The main squeeze

Squash your stress 

with JSMART!

Inside:

The thrilling 

conclusion to the 

yoga challenge

Summer sports 

preview

Volume 13, Issue 29 Friday, May 25, 2012
Brig. Gen. James Lettko

Deputy Commander, JTF Guantanamo

I

t’s starting to feel like summer in 

Guantanamo Bay. The days are much longer and the weather warmer and more humid. 

Before you know it, the dog days of summer 

will be upon us, or at least most of us. 

This month we can say thank you for a 

job well done to our Joint Medical Group, as 

well as numerous individuals like our departing Command Master Chief Reynaldo Tiong. 

Thank you for serving as key members of 

our Joint Task Force. It is the 

contributions from all of the 

services that allow the JTF to 

accomplish our no-fail mission every day, 24 hours a day. 

Our new Joint Medical Group 

(the “birds”) is now decisively 

engaged and has the torch. 

Marine Sgt. Maj. Scott Smith, 

our new Joint Task Force 

Senior Enlisted Leader, recently 

joined our ranks and has been running through 

our operation introducing himself to the team. 

Welcome Sgt. Maj. Smith! We are also about to 

welcome elements of two military police companies from the Puerto Rico Army National 

Guard.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It 

is typically a time when we mark the beginning of the summer months by planning our 

summer activities. Activities could range from 

graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and family vacations. Many of us will not participate in 

the traditional rituals of summer because we 

are deployed to JTF Guantanamo. I want to 

take this opportunity to thank each of you for 

volunteering to serve in the most powerful military on earth. Memorial Day was established to 

memorialize the sacrifices of our brothers and 

sisters in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice 

in defending the American way of life. Our 

profession is often referred to as “service.” It is 

this service that we chose that helps protect the 

American way of life, and that of our friends 

and family. Behind every service member or 

Trooper here in JTF Guantanamo is a family. 

Perhaps this weekend would be a good time for 

you, a JTF Trooper, to recognize your family’s 

service in allowing you to pursue your calling as 

a volunteer defending our great country.

This weekend our hosts, 

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo 

Bay and Morale Welfare & 

Recreation have arranged many 

different events to get you to be 

a part of our community. There 

are events to watch and events 

to participate in. These events 

are for you. There are plenty of 

self-improving, healthy choices 

available to each of us here. It 

is up to you as an individual to take up a new 

healthy activity. When participating in the many 

events this weekend and into next week here at 

JTF Guantanamo, do so with sound judgment, 

balance, and look out for your wingman, shipmate or battle buddy. Don’t let your wingman, 

shipmate or battle buddy do something they 

will regret later.

The key to our success remains the professionalism and “can do” attitude of our team. 

Your attention to detail, commitment to the 

mission and your fellow Troopers, and leadership is what enables the JTF to continually 

perform. Whether you just arrived or have 

been here for some time, maintain that professionalism that JTF Guantanamo is known for. 

Take pride in the fact that you are part of a 

one-of-a-kind Joint Task Force that has a nofail mission and continues to excel every day.

Cc

ommand

orner

Joint Task Force

Guantanamo Safe Humane Legal Transparent l l l

JTF Guantanamo

Commander

Rear Adm. David Woods

Deputy Commander

Brig. Gen. James Lettko

Sergeant Major

Sgt. Maj. Scott Smith

Office of Public Affairs Director

Navy Capt. Robert Durand: 9928

Deputy Director

Air Force Lt. Col. Laurel Tingley: 9927

Operations Officer

Army Maj. Jon Powers: 3649

Senior Enlisted Leader

Sgt. 1st Class Jerome Grant: 8141

The Wire

Command Information Officer

Army 1st. Lt. Amelia Thatcher

Editorial Staff

Army Sgt. Saul Rosa

Spc. Ryan Hallock

Spc. Vanessa Davila

Pvt. Loren Cook

Photojournalists

Sgt. 1st Class Kryn Westhoven

Mass Communication Spc. 1st Class Ty Bjornson

Army Staff Sgt. Lewis Hilburn

Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class Kilho Park

Webmaster

Mass Communication Spc. 1st Class Keith Simmons

Contact us

Editor’s Desk: 3499

Commercial: 011-5399-3499

DSN: 660-3499

E-mail: thewire@jtfgtmo.southcom.mil

Online: www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/wire/wire.html

 The Wire | Page 2 Command Corner

Cover: The ubiquitous “toys” offered by the Joint Stress Mitigation and Restoration Team (JSMART) now 

