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JTF Guantanamo Commander Briefs Service Members on JTF Mission

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS091027-29
Release Date: 10/27/2009 4:10:00 PM

By Army Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens, Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) -- The commanding officer of Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo held a series of briefings for JTF service members, providing them with an update on the command's mission, at the Windjammer auditorium in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Sept. 30.

During his briefing, Rear Adm. Tom Copeman explained that recent acknowledgements by senior government officials that the detention facilities might not close by the proposed Jan. 22, 2010, deadline does not change the mission for service members at JTF Guantanamo.

"Until such time that somebody changes that for us, we're continuing our planning to be able to reach that goal," said Copeman. "From the JTF standpoint in Guantanamo, we're all set to meet that. There are obviously a lot of issues [outside of Guantanamo] that have to be overcome to make that happen."

"We will continue to provide safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of the detainees until the last detainee is gone, whenever that may be," said Copeman.

Copeman discussed the effect continued operations would have on staffing and service member rotations. Although a significant amount of detailed planning continues to take place on how to close the detention facilities, most of the work can't happen until the detainees have left and the facilities are empty.

"Most of the real, real, hard work occurs after the last detainee leaves here," said Copeman. "We have to continue medical, logistics [and all the operations associated with caring for the detainees] up until the last one leaves."

Even as detainees continue to be released from Guantanamo and repatriated to other countries, the number of service members at the JTF will not change drastically.

Copeman told service members here to expect to finish out their current tours. He said that there were no plans to extend service members due to the January 2010 deadline, but that incoming rotations would continue to come in as planned.

"Rotations that are planned all through the next calendar year will continue until such time that somebody says no more, or here's the new plan," said Copeman.

He also told service members to be ready to train their replacements or to be ready to train a force, as yet unknown, that could take over detention operations at a facility in another location, should that be ordered from higher authority. Regardless of whether the new guarding force for the detainees is civilian or military, they will require the training and knowledge from those with experience.

"JTF Guantanamo is the place of expertise for this detention mission," said Copeman.

Regardless of what decision is made about where the detainees will go and when the detention facilities here will close, the mission of the personnel at Joint Task Force Guantanamo stands the same. Until the last detainee boards a flight off the island and the facilities are ready to be closed, service members at Guantanamo Bay will continue their mission here in the professional manner expected of them by their leadership, our government and the people of the United States.

For more news from Joint Task Force Guantanamo, visit www.navy.mil/local/jtfgtmo/.