Volume 12, Issue 16 Thursday, April 7, 2011

Triple the pain, triple the glory

Chiefs celebrate 118th birthday 

with 2nd annual triathlon event
The Wire | Page 2

Trooper to Trooper

featuring

The WIRE is the official news magazine of Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo. It is produced by the JTF Public Affairs Office to 

inform and educate the Troopers of JTF Guantanamo through 

news, features, command guidance, sports and entertainment. 

The WIRE seeks to provide maximum disclosure with minimum 

delay with regard to security, accuracy, propriety and policy. 

This DoD news magazine is an authorized publication for the 

members of the Department of Defense. Contents of The WIRE 

are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. 

Government, the Department of Defense, or Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo. It is printed by the Defense Logistics Agency 

Document Services with a circulation of 1,000.

Trooper to Trooper |

JTF Guantanamo

Commander

Navy Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson

Command Master Chief

Command Sgt. Maj.

Mark Porrett

Office of Public Affairs Director

Navy Cmdr. Tamsen Reese: 9928

Deputy Director

Air Force Lt. Col. Don Langley: 9927

Operations Officer

CW2 Raymond Chapman: 3649

Senior Enlisted Leader

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

Sally Hendricks: 3649

The Wire

Executive Editor

Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin Cossel: 3499

Assistant Editor

Spc. Meredith Vincent: 3651

Photojournalists:

Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Jason Tross

Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Joe Ebalo

Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class 

Maddelin Angebrand

Spc. Kelly Gary

Contact us

Editor’s Desk: 3499

From the continental United States

Commercial: 011-53-99-3499

DSN: 660-3499

E-mail: thewire@jtfgtmo.southcom.mil

Online: www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil

COVER: Guantanamo Bay residents participate in the trifecta of events – a 200-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride and a 5K run – during 

the 2nd annual Chief Petty Officer’s Birthday Triathlon. 

Senior Enlisted Leader, J2 

Master Chief Petty Officer

Evan Cutler

As you read this article, I will be on my 

last leg of checking out of Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo and of the U.S. Navy. Come 

October 2011, I will officially retire from the 

Navy and hopefully be sitting at a cushy job that 

pays a lot for me to go nowhere. Part of any 

military service is accepting orders that will take 

you places all around the globe - my orders now 

are to take care of my son. That is the reason for 

my retirement.

Someone once said if a person doesn’t study 

history, they will be doomed to repeat it. I say if 

a person doesn’t study history, they will not have 

the choice. History, for me, became a choice to 

repeat things I have witnessed, or to seek out a 

new path. In most services there are two major 

points in time: the time you entered, and the time 

you leave. For me, the time I put on Chief Petty 

Officer became a third. When I look forward to 

my exit date, it makes me look back on when I 

came in. The decision to join the service was a 

painful one, as was my life before it. 

My family was afflicted with pain and 

addiction all of my life. An attempted suicide 

became a distinct learning point that a change 

was needed. The military became my change. 

Let me be clear: The NAVY saved my life. They 

gave me a new history to learn, a skill set (or 

three) to master, and a new horizon to look at. 

I was given a choice now: work with the history 

my family suffered, or take on the new history I 

was learning in what it takes to be a Sailor. 

Why is this all important? It is so easy for 

someone like me to see how history can help you 

define yourself. The visuals of what to look at 

become so clear. The actions of Sailors not only 

set the traditions of the Navy, but those who 

upheld it made those traditions last. The more 

I learned about my service’s history, the more I 

was fascinated by the stories of the Sailors in it. 

I respected it and I wanted to be a part of it. For 

anyone in uniform, take the time to learn your 

service’s history. 

What was the most important fact I 

remember? I remember the ideal that people 

teach people. Every military campaign we have 

been involved in since our independence was 

fought by those taught and raised by people 

with experience from the campaign before. I 

remember being trained by individuals from the 

Gulf War, Vietnam, and sometimes the Korean 

War. The old Master Chiefs who trained me 

using hard-to-forget techniques changed my 

perception of what is important. I remember 

their teachings, lessons and experience. I have 

used those experiences to teach as many Sailors 

as I could. This includes over 500 Petty Officer 

First Classes as they transition to Chief Petty 

Officer. The overriding factor is eventually these 

sailors will replace me. 

This is the lesson I wish to give you. No 

matter what you do, or how you do it, make sure 

you are learning how they did it before you. Then 

make it better and teach others. We will all leave 

the military sometime in our life - how we hand 

it off to our juniors and peers will determine 

how strong our military will be from that point 

forward. Remember what you have learned and 

teach as many people as possible. The military 

stays strong not by politics or policy, but by 

passing down our knowledge and wisdom to 

the generations after us. That one fact is truly 

our tradition.

To my shipmates of every service, it was an 

honor to serve with you. I will miss the days 

of wearing the uniform, but I take with me the 

memories of so many professionals here at the 

JTF and my past commands. I will always cherish 

and love the professionals of the uniformed 

services I have served with and will remember 

those who have given their life to the people of 

the United States. Thank you. Thank you for 

teaching me so many things in life. And above 

all, thank you for saving my life. Good luck and 

god speed.
| News You Can Use The Wire | Page 3

Alleged 9/11 

mastermind 

to be tried at 

Guantanamo

Voice of America News Service

The Obama administration reversed course 

on Monday and announced that the alleged 

mastermind of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the 

United States, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will 

be tried in a military commission. The decision 

brings to an end a year-and-a-half political 

battle in the United States over the judicial fate 

of the accused terrorist ringleader and four 

alleged co-conspirators.

The announcement was made at the Justice 

Department by Attorney General Eric Holder.

It was Holder who announced in November 

2009 that the administration had decided to try 

Mohammed in a civilian court, sparking outrage 

from Republicans and some Democrats, 

especially those who represent New York City 

where the trial was to have been held.

Holder announced that new restrictions 

passed late last year by Congress prohibiting 

the transfer of terror detainees to the United 

States from the U.S. military detention center 

at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had effectively tied 

the administration’s hands when it comes to 

pursuing a civilian trial.

“But we must face a simply truth. Those 

restrictions are unlikely to be repealed in the 

immediate future. And we simply cannot 

allow a trial to be delayed any longer for the 

victims of the 9/11 attacks or for their family 

members who have waited for nearly a decade 

for justice,” he said.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has long been 

considered the alleged mastermind of the 

attacks on New York and Washington that 

also resulted in a downed U.S. airliner over 

Pennsylvania. Mohammed will now be tried 

in a military commission along with four 

alleged co-conspirators are also being held at 

Guantanamo Bay.

The announcement of the administration’s 

This courtroom sketch of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was drawn by artist Janet 

Hamlin during Mohammed’s arraignment in June, 2008. 

decision was greeted with enthusiasm by 

Republicans in Congress who have long called 

on the president to try terror detainees through 

military courts.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell 

described the administration’s change of heart 

as a welcome development.

“This is the right outcome to the long and 

spirited debate that proceeded this decision.” 

he said.

California Republican Buck McKeon is the 

Chairman of the House of Representatives 

Armed Services Committee. “It is about time. 

And I think that we should be moving forward 

for justice for the victims, for their families,” 

he said.

The policy change will disappoint civil 

liberties and human rights groups who 

supported the administration’s initial decision 

to try the terror suspects in federal court.

Holder said he still believes a trial in federal 

court would be the better way to go, but that he 

reluctantly decided to refer the cases to military 

commissions because of what he described 

as the “unwise and unwarranted restrictions” 

approved by Congress.

“The reality is though that I know this case 

in a way that members of Congress do not. I 

have looked at the files. I have spoken to the 

prosecutors. I know the tactical concerns that 

have to go into this decision. So do I know 

better than them? Yes,” he said.

Holder said the Obama administration still 

intends to close down the Guantanamo Bay 

detention center at some point, which would 

fulfill a promise Obama made to close the 

facility within one year after he took office.

The president signed an executive order 

last month lifting a two-year freeze on military 

commissions at Guantanamo Bay, signaling 

that the prison will remain open for some time 

to come.

Gay sailor faces a DADT discharge despite pending repeal 

Congress voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” last year but that 

doesn’t necessarily mean the discharges are over.

On Friday, March 31, a sailor in California faced a 3-member panel 

about a potential discharge under DADT.

The policy won’t be officially finished until 60 days after the 

president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff all sign off that the military’s ability to fight won’t be 

adversely affected by lifting the ban. 