include happy egg-shaped stress balls. Members of JSMART regularly visit Troopers at their workspaces to 

make these and other items available. –photo by Army Maj. Jon Powers

News from the Bay

News from the Bay The Wire | Page 3

INDEX

The Wire

MAY 25, 2012

Money Matters: SGLI 

Summer sports preview

Get JSMART

Asian-Pacific Heritage

Armed Forces Day 5K

I still hate stretching!

Hockey confessions

Movie: Dark Shadows

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. 

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 Defense Logistics 

Agency Document Services with a circulation of 1,300.

5

7

8

9

10

12

16

18

Dusk of the Dead

Love zombies? How’d you like to be one? 

Quench your thirst for brains and come on 

down to Denich Gym at 6:30 p.m. May 30. 

You provide your own costume, and MWR 

will provide all the makeup you need to look 

like a corpse. At 7:30 p.m., shuffle over to the 

Downtown Lyceum and watch Zombieland. 

No registration is required for this event, and 

the walk is open to all ages. The film is not suitable for those under 17.

For more information, call 2113.

S*U*D*S*

Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba 

(SUDS) will visit GTMO May 24-29. The 

Reef Raiders dive club is seeking motivated 

volunteers to help out during this time. 

Volunteers are not required to be dive certified to help out.

Fo r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , e m a i l 

ReefRaidersGTMO@gmail.com.

Summer sports galore!

Men’s and women’s sand volleyball season 

begins June 20. Register to play by June 6.

Tennis season begins June 24. Register to 

play by June 14.

To register for any of these events, go to 

Denich Gym. All registrations are free.

For more information, call Alana at 2113

Soggy Bottom regatta

Are you a man or woman of constant sorrow? Have you seen trouble all your days? 

Fight those blues away and register for the 

Soggy Bottom cardboard boat regatta!

To compete in the regatta, you must build a 

person-powered cardboard boat that can survive two trips around a 100 yard course. Each 

team will also race their boats for 100 yards. 

Prizes will be awarded to the fastest, most 

GTMO, best Titanic, and best in show boats.

The event is scheduled for May 26 at Ferry 

Landing Beach from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

For more information, call 2345.

Growing up Cuban

Internationally known, award-winning 

Cuban-American children’s book author 

Carmen Deedy is coming to visit GTMO! 

Deedy’s family emigrated to the U.S. in 

1963 following the Cuban Revolution. 

Deedy will speak about growing up Cuban 

in Decatur, Ga., in a free community 

event 7 p.m. May 25 at the Naval Station 

Chapel.

For more infor mation, call Chris 

Dickson at 84616

Memorial Day 10k

Can’t get enough running? Observe 

Memorial Day by running a free 10k! The race 

is scheduled to begin May 26 at 6:45 a.m. at 

Christmas Tree Hill.

For more information, call Alana Morrison 

at 2113.

Leeward bicycle ride

Go on a pleasant cycling ride from 

Marine Observation Post 20 to Marine 

Observation Post 03! The ride is scheduled for June 2 at 7:30 a.m. Register 

to ride at Marine Hill White House on 

Mondays and Fridays between 11:30 a.m. 

and 1:00 p.m. Registration costs $15, 

and the first 10 to sign up receive a free 

T-shirt. 

For more information, call Staff Sgt. 

Tucker at 2643.

Talent show

The Burns and Roe Leaders League is hosting “Kabayan Nights,” a talent show featuring 

singing contests, live bands, good food and more.

