Washington (CNN) The Marine Corps general who oversees war court defense teams at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay was found guilty of contempt for disobeying orders by a military judge this week and sentenced to 21 days confinement.

Air Force Col. Vance Spath issued the penalty to Brig. Gen. John Baker, the chief defense counsel at the military court, after Baker released three civilian defense attorneys in a case prosecuting those accused of attacking the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.

Baker was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for his actions.

"As in any US, state, federal, or military court, the judge has the obligation and power to enforce decorum in the courtroom," Pentagon spokesman Ben Sakrisson told CNN.

This is the first punitive judgment handed down to an American official since legal proceedings began in the military court at Guantanamo Bay early last decade. The incident was first reported by The Miami Herald

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