For now, DADT is still in effect. But Defense Secretary Robert 

Gates directed in October that all discharges had to be expressly 

approved by the secretary of the service and the undersecretary of 

defense for personnel and readiness. 

Megan McCloskey

Stars and Stripes

Nobody has been discharged since then.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Morado was outed in November 2009 

after he posted photos of him kissing another man on his MySpace page, 

but his case sat idle while the Pentagon studied the consequences of repeal 

ahead of a congressional vote on the matter.

After his hearing today at Lemoore Naval Air Station, the 

recommendation will go to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for approval.

Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the liberal think tank Center for 

American Progress, said although the lower ranks have to follow regulations 

and move forward, its doubtful Mabus would sign off on a discharge.

“Given where we are with everything (for appeal) moving along smartly 

it certainly seems unlikely,” he said.

Instead Mabus could put the decision on hold until the repeal is finalized, 

Korb said.
The Wire | Page 4 News from the Bay |

News from the Bay

Poker Ride offers new 

challenges to cyclists

Boots on the Ground

What is your favorite game/pastime?

“Football – I have played 

all my life and now I get to 

coach.”

Army Sgt. 1st Class

Derryle Bankhead

“Monopoly, because it’s 

about domination and 

power.”

Seaman Apprentice 

Gregory Lewis

Army Master Sgt. 

Craig Scott

“Twister. It pretty much goes 

without saying.”

“Madden, because it makes 

me feel like I am on the 

field.”

The 2011 Poker Ride is scheduled for this 

Saturday, at 9 a.m. Participants should plan on 

arriving by 8:30 a.m., said Cory Geiger, outdoor 

recreation director for Morale, Welfare and 

Recreation. 

It is $5 to register and includes an event 

T-shirt. 

“This is a fun event that is open to all riding 

levels because it is not a race,” said Geiger.

The ride will begin at the MWR marina. 

The route will take riders to five different 

unknown locations. At each stop, players will 

draw a playing card. After the fifth destination, 

participants will return to the marina, where 

the last two cards will be flipped. The winner 

is decided by the best card hand created from 

the individual’s cards and the two flipped at the 

marina. Geiger said this event’s unpredictable 

nature makes it particularly exciting.

“Not knowing the locations until the 

start of the race will add to the experience as 

people will head in several directions from the 

Stories and reporting by Spc. Meredith Vincent 

and Mass Communiction Specialist 2nd Class Jason Tross

Religious Programs 

Specialist 3rd Class

Jeffery Lauber

New TK Mini-NEX

holds grand opening

The new Navy Exchange Mini-Mart at 

Tierra Kay housing officially opened for 

business during a grand opening ceremony 

April 5.

“This is a completely redesigned Tierra 

Kay Mini-Mart,” said Guantanamo Bay Navy 

Exchange General Manager Mark Good. “It 

basically moved out of the old trailer and 

added some freezer and chilled space, along 

with some vertical storage and expanded a 

lot of the assortments for the troopers here 

at Tierra Kay.”

New items include an expanded selection 

of health and beauty aids, supplements, 

food storage and kitchen gadgets. 

“These are things we think Troopers 

around here need,” said Good.

Local TK shoppers were both impressed 

and happy to see the improvements to their 

closest store. 

“Location, location, location,” said 

Tierra Kay resident Spc. Nicholas Lampkin. 

“It’s important to have a NEX like this here 

because it’s a transportation issue. A lot 

of us just can’t easily make it down to the 

Commissary and the big Exchange. So it’s 

nice to have a little spot where we can pick 

up little odds and ends.”

Convenience and variety are 

improvements Good hopes to add to an 

already healthy bottom line for the TK 

Mini-Mart. 

“We’re hoping sales continue to grow,” 

said Good. “The previous store’s sales were 

up about 23 percent for the year, so with 

an expanded assortment of products and 

a newer facility we hope to keep adding to 

that growth.” 

start,” explained Geiger. “It will be fun for the 

participants as they will be passing each other 

going in all different directions.”

MWR is also partnering with the NEX to 

give away $800 worth in prizes, added Geiger, 

making the incentive to participate that much 

more enticing. 

For more information on the Poker Ride, 

contact Geiger at x2345.
| Trooper Focus The Wire | Page 5

troopSpc. Kelly Gary

Bullet Bio

Time in service: 7 years

Hobbies: golf and 

basketball

Pet peeves: people with 

a wrongful sense of 

entitlement

Next goal: bachelor’s 

degree, to make chief

Advice to junior 

Troopers: “Actually care 

about what you are doing, 

regardless of how menial 

the task is.” 

PSEC ALERT

DON’T BE A VICTIM. USE NEED TO KNOW.

Do your friends and family know about OPSEC?

 It is easy to assume what we do here on GTMO just affects us. What some of us may not know is that it also 

affects our loved ones back home, which potentially makes them targets. Teaching them simple techniques 

like updating security settings on social sites and varying their day-to-day routines are just a couple examples 

of how they can protect themselves as well as you. Practicing good OPSEC is not just the responsibility of 

servicemembers but your family and friends as well. 

Yeoman 1st Class

 John Baker

foAfter seven years and with nearly three 

deployments under his belt, Yeoman 1st 

Class John H. Baker, J2 executive assistant, is 

a prime example of one of his own favorite 

phrases, “you get out of it what you put into 

it.”

Baker has put a lot into “it” and his 

superiors have taken note.

“Baker is one of the most professional 

yeomen I have ever worked with,” said Senior 

Chief Damiko Kippers, J2 administrative 

non-commissioned officer in charge. “He 

is very articulate, he speaks well and he is 

organized.” 

Baker joined the Navy when he was 17 

years old. By 20 he was nominated by the 

executive officer of the USS Enterprise to 

work at the Pentagon for the Secretary of the 

Navy.

Now 25, Baker, who has his associate 

degree, is looking to pin on chief and attain his 

bachelor’s degree in business administration 

in the near future.

“[I joined] for the education and getting 

to travel and see the world,” said Baker.

Having already traveled to the Persian 

Gulf and now Guantanamo Bay, he now 

wants an overseas tour to Italy, Korea or 

Japan.

When not spending long hours at the 

office or doing school work, Baker is watching 

or playing sports.

“I am a huge sports fan,” he said, adding 

he not only likes to watch and play various 

sports, but also aspires to write about them. 

Baker said author David Maraniss’s book 

“When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince 

Lombardi” has influenced him in many 

ways. 

Lombardi led by example and set up 

his players for success. Baker said that is a 

characteristic every leader should have.

“If you set people up for failure, nine out 

of ten times they will fail,” he explains. “If 

you set them up to succeed, you give them the 

tools.” 

“It is like the expression, ‘you can lead a 

camel to water but you can’t make it drink,’” 

philosophized Baker.

Honor, courage and commitment are 

the Core Values every sailing camel should 

exemplify.

Baker said the Navy Core Values are 

important but servicemembers have to 

understand what each of the words mean

“You have to actually say ‘okay, I honor 

myself and my service, I am going to do the 

best job that I can, I am going to have the 

courage to do it and I am going to commit to 

it,’” Baker said.

Kippers said Baker is definitely committed 

to his people and his job.

“I have put in some long hours and he is 

here as long as I am,” said Kippers. “A lot of 

people can just go home at four o’clock but 

Baker stays here until the job is done.”

 Baker’s time and energy have propelled 

him to be a candidate for success.

“I honestly feel he is going to be very 

successful,” Kippers said. “I see him as an 

LDO at no later than his 15-year mark.” 

Kippers said he already sees Baker as a 

leader.

“He is a chief wearing a petty officer’s 

uniform,” said Kippers.
The Wire | Page 6 Feature |

They creep up on you, scurry over your 

toes, leap off of trees and some only emerge at 

night. Who are these creatures on Guantanamo 

Bay and how did they get here? 

For years, iguanas, banana rats and boa 

constrictors have wandered the often dry, 

cactus-laden terrain on Guantanamo Bay. 

Naval Station Guantanamo is dedicated to 

protecting its wildlife population.

 It is well known that anyone stationed 

here could get slapped with a $10,000 fine for 

killing an iguana- this helps keep critters safe 

from vehicle tires and eager onlookers. 

 More recently, the wildlife population has 

clashed with the growing number of feral cats 

spotted peering around corners at the Cuzco 

Barracks, where many Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo servicemembers live. 

