Change of command made at Guantanamo

The commander of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Navy Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, is leaving for a new assignment after six months at the U.S. naval station in Cuba, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Buzby has been assigned to the Norfolk, Va.-based U.S. Fleet Forces Command, where he will serve as deputy chief of staff for Global Force Management and Joint Force Operations. The timing of his departure has not been released, said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Karen Eifert.

In an interview last year, Buzby said he was presiding over a "fairly calm period" in the history of the prison that holds about 275 men suspected of links to Taliban, al-Qaida or terrorism.

He will be replaced at Guantanamo by Rear Adm. David M. Thomas, who is currently in Norfolk as director of joint operations for Fleet Forces Command, according to the Pentagon statement.