The heart of “downtown” GTMO. This is where we shop!
What is this place called GTMO? When I applied to the Department of Defense Education Activity website, I had the option of selecting the countries/locations to which I would be willing to go. I deselected Cuba and then decided on second thought to go ahead and leave it as an option. I thought the chances of getting selected for GTMO were slim and I didn’t want to seem like I was picky.
I, like most people I have talked with since starting this adventure, had a preconceived idea of what Guantanamo Bay Naval Station was all about. My preconceived ideas were based on the media coverage of the detention camps. I was also confused, as many people are, as to how we could possibly even have this base located in a communist country whose leadership has clearly and consistently denounced the United States and all we stand for. I was also genuinely confused by the fact that President Obama was intent on closing down Guantanamo Bay. If this was true, how long would I have a job?
What I have discovered is GTMO is in the midst of an identity crisis. GTMO is more than the sum of its parts. GTMO is a Naval Station, a community, a tropical island paradise, and an isolated outpost in the Caribbean. It also happens to be located in a country with a hostile government, and it happens to have a notorious detention facility. It might even be what Ann Voscamp, author of 1000 Gifts, calls an Ugly Beautiful. In fact that is probably the most succinct and apt description I can imagine. Allow me to explain.
The relationship between Cuba and the US is complicated. The origin of our presence here goes back to the Spanish-American War. We helped to liberate Cuba, so that American corporations could move in. We supported corrupt governments until Castro created a revolution dedicated in part to ridding the American presence from Cuba. Unfortunately his revolution destroyed a free Cuba. A fence went up, armed guards on each side patrol the border to this day. Land mines were laid on both sides. The mines on the American side have mostly been removed; more than 50,000 land mines are believed to still exist on the Cuban side. This is part of the ugly.
Guantanamo Bay Naval Station has also been used as a place to locate misplaced people. Cubans who are expatriated came here in droves after the revolution and continue to come if they can make a case for being a political refugee. (Hard to do these days.) More than 50,000 Haitians escaping Baby Doc came here looking for political asylum in the 1980s – most were returned to the hell they were trying to escape. Finally terrorist combatants were brought to GTMO by the hundreds. Military specialists determined who represented a significant threat to US security or who might be directly tied to a terrorist act. It is estimated that only about 100 detainees remain. The detainees from the war on terror have been incarcerated without a trial for more than 12 years. This is definitely an ugly aspect of GTMO, and the aspect of the base with which the world is most familiar. The troops that work at the detention facility are spit at, cursed at, have feces, urine and semen thrown on them on a daily basis as they patrol the camp. This is as ugly as it gets.
But GTMO is also a Naval Base charged with the security of this region of the world. It is sometimes a refueling stop for ships cruising this part of the world’s waterways. The Coast Guard patrols the waters and constantly rescues people who are traveling in unsafe vessels. The base is strategically located to fight the war on drugs. The base is a legitimate and important part of the United States defense system. President Obama has a been vocal about closing the detention facility, but no one is talking about closing the base. The overall mission of the base is neither ugly nor beautiful; it’s functional.
Approximately 7500 people make their home on GTMO. This includes the sailors, soldiers, and airmen who work to sustain the primary mission of the base. It also includes about 220 marines charged with guarding the perimeter of the base. Finally, it includes several hundred Army and National Guard troops who maintain the detention camps. It also includes members of every three letter agency you can think of : FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, NSA…. It includes various Department of Defense civilian employees like the Dodds’ teachers. Finally military contractors make up the balance of the base residents. These contractors provide a variety of support services including the maintenance and custodial services of the base. Many of the people assigned to work at Guantanamo Bay have brought their families with them; children from babies to young adults are here. So GTMO is also a community located in a tropical location. And this is truly the beautiful part of GTMO.
Many people compare living at GTMO to living in Mayberry RFD. You know the town where Andy Griffith’s alter ego, Andy Taylor was sheriff. GTMO is a small town where for better or worse everyone knows your name and your business. Our Andy Taylor is Captain J.R. Nettleton. Capt. Nettleton is a very personable commander; he even has a red-headed child. We can even call the base operator (akin to the Sarah of Mayberry) and get any number needed.
It is a safe community. People leave their houses open and their keys in their cars. Kids run through the streets and take the base buses anywhere they need to go. Life is calm and relatively stress free. There is time to create, to meditate, to contemplate. There is a spirit of renewal here.
And, oh yes, the Caribbean Sea could not be more blue or more beautiful. I have always been a mountain girl. I used to think someone was either a mountain person or an ocean person. I now know I can love both. Both speak to me of God’s grace. So yes, GTMO is ugly-beautiful. What I am discovering is life is ugly-beautiful.
Almost every day ends with a breathtaking sunset. God Bless this Ugly-Beautiful GTMO.
shawberget 