Working with animals since he was a 

kid, one knowledgeable Army veterinary 

technician said we could be aiding to the 

increased cat population.

“The feral cat problem started obviously 

way before I got here,” explained Sgt. Ardicio 

Galvao, who works at the Guantanamo Bay 

Veterinary Treatment Facility. “A lot of what 

we see is owners that come down on island, 

and they bring a cat with them. Often, the cat 

is not neutered or spayed. Then, the member 

finds out they have to leave and can’t take 

their pets. So, they release them out.” 

Galveo explained feeding the cats could 

actually decrease our protected wildlife 

populations. 

“They [the cats] reproduce rapidly and then 

with the help of people feeding them, they 

continue to reproduce,” he said. “It becomes 

an overwhelming thing and they don’t really 

have too many natural predators here.”

Without any predators, the cat population 

continues to rise while their food sources 

dwindle. To compensate, the cats begin 

hunting Guantanamo’s endangered species, 

such as the Cuban boa constrictor.

“Last year, we had Dr. Tolson here who 

comes down from the Toledo Zoo in Ohio,” 

said Galveo. “He’s been doing snake research 

here for over ten years. We had one of the 

snakes that gave birth, so we implanted some 

of the babies and released them out.”

 When Dr. Tolson returned a few months 

later, they discovered none of the young snakes 

survived. Galveo also noted, the percentage 

of baby snakes that survive is already low. 

With feral cats in their environment, it creates 

a dent in the balance of wildlife on the island 

and ultimately impacts their food chain. 

Many servicemembers struggle with 

the complexities of wanting to protect the 

wildlife, while at the same time wanting to 

help the cats. 

“It’s sad because there are so many of them 

without homes,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. 

Karie Nielson, attached to Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo’s personnel department. “I saw 

one licking up the rainwater the other day and 

I felt bad, but some people say they [the cats] 

are good for keeping the banana rats away.”

As far as giving the cats a home, Galveo 

said the JTF policy remains but there are 

other options.

“Our policy here for unaccompanied 

members is no pets allowed,” said Galveo. 

“Most of the time, when they [servicemembers] 

do bring an animal in, it’s primarily for an 

emergency like they see a stray animal that’s 

injured. We can’t really release it back to 

them, because they are not authorized to have 

a pet. So, what we do is keep them here and 

try to adopt them out.” 

Interacting with the cats and wildlife can 

also lead to bites, injuries or contracting 

infections.

“When you are bitten by an animal you 

worry about rabies,” Galveo stated. “They 

also carry a lot of bacteria on their teeth. If 

someone is, bit they need to immediately go 

to the nearest emergency room and do a bite 

report.” 

Despite rumors of euthanizing the cats, 

Galveo said a plan is in the works to help with 

the numbers, but no formal action has been 

taken yet. 

To do your part in protecting Guantanamo’s 

wildlife population please contact the 

veterinarian’s animal emergency line at 84618 

if you see a creature in need of treatment. 

Residents strive to preserve, protect GTMO wildlife population

Story and photos by Mass Communication Specialist 

2nd Class Maddelin Angebrand

Veterinary Technician Staff Sgt. Jamie Jackson, attached to Naval 

Station Guantanamo Bay, shaves German Shepherd Gino’s arm 

before he gets his blood drawn at the Guantanamo Bay Veterinary 

Treatment Facility, April 1. 
| Feature The Wire | Page 7

JSMART radio offers on-air life skills help

Story by Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin Cossel

 see ICRC, page 19

A mother anxiously waits in 

a room. She sits with two of her 

sons. Hundreds of miles from 

her remote Algeria home, she sits, 

waiting to see her third son. 

The woman’s face lights up 

with a look of both relief and 

happiness as her son, a detainee at 

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba greets his 

family. Her emotions are shared by 

all three of her boys as they laugh 

and share personal news from the 

home front.

Despite a decade of war and 

captivity, this family is reunited 

– even if it is only an hour. 

This is what delegates with the 

International Committee of the 

Red Cross call success.

“If you were detained in 

your [own] country, you would 

have family visits,” said ICRC 

Protection Coordinator Jean-Paul 

Carboz. “Here we are halfway 

around the world – Afghanistan 

and Yemen are essentially 12 hours 

by plane. So we try to help these 

families have contact. I think that 

Red Cross balances delicate tightrope of neutrality

Story by Mass Communication Specialist 

2nd Class Jason Tross

the world. At 11:30 a.m. Eastern 

Standard Time on this spring day, 

in both Algeria and Cuba, they 

are successful. But this seemingly 

simple task is anything but simple.

“One of the first things we try 

place. But we try to visit detainees 

[everywhere] just like we do here.” 

Long regarded as the guardians 

of international humanitarian law, 

ICRC delegates ensure detainees 

from the delegates’ assigned nation 

“We have many principles – independence, neutrality 

and impartiality. Whatever we are doing for the population 

at Guantanamo, we would offer for any U.S. Soldier or 

POW being detained anywhere in the world.”

is one of the most essential things 

in life - to be in contact with your 

relatives and the people you love.”

A video teleconference is just 

part of what the International 

Committee of the Red Cross does 

in more than 80 countries around 

to do is avoid being killed,” said 

Carboz. “At least one of our Red 

Cross colleagues is killed every 

year in a battle somewhere in the 

world. They could very well be the 

target of an attack and it could also 

be simply wrong time and wrong 

are being held in accordance with 

conditions set forth in the Geneva 

Conventions.

Traveling to battle-ridden 

Standing in front of a group of Troopers 

giving yet another brief on sleep hygiene, Navy 

Lt. Jason Duff thought to himself, “there’s got 

to be a better way to get all this information 

out.” And then it came to him – radio.

“I realized we could hit a much wider 

audience if we went with the radio medium,” 

Duff, officer in charge of Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo’s Joint Stress Mitigation and 

Reduction Team, said.

The more the lieutenant thought about it, 

the more he liked the idea. Not only could he 

communicate to a broader base, but, as Duff 

explained, he could reach out to those who 

might have reservations about visiting the 

JSMART office. 

“Some people hold the misconception 

that seeking psychiatric help holds a negative 

connotation,” Duff said. “So we see this as 

doing primary prevention to try to get ahead 

of the curve and get people thinking about 

things, while providing them with some tools 

to help work through whatever they may be 

dealing with.”

Before he could get on the air, Duff 

said there were a few challenges he had to 

overcome.

“The first thing we had to do was get 

approval from the JTF command,” Duff said, 

noting not only did leadership approve of the 

idea they were extremely supportive.

“From the admiral to the public affairs, 

everyone worked with us to make sure 

everything was good before we went live,” said 

Duff.

Beyond leadership support, Duff realized 

there would need to be a consistent voice on 

the program.

“We’re a rotational force on the JTF side,” 

Duff explained. “So I knew I would need to 

bring in someone who could provide continuity 

to the program when I left.”

To that end, Duff enlisted the assistance 

of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Hospital’s 

Behavioral Health Division Officer, Lieutenant 

Danyell Brenner.

“We did something similar to this when I 

was stationed in Okinawa called Shrink Wrap,” 

Brenner explained. “I knew I wanted to do 

something similar here at GTMO.”

The final obstacle to getting out across the 

airwaves was learning how to use the control 

boards at Radio GTMO.

“The mass communications specialist, 

and, really everyone at the radio station, was 

extremely helpful in showing us around the 

controls and giving us a few pointers about 

conducting a show,” said Duff.

No stranger to the microphone, Duff 

worked as a DJ for several years in Philadelphia. 

Still, he said, sitting down and producing a 

two-hour show was a different experience all 

together.

“The first show especially there was a bit 

 see JSMART, page 19

Navy lieutenants Jason Duff and Danyell Brenner chat it up with their 

listeners during JSMART’s radio show, Match 18, at Radio GTMO. - 

photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason Tross
Story and photos by Mass Communication 

Specialist 2nd Class Maddelin Angebrand 

gridiron greatness

gtmo gears up for

JTF faces off 

against NAVSTA 

in season opener

The Wire | Page 8 Sports |
s

| Sports The Wire | Page 9

Flag football 

season kicked 

off Monday 

night with a victory for Team 

Militia who trumped the Average Joes 

14-6 at Cooper Field.

A 60-yard rocket-launched pass sealed 

the deal for the three-year reigning 

champion team consisting of NAVSTA 

security servicemembers.

With the score 8-6, the Average Joes 

found themselves down by two heading 

into the half.