The talent show is scheduled for June 2, from 

8 p.m.-12 a.m. at Mabuhay Garden. For more 

information, call 90548.

Guantanamanian Idol!

Do you long for the roar of a cheering 

crowd? Got an interesting talent? Show it off 

at “GTMO’s got Talent!” You can even show it 

off to Simon, Randy and Paula... impersonators, 

anyway.

Auditions are scheduled for June 2 from 5-9 

p.m. at the teen center, next to Marblehead Lanes. 

Semifinals and finals are scheduled for 6-8 p.m. at 

the Downtown Lyceum. Jovany Javier, a semifinalist from Season 10 of American Idol, will hold 

a meet-and-greet at the auditions and host the 

semifinal and finals, in addition to performing.

So start on the road to GTMO stardom and 

sign up! This free event is open to all ages and 

acts! For more information, call 77230.

I want to take this 

opportunity to thank 

each of you for 

volunteering to serve 

in the most powerful 

military on earth.

OMG Zombies!
Trooper to Trooper

Discipline and Leadership

Life insurance waters can be choppy 

on the way to smooth financial sailing

Discipline can be defined as “training 

to act in accordance with rules; behavior in 

accord with rules of conduct, behavior and 

order maintained by training and control.” 

I can remember coming from a combat 

arms military occupational specialty (MOS) 

11B (Infantry) to the Military Police; then 

95B and now known as 31B. Leadership and 

discipline were truly the cornerstones for 

the Military Police Corps. The discipline was 

unmatched for a combat support field. 

When I think about Army Leadership 

during that time, it was characterized by discipline. Some of the differences were the 

wearing of the military uniform and physical 

fitness. Soldiers today are generally satisfied with just meeting the standard, while in 

the past, it was so competitive to the point 

that exceeding the standard was not even 

good enough at times. Although the uniform has changed, Soldiers can’t imagine 

ironing uniforms or shining boots daily just 

to be recognized by their First Sergeant or 

Platoon Sergeant during an inspection which 

occurs before a Soldier does anything after 

work. That task would normally be completed prior to anything else following work. 

It was an important element of pride which 

was and still is important to Soldiers in the 

Army. Next, I see so many Soldiers struggle to meet the Army Physical Fitness Test 

(APFT) standards. This really baffles me 

the most because with a mediocre workout 

program, Soldiers should be able to maintain 

the Army standard. Most units in the Army 

conduct physical fitness at least three times 

per week. In the past, Soldiers would normally come short of killing themselves to 

maximize their APFT scores. However, today 

more than half of the Soldiers are content 

with just meeting the standard and obtaining 

a passing score. 

Now for the Soldiers who meet the standard, that’s ok, but when you are a team 

leader, squad leader or section leader, that’s 

not acceptable. The work and discipline that 

you display to your Soldiers will normally 

become the work effort that they will develop. 

It’s very important to stress to Soldiers, “you 

are in the military 24 hours a day and 7 days 

a week.” Today, when Soldiers are off they 

feel that they can do as they please; that is 

the wrong answer. Leaders need to instill the 

necessary discipline in Soldiers by having 

surprise inspections, conducting unscheduled training, and visiting Soldiers during 

their so call “off duty time.” Soldiers should 

be encouraged to exceed the standard when 

possible or give it their best effort. With regular and effective counseling sessions, this can 

be obtained. Leaders must counsel their subordinates and maintain leader books if they 

expect to get to know their Soldiers. Tough 

love is important, but it must be countered 

with genuine guidance and ample Soldier 

care. One common example of care is before 

a ruck march. Inspect your Soldier’s rucksack 

for proper weight, hydration system, change 

of socks, foot powder, and moleskin to name 

a few, the day prior to the event. 

Also, it’s important to persuade your 

Soldiers to continue their educational 

endeavors while in the military. With the 

armed forces reducing their numbers, you 

would think that every Soldier would be 

focused on this initiative. On the contrary, 

many young Soldiers are focusing on having 

a good time and are not too concerned with 

positioning their military careers. There was 

a time in the armed forces when you were 

You’re sitting at the kitchen table as the sun streams through the window 

of the home you just bought. Your fiveyear-old comes up to you and asks, “Is 

this how the weather is when you were in 

Guantanamo?”

