that have to be done quickly in a combat situation.”
Military justice has entailed certain adjustments for Ramirez, whose co-op placement with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office left him expecting greater prosecutorial discretion than he enjoyed in Afghanistan.
“Our job is pretty much to advise,” he said. “Here, a commander makes the decision about what punishment to seek.”
At times, Ramirez advised allowing the Afghan government to handle some matters, although that required him and members of his team to quickly get up to speed on that nation’s laws and consult with the U.S. embassy.
Fortunately, Ramirez’s team was made up of well-trained prosecutors.
“They were on top of things, so I had the ability to say here’s what I need to get done, and I knew I could count on it to get done right,” Ramirez said.
During his deployment, Ramirez earned both a Commendation Medal from the U.S. Army and a Security Assistance Force Medal from NATO, accomplishments that he neglected to mention to an interviewer but appear on his LinkedIn profile.
Back in Texas, Ramirez is excited to focus on a new arena of practice: administrative law, handling contracts as well as regulatory and ethical matters. He will be able once again to enjoy luxuries like actual days off and the freedom to watch movies in a theater, instead of an on-base conference room.
But Ramirez had no complaints about the rigors of his deployment.
“We had decent lodging – it was a building with plumbing. I had Internet access and the same conveniences in my office,” he said. “I liked it as much as you can like anywhere in a war zone.”