“We had set plays, and looked a lot 

better than we did last year,” said Matt 

Williams Average Joes’ wide receiver. “It 

was just first game jitters, and some of us 

have only been here a few months, so we 

are just getting used to each other.”

Despite knowing each other a short 

time, Williams said there were some 

encouraging signs in the effort.

“We moved the ball better in the second 

half, we played great defense overall,” he 

said. “Just two unlucky plays cost us points. 

We tried to turn the game around, but that 

play is what beat us.”

The defeating play Williams pointed out 

was the winning 60-yard touchdown pass 

to Militia receiver, Marcus Williams.

“This is the first time that our team has 

come together in a long time,” explained 

Militia running back Kenneth Cooper. 

“I believe it was our defense that got us 

through, and that highlight catch at the 

end by Williams was off the hook!”

Top left: Michael Hoag, quarterback for the Average Joes’, dodges two defenders 

while looking to pass the ball during flag football season opening night at Cooper 

Field, Monday.

Bottom left: Team Militia’s defense attempts to tackle the Average Joes’ 

runningback Greg Marshall.

Bottom right: Marcus Williams, team Militia quarterback, takes a breather on the 

field after making a play.

Top right: Team Militia quarterback Jason Virseno spots a receiver and pulls back 

to pass the ball as Average Joes’ Daniel O’Brien sprints for the tackle. 
The Wire | Page 10 News |

Triple threat Story by Mass Communication Specialist 

2nd Class Jason Tross

The U.S. Navy’s Chief Petty Officer rank 

turns 118 this month. To celebrate, individual 

athletes and teams gathered at Windmill Beach 

before sunrise Saturday to compete in the 2nd

annual Guantanamo Bay Chief Petty Officer’s 

Birthday Triathlon. 

A total of 49 individuals and 19 threeperson teams - of both first-time racers and 

veterans alike - started off with a 200-yard 

swim, immediately followed by a 10-mile bike 

ride from Windmill Beach to the Windjammer 

and back and finishing with a five-kilometer 

run. 

Athletes storm Windmill Beach 

at 2nd Annual CPO Triathlon

Teammates tag each other at Windmill Beach during the 2n

Chief Petty Officer’s Birthday Triathlon. - photo by Mass Comm

Specialist 2nd Class Jason Tross

Participants for the triathlon take off for the 200-yard swim. - photo 

by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Coleman
| News The Wire | Page 11

efforts of the Chiefs sharing their birthday this 

year.

“It takes the whole CPO Mess to put this 

thing together,” said Hajduk. “It’s a great event 

and a way to bring people together. My favorite 

thing about races is seeing everyone come out 

here and have fun.”

Good times, friendly competition and raising 

money for a great cause while celebrating the 

Navy’s most revered rank were the themes of 

this year’s triathlon. Guantanamo Bay’s Chiefs 

are hoping for more next time.

“This is the second year we’ve done this 

triathlon and one of only two held here at 

GTMO,” said Hajduk. “Last year we had just 

under 70 people [register]. We grew to more 

than 100 [competitors this year]. We actually 

had 120 to 130 people register. Hopefully we’ll 

be back bigger and better next year.”

U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Enforcement 

Specialist 2nd Class Tom Fischer, a veteran 

triathlete and coxswain with Maritime Safety 

and Security Team 13, won the individual race 

with a time of 54 minutes, 48 seconds. 

“Today is about having fun,” said Fischer. 

“If you have fun when you start doing races, 

your times will reduce quicker. That’s why we 

keep doing it.”

Fischer is a two-time Ironman. Ironman 

athletes swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and 

finally run a 26.2-mile course in immediate 

succession. Fischer finds the same joy 

competing for Ironman that he does here.

“In the next eight years I want to get on the 

Coast Guard Ironman Team,” said Fischer. “It’s 

only one man and one female and they compete 

in the Ironman World Championships in Kona 

[Hawaii] in October. But I have to lower my 

Ironman time by two hours.” 

Experienced racers and newcomers 

competed for the same purpose – to push 

themselves. 

“I have no clue what a good time is, but I 

did an hour and nine minutes and everyone 

says that’s pretty good,” said first-time triathlete, 

Navy Aviation Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Julio 

Ossaosorio. “It doesn’t matter if you win or 

lose as long as you complete it.”

Fischer and Ossaosoria were just two of 

106 total competitors whose entrance fees help 

fund the CPO Association’s scholarship fund 

for W.T. Sampson High School. 

“We’re still counting up the money, but I 

know we raised more than $1,000,” said event 

planner Navy Diver Chief Michael Hajduk. 

“We give that money to seniors as a scholarship 

based on the essays they submit.”

Competitors and students alike would not 

benefit from this event without the consolidated 

nd Annual 

munication 

U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Enforcement Specialist 2nd Class 

Tom Fischer finishes the Chief Petty Officer’s Birthday Triathlon. 

Fischer won the event, completing it in 54 minutes, 48 seconds. - 

photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Coleman
The At Your Service | Wire | Page 12

In The Trenches

FORT HOOD, Texas -- When the keynote 

speaker for the Fort Hood Sexual Assault 

Awareness Month proclamation signing event 

was announced, polite applause followed 

her to the podium April 4 in the III Corps 

Headquarters. The mood in the room changed, 

however, as Spc. Patricia Fuentes began her 

remarks.

“I’m the victim of a life-altering event. I 

was assaulted in 2007, on Feb. 14, by another 

servicemember while on a date with him,” 

Fuentes, currently a member of Fort Hood’s 

Warrior Transition Brigade, told nearly 100 

people filling the West Atrium of the III Corps 

Headquarters.

“So many people wanted to put a time on 

when I was supposed to get over it. But that’s the 

problem,” she said. “There is no time limit on a 

situation like this, especially when you don’t get 

the help you need.”

It took Fuentes many months of struggling 

before she sought help.

“It made me an angry person,” she said. “I 

started alienating my friends. I couldn’t deal with 

somebody touching me, not even in the slightest 

way.”

Fortunately for her, Fuentes said she was 

Dave Larsen 

III Corps & Fort Hood Public Affairs

Victim, general give personal insights into pain of sexual assault

able to reach out for help, starting within her 

unit and then with a victim’s advocate with Fort 

Hood’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response 

Program. She said she was thankful for the 

support she received from caring professionals.

“They helped save my life,” she said, “I am 

honored and proud to have served under III 

Corps and its subordinate units. Thank you to 

the most supportive command group I have had 

the honor to have served under.”

Applause echoed through the atrium as 

Fuentes concluded her remarks. Her courage to 

stand in front of a packed room and tell of her 

personal tragedy moved many in the audience, 

including the III Corps commanding general, 

Lt. Gen. Bob Cone. Her story brought to mind 

a tragedy in his own life.

“When I was a plebe at West Point, my sister 

was visiting friends in Boston, Mass., and was 

raped. She never recovered from that,” Cone 

said. “She ended up taking her own life.”

With tears rising in the corners of his 

eyes and his voice cracking with emotion, the 

commanding general continued, “So, this is an 

emotional thing for me.”

Overall, Cone said, the Army is a 

representation of America’s best, and it has been 

successful in battling sexual assault “because 

we’ve come together as a team; teams of people 

who care about each another, who literally love 

one another and who put each other’s lives on 

the line in the care of one another.”

But he said there are the tragic exceptions.

“When we see something like sexual assault 

in our own ranks, it makes me sick,” Cone said. 

“Put simply, there is no excuse for it.”

When a sexual assault occurs, the general 

said it’s the command’s responsibility to help 

survivors of these incidents.

“We have the responsibility to treat the 

survivors with dignity and respect,” Cone 

stressed, adding that every Soldier should do the 

same.

Concluding his remarks, Cone said he 

continues his belief that Soldiers are great 

Americans, “but this is a problem that has gone 

on too long, and we are going to redouble our 

efforts here at Fort Hood. It’s a leadership issue,” 

he said, while admitting that these assaults aren’t 

happening in the work place.

“It happens when Soldiers are away from 

legitimate authority,” Cone stressed before 

signing the proclamation. We, as leaders, are 

intrusive enough in our Soldiers’ lives that we 

can, first of all, make sure that they know there’s 

always a command presence, and to identify 

those kinds of people who would take advantage 

of their fellow Soldiers.”
On The Deck

| At Your Service The Wire | Page 13

USS Doyle returns from final deployment

U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) – USS 

Doyle (FFG 39) returned from 

a six-month deployment April 

5, after successfully conducting 

Counter Illicit Trafficking (CIT) 

operations in the U.S. Southern 

Command’s (USSOUTHCOM) 

area of responsibility.