Then it hits you. Life has changed in 

the two years since you left Guantanamo 

Bay and there is another big change on the 

horizon. You will be leaving the military 

and heading for a civilian job.

Life insurance coverage is probably not 

on the top of the list of concerns. You 

know as you take off the uniform, your 

Servicemembers Group Life Insurance 

(SGLI) lasts for 120 days after you separate or retire. The good news is that there 

is no premium payment during those four 

months, but then it just ends.

“Insurance is to protect against catastrophic events you can’t project,” said 

Walter Barrett, personal finance specialist 

with the Fleet and Family Support Center at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. 

“When your needs change insurance wise 

so you have to look at that and reanalyze 

it.”

One way to reevaluate your coverage 

requirements is by using the Veterans 

Administration’s web-based needs assessment calculator at www.insurance.va.gov. 

Once you know how much life insurance you need, it becomes a question of 

what type of coverage.

 “Term insurance can be an appropriate product, because term means time,” 

added Barrett when discussing proper 

insurance coverage for a certain time period, perhaps until the children graduate 

college.

Your term insurance comparisons can 

start with the Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI), offered to all servicemembers losing their SGLI coverage. 

You do not need to submit evidence of 

good health if you submit your application within 120 days of discharge. After 

that you will need a medical exam if you 

decide to apply for VGLI within the limit 

of one year and 120 days from discharge.

Also, VGLI limits coverage to your 

current SGLI benefit. So if you are covered for $400,000 while in uniform, VGLI 

will not automatically match it.

VGLI can be an alternative, with the 

understanding the rates increase every 

five years. For a younger Trooper, say at 

age 40, the cost is $68 for the maximum 

coverage of $400,000. But for a 60-yearold retiring Guardsman or Reservist, hold 

on to your wallet, as it will cost $432 for 

the same amount of insurance.

There are many other choices than just 

term life insurance to include whole life, 

variable life, universal life and annuities. 

Each type of insurance has positive and 

negative features. Depending on lifetime 

financial goals, one of these insurance 

products could be a good fit, but it is important you read the fine print as many 

have an investment piece to the policy.

After careful comparisons of different 

policies, you need to check the ratings of 

the firms offering those policies. Look 

for an A+ insurance company. There are 

many ratings agencies, to include AM Best 

(www.ambest.com), Fitch (www.fitchratings.com) or Moody’s (www.moodys.com) 

which can provide insight into the health 

of the company you expect to be around 

for many years to come.

Insurance is expensive and comparison-shopping is worth the time it takes. 

Obtain more than one estimate or quote. 

“As a servicemember goes throughout 

their career it is not unusual for them to 

be approached in some way to purchase 

additional insurance,” noted Barrett, adding if it sounds too good to be true it 

probably is.

Barrett related a story of a servicemember living on base who was paying 

over $200 for $20,000 of insurance; that 

money could have been invested for a better return. The best advice Barrett has for 

a life insurance shopper is to be a smart 

consumer.

Besides his office at the naval station, 

Barrett is available every Thursday from 

8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Fleet and Family Support Center satellite office located 

next to the Camp America post office. 

Call 4050 or 4141 to set up an appointment.

 The Wire | Page 4 Trooper to Trooper Command Information The Wire | Page 5

PSEC ALERT

PROTECT YOUR INFO!

Malware is everywhere!

Malware continued to proliferate this year, with an average of 42 new malware strains being created 

every minute. Most of the new malware created are Trojans (68.34 percent), followed by viruses 

(16.02 percent), worms (11.69 percent) and adware (2.58 percent). Trojans remain popular because 

they are the ideal tool for cyber crooks to steal user data, providing the largest financial return 

to threat creators. Protect yourself online; be careful when surfing the web. Make sure your virus 

protection software is up to date and remember OPSEC!