Doyle conducted CIT 

operations in support of Joint 

Interagency Task Force – South’s 

(JIATF-South) mission to 

eliminate illicit trafficking posing 

a threat to national security and 

regional stability.

“Although this was Doyle’s 

last deployment, she made it 

possible for the crew to do so 

much good, not only to combat 

the ‘War on Drugs,’ but in 

building friendships and positive 

relations with the Central and 

Southern American states,” 

said Ensign Dylan Vest, USS 

Doyle main propulsion officer. 

“I feel proud to have served 

on Doyle and contribute to the 

efforts to expand U.S. presence 

among other countries. It’s all 

about showing other nations 

that we can work together to 

build a better place for the next 

generation.”

Working in conjunction with 

an embarked Law Enforcement 

Detachment (LEDET) and 

Helicopter Anti-Submarine 

Squadron Light (HSL) 42 det. 8, 

Doyle successfully deterred and 

captured illicit traffickers in the 

Eastern Pacific. The crew also 

conducted community relations 

(COMREL) services and foreign 

relation projects during the 

deployment.

Doyle is scheduled for 

decommissioning July 29, 

2011.

C O M U S N AV S O / C 4 F 

supports USSOUTHCOM joint 

and combined full-spectrum 

military operations by providing 

principally sea-based, forward 

presence to ensure freedom 

of maneuver in the maritime 

domain, to foster and sustain 

cooperative relationships with 

international partners and to 

fully exploit the sea as maneuver 

space in order to enhance 

regional security and promote 

peace, stability, and prosperity 

in the Caribbean, Central and 

South American regions.

NORFOLK – Commander, 

U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF), 

announced the 2010 U.S. Fleet 

Forces Command Fleet Sea 

and Shore Sailors of the Year 

(SOY) April 1.

Adm. J.C. Harvey, Jr., 

announced the winners during 

a ceremony at the Sheraton 

Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, 

Va.

“It is our Sailors who are the 

heart and soul of our Navy,” 

said Harvey. “These Sailors are 

the ones who bring meaning 

to the words: Honor, Courage, 

and Commitment. They are the 

ones who set the example for 

all of us.”

Construction Electrician 

First Class (SCW) Leonardo 

Calderon, of Guadalajara, 

Mexico, assigned to 31st Seabee 

Readiness Group, was named 

Fleet Shore SOY; and Aircraft 

Survival Equipmentman First 

Class (SW/AW) Amy Davis, 

of Lowell, Mass., assigned to 

Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 

87, was named Fleet Sea SOY.

The announcement came 

at the conclusion of a week of 

activities designed to highlight 

the individual accomplishments 

of the 12 finalists.

“It’s indescribable,” said 

Davis. “I am so thankful for 

the recognition today and all 

those who supported me. I 

can’t even put it into words.”

Fleet, Sea, Shore 

Sailors of the 

Year announced

U.S. Fleet Forces Public Affairs

Servicemembers would earn pay during shutdown

Cheryl Pellerin,

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – Military members would 

continue to earn wages in the event of an 

April 8 shutdown of the federal government, 

but they’d have to wait to collect them 

until Congress agrees on a budget, a senior 

administration official said April 6.

During a telephone briefing administered 

by the Office of Management and Budget, 

a senior administration official detailed 

the consequences of a possible federal 

government shutdown that will occur April 8 

if Congress doesn’t agree on a budget.

Service members, the official said, “will 

continue to earn money” in the event of a 

shutdown.

But because there wouldn’t be any 

money to pay out to service members 

during a shutdown, the official said, they 

would have to wait to be reimbursed.

“They will be paid once we have money 

again to pay them,” the official said.

Some members of the Defense 

Department’s federal civilian work force 

would be exempted from a shutdown 

because of their work in critical areas, or 

because they are funded through sources 

outside the federal budget, the official 

said.

The guided-missile frigate USS Doyle (FFG 39) is docked at the 

Charlestown Navy Yard during a Columbus Day weekend port visit to the 

city of Boston. - photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Dave Kaylor 
CAMP SCHWAB, Okinawa, Japan 

— Combat is an inherently dangerous 

environment in which casualties can occur at 

any time.

The Tactical Combat Casualty Care course 

held on Camp Schwab March 14-18 taught 

Marines the battlefield first aid needed to tend 

to the wounds fellow Marines might receive 

during combat.

During the five-day course, Marines 

with Military Police Support Company, 

Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, 

III Marine Expeditionary Force, learned how 

to keep combat casualties alive while awaiting 

transport to medical care.

The first three days were classroom 

instruction with some practical applications, 

said Petty Officer 3rd Class Eddie Rodriguez, a 

special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman 

with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd MarDiv. 

During the last two days of class, Marines use 

their new skills in realistic training scenarios.

Tactical Combat Casualty Care: Marines learn battlefield first aid 

Inside the Jar

Lance Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr

Marine Corps Bases Japan 

All Marines receive some sort of first aid 

care while in boot camp, but the training taught 

during TCCC goes more in depth, Rodriguez 

said.

“All Marines know how to use an occlusive 

dressing on a gunshot wound or splint a broken 

bone,” Rodriguez said.

An occlusive dressing is an air- and watertight trauma dressing used in first aid.

Providing care on the battlefield however 

involves understanding human physiology, the 

aftermath of a wound and being able to care 

for the victim for a few hours or even days, 

said Rodriguez.

In one field environment training scenario, 

two students, a caregiver and an assistant, 

administered care to a simulated casualty. The 

team assessed the casualty before providing 

battlefield first aid, he added.

“It was as real as we could get it,” said Cpl. 

Daniel Malmberg, the simulated victim for 

the exercise and one of the students in the 

course.

As part of the “real” training the caregiver 

and assistant inserted a tube into Malmberg’s 

nostril. The procedure, referred to as a 

nasopharyngeal, is used to open the airway of 

an unconscious victim, preventing the tongue 

from blocking air passages.

The course taught the guidelines of 

battlefield care but also provided Marines with 

the necessary skills to think independently 

when dealing with a downed casualty, said 

Malmberg after completing the course.

“I’d be able to assess any casualty, diagnose 

and fix them,” he added.

The Marines learned to improvise and use 

what was available to treat casualties, Rodriguez 

added.

“Field medicine is kind of improvised,” 

said Rodriguez. “You might use a stick to make 

a splint. Today we had the Marines use duct 

tape as an occlusive dressing.”

TCCC instructors try to teach Marines to 

think outside the box for solutions to provide 

medical aid, Rodriguez said.

The knowledge corpsmen teach Marines at 

TCCC might someday save lives, he said.

Marines from Military Police Support Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine 

Expeditionary Force, move a simulated casualty on a stretcher during a Tactical Combat Casualty Care class on 

Camp Schwab March 17. – photo by Lance Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr.

The Wire | Page 14 At Your Service |
On the Wing

 SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Mobility Airmen 

are playing significant roles supporting the NATO no-fly zone 

over Libya, as well as humanitarian relief efforts in Japan, all while 

continuing to support U.S. operations around the world, including in 

Iraq and Afghanistan.

 Since the March 11 natural disasters in Japan, C-17 Globemaster 

IIIs have flown 42 sorties, moving 184 passengers and nearly 272 

tons of cargo, ranging from search-and-rescue teams to generators 

used to restore power to disaster-stricken areas, officials said.

 Air Mobility Command continues to work closely with Pacific 

Air Forces to coordinate the airlift requirements of ongoing relief 

efforts under Operation Tomodachi (“Friend”).

 KC-10 Extenders from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, 

Calif., have also flown missions supporting relief efforts by providing 

more than 409,000 pounds of fuel via in-air refueling to the C-17s 

over the Pacific Ocean. Without the KC-10s, the C-17s would need 

to land and refuel on the ground, adding two to three hours onto 

each mission, according to AMC officials.

 In addition to supporting relief efforts in Japan, mobility Airmen 

are simultaneously playing a major role in operations to support the 

no-fly zone over Libya, as part of international efforts to enforce 

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. U.S. military 

participation in the effort, known as Operation Odyssey Dawn, is 

being led by U.S. Africa Command with AMC-controlled aircraft 

providing a combination of airlift and air refueling capabilities to 

support the overall efforts.

 Since the security council resolution passed March 17, AMCcontrolled C-17s, C-5 Galaxies, C-130 Hercules, and commercial 

partner aircraft have flown nearly 150 sorties delivering more than 

1,000 service members and 2,500 tons of cargo to bases throughout 

Europe, where U.S. forces are staged.

 On top of the airlift operations, Active-duty, Air Guard and Reserve 

KC-10s and KC-135 Stratotankers have flown more than 350 sorties 

offloading more than 4.5 million pounds of fuel to fighters and 

Development teams aid AF preparation of SNCOs

 RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- 

The Air Force’s top enlisted leader addressed 

the service’s first pilot enlisted development 

team March 31 for senior noncommissioned 

officers in the nuclear weapons career field.

 Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James 

A. Roy met with assignments representatives 

and EDT panel members from the 2W2 

career field to share his vision for the future 

of enlisted force development.

 “The purpose of deliberate development 

is to grow our senior NCOs and grow the 

next generation of senior enlisted leaders to 

meet the highly technical and very complex 

leadership challenges the Department of 

Defense and the United States Air Force face 

in the future,” Chief Roy said.

 The pilot EDT initiative originated with 

the Air Force’s Enlisted Force Development 

Panel and will enable the enlisted force to 

Airlift meets challenge of global ops surge 

move forward in deliberately developing 

senior enlisted leaders.

 Eight career fields were selected to 

participate in the pilot EDTs - nuclear 

weapons (2W2), space systems operations 

(1C6), explosive ordnance disposal (3E8), 

dental assistant (4Y0), public affairs (3N0), 

security forces (3P0), command post (1C3) 

and missile and space electronic maintenance 

(2M0).

 “We want to prepare our Airmen to reach 

their highest potential,” Chief Roy said. 

“This can only happen if we capitalize on 

each Airman’s experience, education and 

training.”

 During his visit, Chief Roy said vectoring 

senior NCOs from the nuclear weapons 

career field is critical to helping the Air Force 

accomplish its top priority of strengthening 

the nuclear enterprise.

 “We felt it was appropriate to start with 

the 2W2s to handle the unique challenges 

associated with the nuclear enterprise,” 

Chief Roy said.

 According to Chief Master Sgt. Terry West, 

the Air Force’s enlisted force development 

chief, the pilot EDT program evaluates 

targeted ranks within select Air Force 

specialty codes and will vector senior NCOs 

who have the right training, education and 

experience to fill critical positions within 

their career fields.

 Chief Roy reiterated his overarching goal 

for EDTs and how the Air Force develops 

the enlisted force for the future.

 “The emphasis is on deliberate development 

as a whole,” said Chief Roy. “We need 

to ensure that our enlisted Airmen are 

developed deliberately for future DOD and 

Air Force needs.”

bombers supporting Operation Odyssey Dawn. This includes B-2 

Spirits that flew non-stop missions from the U.S. to Libya and back. 

The total amount of fuel off-loaded by the tankers would fill a midsized sport utility vehicle 37,000 times.

 Mission planning and command-and-control for the AMC 

contributions to these globe-spanning operations are being carried 

out by Airmen at the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill. 

As AMC’s hub for global operations, the TACC plans, schedules and 

directs a fleet of nearly 1,300 mobility aircraft in support of strategic 

airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around 

the world.

 In addition to supporting the operations, mobility Airmen and the 

TACC continue to support missions responsible for the deployment, 

re-deployment and sustainment of U.S. and coalition personnel for 

military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Capt. Yuri Batten looks at a map of Japan while 

transporting medical supplies March 19, 2011. Captain 

Batten is a C-130 Hercules pilot from Yokota Air Base, 

Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

| At Your Service The Wire | Page 15
Coast to coast

The At Your Service | Wire | Page 16

Coast Guardsmen train on simulator 

prior to Middle East deployment GUAM – Three crewmembers aboard a 

42-foot U.S.-flagged fishing boat are safe after 

Coast Guard Sector Guam received a distress 

signal from the vessel, prompting a search and 

rescue Tuesday.

Coast Guard watchstanders were notified 

by Saipan Emergency Management Office 

on Wednesday of a mayday call received at 

about 8 a.m. Shortly after being notified, an 

Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon 

signal was received from the fishing vessel 

San Antonio approximately 65 miles off the 

northern tip of Saipan.

The Coast Guard Cutter Assateague, a 110-

ft patrol boat homeported in Apra Harbor, 

Guam was dispatched to the location. A crew 

from the U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat 

Squadron 25, stationed at Andersen Air Force 

Base was also launched at about 9 a.m.

HSC-25 located the disabled vessel just 

after 11 a.m. Fighting strong wind gusts, the 

aircrew hoisted all three crewmembers and 

returned them safely to Saipan before 1 p.m. 

The survivors had no injuries and were released 

to the Saipan Department of Public Safety.

The crew of the San Antonio was on a 

fishing trip heading toward a fishing area in 

Zealandia Bank. The vessel was registered in 

Saipan. The fishing vessel was anchored and 

unable to start their engines when the wind and 

seas in the area began to increase significantly. 

A small craft advisory was issued on Tuesday 

and remained in effect through Wednesday 

afternoon.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The crew 

of the Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket is 

scheduled to return home Wednesday, April 

6 at 9 a.m., after a busy 60-day patrol in the 

Caribbean Sea.

During the patrol, the Nantucket’s crew 

conducted multiple counter-drug and 

migrant-interdiction boardings throughout 

the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The Nantucket’s crew worked alongside 

the Caribbean Border Interagency Group 

law enforcement authorities to interdict 21 

Haitian and Dominican Republic migrants on 

a 20-foot yola-type vessel that was spotted by 

a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft 

crew from Air Station Miami, 12-miles off 

the coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

Coast Guardsmen who normally patrol the 

high seas for drug runners or environmental 

hazards were the first behind the wheel of 

the latest high-tech combat convoy simulator 

addition at Fort Dix.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Redeployment 

Assistance Inspection Detachment Team 

13 was the first military unit to ever use the 

newly-fielded Reconfigurable Vehicle Tactical 

Trainer simulator, taking part in simulated 

Afghanistan defensive combat situations 

on Saturday, April 2. The RAID Team has 

been undergoing Army basic combat skills 

training at mobilization station for the past 

month.

“The RVTT simulator is an invaluable 

tool since it combines elements of all of 

the training the team has acquired from the 

Army over the past month at Fort Dix, and 

actually puts it together in real-time scenarios 

in deployed environments,” said RAID 

Training Officer Lt. James K. Cullen of Lake 

Hopatcong, NJ.

The Coast Guardsmen were trained on 

the RVTT in preparation for their upcoming 

deployment to the U.S. Central Command 

area of operations. Working closely with 

Army units, forward-deployed U.S. Coast 

Guard RAID members oversee hazardous 

materials movement from remote locations 

in combat zones. Most RAID members will 

Story by Sgt. Ray Reyes, 444th Mobile Public Affairs 

Detachment, New Jersey Army National Guard be working in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chad Pendarvis 

loads the RVTT 50-caliber machine gun 

for training on the latest Fort Dix training 

simulator called the Reconfigurable Vehicle 

Tactical Trainer. U.S. Coast Guard photo by 

Lt. James Cullen, USCG Training Te

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chad Pendarvis 

loads the RVTT 50-caliber machine gun 

for training on the latest Fort Dix training 

simulator called the Reconfigurable Vehicle 

Tactical Trainer. U.S. Coast Guard photo by 

Lt. James Cullen, USCG Training Team

The RVTT simulator, which was installed 

in February and underwent testing, is the 

newest part of the military’s growing arsenal 

of realistic simulations for Fort Dix in the 

3500 training area. Military personnel in 

a convoy of full-sized vehicles can feel a 

simulated rumbling of their engines in their 

seats, hear the engine roar louder as the 

vehicles accelerate, and hear gunshots and 

feel recoil as they fire their weapons to fend 

off the enemy. As the military relies more 

heavily on advanced simulations to prepare 

war fighters for combat, realism has become 

a key aspect to training. If the RVTT was any 

more lifelike, the RAID team would have 

needed to clean bugs off their windshields.

The RVTT system is unlike most traditional 

computer simulators or engagement skills 

trainers because it surrounds personnel in a 

realistic, 360-degree virtual world.

Sector Guam rescues three 

fishing boat crewmembers

Coast Guard News

Cutter Nantucket returns 

home after 60-day patrol

Coast Guard News

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chad Pendarvis loads the RVTT 50-caliber 

machine gun for training on the latest Fort Dix training simulator.

-photo by Lt. James Cullen, USCG Training Team
GTMO Religious Services

Daily Catholic Mass

Mon. - Fri. 5:30 p.m.

Main Chapel

Vigil Mass

Saturday 5 p.m.

Main Chapel

Mass

Sunday 9 a.m.

Main Chapel

Catholic Mass

Saturday 7:30 p.m.

Troopers’ Chapel

Sunday 7:30 a.m.

Troopers’ Chapel

Church of Christ

Sunday 10 a.m.

Chapel Annex

Room 17

Seventh Day Adventist

Saturday 11 a.m.

Room B

Iglesia Ni Christo

Sunday 5:30 a.m.

Room A

Pentecostal Gospel

Sunday 8 a.m.

Room D

Liturgical Service

Sunday 10 a.m.

Room B

General Protestant

Sunday 11 a.m.

Main Chapel

United Jamaican

Fellowship

Sunday 11 a.m.

Building 1036

Gospel Service

Sunday 1 p.m.

Main Chapel

GTMO Bay Christian 

Fellowship

Sunday 6 p.m.

Main Chapel

Bible Study

Wednesday 7 p.m.

Troopers’ Chapel

The Truth Project

Bible study

Sunday 6 p.m.

Troopers’ Chapel

Protestant Worship

Sunday 9 a.m.

Troopers’ Chapel

Islamic Service

Friday 1:15 p.m.

Room C

Jewish Service

Friday 7 p.m.

Chapel Annex

LORIMI Gospel

Sunday 8 a.m.

Room D

LDS Service

Sunday 10 a.m.

Room A

| Mind, Body & Soul The Wire | Page 17

Capt. Daniel J. Price,

JTF Guantanamo Chaplain

Mind, Body & Soul

On a windy summer day in 2002, 

I headed out with a friend to explore 

Charleston, S.C. We had just finished the 

first half of our Chaplains’ Officer Basic 

Course, had the weekend off and wanted 

to see some of the sights. One of the big 

items on our agenda for the day was to visit 

Fort. Sumter.

As a history major in college and a 

military history buff long before that, 

I wanted to see the place where the first 

shots of the American Civil War were fired. 

It’s hard to describe what it was like.

It seemed a peaceful, almost sacred place. 

There was a gorgeous view over the water. 

It was difficult to picture it as a battlefield, 

let alone the place where America’s most 

horrific war began, April 12, 1861.

Over the next four years, the North and 

the South savaged each other. The two 

sides fought legendary battles in places 

like Gettysburg, Antietam and Vicksburg. 

In the end, President Lincoln and the 

North won, resulting in the abolishment of 

slavery and the preservation of the Union, 

but at an incredibly high cost. More than 

600,000 Americans died in the fighting, 

with another 400,000 wounded. The 

United States would never be the same.

Chaplains were at the forefront of 

providing ministry to Soldiers, Sailors, 

and Marines. They served on every front 

of the war and faced many of the same 

dangers their Troopers faced. Both Navy 

and Army chaplains gave their lives. Three 

Army chaplains won the Medal of Honor 

for their bravery on the battlefield. They 

ministered in encampments, prisons, 

Chaplains’ role develops

throughout Civil War

hospitals, on ships and everywhere else 

their people were.

During those four years, chaplains began 

to develop many of the concepts that now 

characterize the chaplaincy. The combat 

chaplain, bible in one hand and musket in 

the other, was a staple of the Revolutionary 

War. By the Civil War, chaplains began to 

place more emphasis on their pastoral role. 

The interdenominational and interfaith 

focus in military ministry began as Roman 

Catholic and Protestant chaplains worked 

and ministered side by side. The military 

commissioned the first African-American 

chaplains, as well as the first Jewish, Native 

American and female chaplains. The Civil 

War truly laid the foundations for today’s 

military chaplaincy.

As we look back on the history of the 

Civil War, we realize not much has changed 

in the last 150 years. Chaplains from the 

Army, Air Force, and Navy are out serving 

wherever their Troopers are. We face the 

same dangers and take many of the same 

risks. And we continue to be there for 

our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines. 

Whether you need a listening ear, want to 

hash through a problem or just want to 

hang out, the chaplains will be there for 

you. Just ask.
 see NCAA, page 19

The Wire | Page 18 At the Movies |

Movie Review

Guest columnist

Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Hoag

08 09 10 11 12 13 14

Call MWR at ext. 2010 for more information. Movie Hotline - call 4880.

Hop

(PG) 8 p.m.

Diary of a Wimpy 

Kid

(PG) 10 p.m.

The Mechanic

(R) 8 p.m.

The Rite

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

*last showing*

Sanctum

(R) 8 p.m.

The Eagle

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Justin Bieber:

Never Say Never

(G) 8 p.m.

Hop

(PG) 8 p.m. 

Diary of a Wimpy 

Kid

(PG) 10 p.m.

Unknown

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

The Rite

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

*last showing*

The Mechanic

(R) 8 p.m.

The Roommate

(PG-13) 

8 p.m.

Gnomeo and Juliet

(G) 8 p.m.

I Am Number Four

(PG-13) 10 p.m.

Sanctum

(R) 10 p.m.

Downtown

Lyceum

Camp 

Bulkeley

Gnomeo and Juliet

(G) 8 p.m.

I Am Number Four

(PG-13) 10 p.m

fri. sat. sun. mon. tues. wed. thurs.

The NCAA Championship

“Historic” is how this year’s Final Four 

has been coined. For the first time, not a 

single top-seeded team made the big dance. 

Some say because of this, the results were 

underwhelming and they have a point. Could 

it be because reigning champs, the University 

of Connecticut, only made two three-point 

shots in both games combined? Or that they 

only scored a combined 109 points in both 

games, the lowest by a championship team 

since Oklahoma A&M in 1946? Or was it 

Butler’s impotent shooting from the field? 

The Bulldogs only made an anemic total of 

three two-point shots the ENTIRE GAME. 

Is that even possible in a match-up of this 

caliber?

Meanwhile, what made UCONN’s win 

remarkable is it wasn’t the women’s team. 

Heading into the tourney, it was the women 

– not the men – who were the sure bet to 

win an NCAA Championship. The men, 

meanwhile, had become somewhat of a 

long shot. They ended their season under 

heavy criticism due to a disappointing 9-9 

finish in Big East Conference play. Despite 

the doubters, they rode an 11-game winning 

streak, including the Big East Championship 

game, until their championship victory. 

This ended an incredible Butler run and 

resulted in a heartbreaking second straight 

championship game loss for the Bulldogs.

Over the last week, as Butler fever swept 

through the nation, people once again found 

themselves captivated by this Cinderella team. 

People cheered the Bulldogs on without a clue 

of where Butler was other than “somewhere 

in Indiana”. To help clear things up, Butler 

University is a private school in Indianapolis, 

Indiana, and a member of the lowly midmajor Horizon League Conference – a 

conference stacked with unimpressive teams 

featuring Youngstown State, Cleveland State 

and other Division II Mid-West schools. 

Even former President George H. W. Bush 

caught the fever and jumped on the Butler 

bandwagon, sitting behind their bench and 

rooting them on throughout the finals.

Sadly, Butler’s weaknesses were exposed 

Monday night and UCONN capitalized with 

pure hustle and high-energy play. Butler 

shot an abysmal 18.8% from the field (their 

12-of-64 shooting was the lowest in NCAA 

tournament championship game history 

and third lowest in tournament history), 

partly due to a stingy UCONN defense that 

racked up 10 blocks. In the end, Butler had 

their looks and simply could not deliver 

on the big stage. UCONN crashed the 

boards and completely shut down the lane, 

outscoring Butler 26-2 in the paint. Butler’s 

horrid shooting, coupled with their lack of 

physicality down low, enabled UCONN 

to coast in the second half as Butler went 

nearly 14 minutes without bucketing a shot. 

It didn’t help the Bulldogs their own hightempo defense wore themselves down, 

leading to a retreat to a half-court zone which 

was systematically picked apart by UCONN’s 
| The Last Word The Wire | Page 19

ICRC cont. 

future NBA lottery pick Kemba Walker 

and company. Walker contributed 16 points 

to cap off a prolific tournament. When it 

was all said and done, he averaged 23.7 points 

per game and was named the tournament’s 

Most Outstanding Player. Notably, UCONN 

senior Alex Oriakhi added 11 points, 11 

rebounds and an emphatic 4 blocks. Oriakhi’s 

presence down low stifled the Butler inside 

attack and set the tone for the best defensive 

performance of the tournament.

Despite its second straight disappointing 

finish, Butler is rising as a perennial 

powerhouse of college basketball. However, 

do not be too fast to crown the Bulldogs as 

the NCAA prom kings, as many mid-major 

schools have come and gone just as quickly. 

Perhaps under the guidance of 34-year-old 

coach Brad Stevens – and the notoriety of the 

team’s recent success – it isn’t too farfetched 

to plan another Butler run in 2012. Will it be 

as surprising next time around? Probably not. 

Will it be just as exciting? Maybe more so. 

locations, working around 

failing equipment, sub-standard 

communications in third world 

countries, harsh mountain 

weather and even locating a 

detainee’s family can be daunting 

tasks. Despite these dangers, each 

detainee at Guantanamo Bay has 

representation from an ICRC 

delegate who also regularly visits 

their families.

Today’s family connection 

appears to be going well. Everyone 

is safe and the discussion is within 

both U.S. and ICRC guidelines, 

which restrict conversations to 

family news only.

“Detainees cannot speak 

of any operations pertaining 

to the camp,” said Legalman 

Chief Ramona Koonce. “They 

cannot speak in any language not 

previously agreed to during the 

call and they cannot speak to other 

previously released detainees.”

These rules are just a few of 

the many outlined by Joint Task 

Force Guantanamo authorities 

and the ICRC alike. Conversations 

are limited to family matters only.

In a separate room inside 

the detention facility, a few JTF 

Troopers monitor the family’s 

communication for these violations 

and technical difficulties. 

Between the detainee and 

the authorities is a delegate who 

traveled here to Guantanamo Bay 

as a liaison for all detainees from 

his assigned country. He knows 

the detainee’s family quite well 

from his regular visits, where he 

was just a few days ago. Today, 

he has cookies and personal news 

from home for the detainee. The 

family’s contagious emotion hits 

the delegate too as he listens to 

their interaction – laughing and 

smiling. He accomplished his 

mission.

This ICRC group’s visit to 

Guantanamo Bay brings 21 

country delegates – each here for 

various amounts of time. One of 

them is Arman Atal. He’s both a 

linguist and a delegate for Iran, 

Afghanistan and other middleeastern countries. He’s made the 

trip four times a year since 2002 

and only missed one visit. 

“I spend more time with the 

detainees and their families than I 

do with my own family,” said Atal, 

who lives in Europe but spends 50 

percent of his time working in Iran 

and almost the rest of it traveling 

for the ICRC. “So we delegates 

have a lot of difficulty... even in 

our private lives.”

Atal’s story is just one of 

hundreds at the ICRC where 

people dedicate a great deal of 

their lives to safeguarding the 

Geneva Conventions – which 

outline ethical warfare and laws 

during international conflict. No 

matter their country of origin, each 

delegate is required to expatriate 

and work in a country foreign to 

their own. This is in the name of 

neutrality – a fundamental behind 

the ICRC and their governing 

Geneva Conventions.

“Impartiality is one of our 

pillars,” said ICRC Guantanamo 

Bay Detention Coordinator Ralph 

Wehbe. “We have many principles 

– independence, neutrality and 

impartiality. So whatever we 

are doing for the population at 

Guantanamo, we would offer for 

any U.S. Soldier or POW being 

detained anywhere in the world 

once we have access to them.”

Wehbe and every one of his 

ICRC colleagues visiting detainees 

here expresses the need for 

neutrality and laws during war. 

They also talk about the challenges 

of getting both sides believing 

ICRC delegates are truly neutral. 

That includes the guards at 

Guantanamo Bay and the Taliban 

in Afghanistan.

“It is so difficult to prove you 

are doing humanitarian work,” said 

Wehber. As such the first thing we 

would like to achieve here is have 

an impact from our visits – be it 

with detainees or in our dialogue 

with the authorities.”

As with any new relationship, 

the JTF and ICRC had to establish 

how to work together to achieve 

their individual objectives, once 

detainees began arriving in 2002. 

Many years later they established 

a strong working relationship. 

Wehbe and his colleagues are 

committed to preserving that 

rapport.

“It’s very important that we 

maintain a good dialogue with 

both sides,” said Wehbe. “Because 

through dialogue you can achieve 

things. There is no other reason 

to do our work other than being 

humanitarian. So I insist on this to 

explain the reason we are here.”

Wehbe has more than ten 

years experience visiting both 

detainees and the authorities who 

hold them. Over the years, he has 

come to understand the unique 

dynamic of two sides with a 

neutral party between them.

“How to show that you are 

neutral is very difficult,” said 

Wehbe. “As U.S. Navy you see me 

shaking the hand of a detainee. 

I would understand if you had 

some feeling [about that]. You 

are detaining a person who is an 

enemy for you. And it is difficult 

for me to show you that I am 

really neutral. And I try to do it 

by shaking your hand as well.”

As this spring day comes to a 

close, today’s conversation turns 

to goodbyes. While this mother 

and her two sons are clearly 

saddened again by the distance 

between their family, the ICRC 

will be back in a few months. In 

the meantime, ICRC delegates will 

be traveling the globe reuniting 

families and striving for neutrality 

in a very divided world. 

of nervous jitters but once we got going 

and got into the program, all of that seemed to 

go away,” Duff recalled, adding, “There’s also 

the challenge of being both entertaining and 

relevant for a two-hour show.”

The program – which airs every Friday 

from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Radio GTMO’s 

channel 103.1 - covers a wide range of mental 

health topics ranging from responsible alcohol 

consumption to post traumatic stress disorder. 

While Duff and Brenner both had some initial 

ideas of what they wanted to talk about they 

said as the audience responds, they adjust 

accordingly.

“We try to tailor what we talk about each 

week to the feedback we’re receiving,” said 

Brenner. “And the feedback has been pretty 

overwhelming.”

While the program was originally intended 

to reach out to servicemembers, Brenner said 

she has received emails from servicemembers’ 

spouses, retired military and civilians alike.

“I get emails and have people come up to 

me all the time thanking us for talking about a 

subject they didn’t know how to approach,” 

Brenner said.

“This is generating more work for all of 

us,” admitted Duff. “But it’s good work. We’re 

bringing the service right to them, wherever 

they are on the Naval Station and it’s having 

an impact.”

In addition to Duff and Brenner, the 

program regularly features special guests 

along with a slew of the hospital corpsman 

that work with Duff at the JSMART office.

“They have a lot of knowledge to share 

and we give them a chance to get on the air 

and tell everyone,” Duff said. “They can be a 

little shy at first but once you get them going 

and involved in a discussion, they open up and 

this wealth of knowledge comes out.”

Despite the increased workload, both Duff 

and Brenner appreciate the opportunities the 

program gives them.

“We both have a very special place in out 

hearts for our Troopers,” Brenner said. “So to 

be able to do this - to reach out, to be able to 

help - is just such an amazing honor.”

NCAA cont. JSMART cont. 
JTF

The

PERMANENT FIXTURE

Army Sgt. Sedric Sutton, 525th Military Police Battalion, pours 

concrete while Army Sgt. Jeremy Kaiser, also with the 525th MP 

Battalion, assists by holding the new sign in place as they install 

it in front of their headquarters building, March 31. -photo by 

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maddelin 

Angebrand.

HEY BATTER, BATTER

Petty Officer 1st Classes Joshua Bright and Jyl Bucano, 

both attached to Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion Joint 

Task Force Guantanamo, volunteered at the W. T. Sampson 

Elementary School’s annual field day, April 6. 

– photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Maddelin Angebrand

THIS ISN’T A JOKE

A member of the Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion 

participates in the MWR sponsored April Fool’s Day 

5k run, April 1. – photo by Mass Communication 

Specialist 2nd Class Joe Ebelo.

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE

Jalem R. Smith,point guard for the Vigilant 

Warriors basketball team scores a point on a 

free throw during the championship game of 

MWR GTMO’s Fall Basketball League, April 1. 

The Vigilant Warrior squad came away with the 

top spot winning the game 55-30. – photo by 

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe 

Ebelo.