Army 1st Sgt. Nathaniel R. Trower

First Sergeant, 314th MP company

 see T2T page 5

By Sgt. 1st Class Kryn P. Westhoven

Money Matters

counseled on specific goals per quarter and 

your leaders ensured that those goals were 

met. 

Here at Joint Task Force Guantanamo, 

a good Trooper maintains good discipline 

and has respect for his uniform, maintains 

a heightened level of physical fitness, and 

looks to further his military and civilian 

education. Each Trooper must abide by 

their service-specific rules and regulations 

and maintain discipline. It’s important for 

leaders to counsel Troopers monthly to 

ensure they are working towards quarterly 

goals and to ask certain questions which 

will improve their relationships with their 

subordinates. Remember, taking care of 

Troopers entails creating a disciplined environment where they can learn and grow 

with consistency. Leaders who constantly 

enforce standards are simultaneously 

instilling discipline that will aid Troopers in 

the future during more stressful situations. 

Super 

Troopers

Congratulations to the Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo Troopers who recently

 received commander’s coins! 

OS3 Morrel-Fermin

OS2 Mintor

Money really does matter, especially 

when it comes to ensuring your loved 

ones are taken care of. This is part two 

of a two-part series on Servicemembers’ 

Group Life Insurance.

T2T from page 4
Relive your glory days

Summer intramural sports to begin 

gt. Bradley Wagner 

isn’t afraid to fail; he 

is afraid to stall. 

“It drives me 

off the wall when 

you find people 

who care too much 

about their career,” 

said Wagner. “For 

example, there’s nothing more frustrating 

than a leader who doesn’t want to make a 

decision because they’re afraid of a negative outcome. That just means that they 

care too much about their career to fail.”

So what do you do when you’ve faced 

off with the possibility of failure and 

accepted that sometimes it will happen? 

You do what Wagner does and take the 

proverbial bull by the horns. He has taken 

every opportunity the Army has given him 

and he’s run with it. Now his superiors 

have sent another opportunity/challenge 

his way, and he has accepted with confidence and humility. Tomorrow, Wagner 

leaves Guantanamo Bay and the 314th 

Military Police Company that he has been 

with since he was 17 and heads to West 

Point. Wagner is going “green to gold.”

“I got a lot of pressure from the unit to 

go and I think that was a good thing,” said 

Wagner. “It’s a four-year program plus fiveyear contract afterward, so that’s almost 10 

years. So that’s kind of daunting but it’s a 

good thing, it’s a good bargain, and it’s a 

good opportunity so I don’t feel bad about 

it. It’s just every time I think about it, it 

kind of blows my mind a little bit.”

Wagner’s buddies have given him the 

good-natured hard time that is required 

when an enlisted servicemember switches 

over to “the dark side.” There have been 

plenty of attentions called when he enters 

questionable locations like the bathroom 

but Wagner knows his battle buddies 

are happy for him. More importantly, he 

knows what being previously enlisted will 

mean to his tenure as an officer.

“I think it’s hugely valuable,” said 

Wagner. “I think it’s a tremendous benefit to have that perspective and be able 

to anticipate those kinds of needs that my 

NCOs are going to have because I was in 

that position.”

Trooper Focus News The Wire | Page 7

Are you looking for a reason to drop out of that college course that consumes 

all your free time? Or possibly an excuse to 

excuse yourself from morning physical training? Maybe you’re not a slacker and just love 

to participate in the many activities this island 

has to offer.

It’s another Guantanamo Bay summer and 

new intramural sports begin next week. Men 

and women’s soccer leagues begin May 29 and 

coed basketball begins June 4. 

High school is over. The glory days are 

over. You can’t dunk a basketball anymore. 

You can’t lead a receiver 60 yards down the 

gridiron for an overtime touchdown pass, 

but the competiveness is still in you. It burns 

inside you, taking you back to senior year when 

you lost the state championship, in every sport.

One certainty still remains: your ability to 

participate in GTMO sports and have some 

fun with fellow JTF Troopers in your off time. 

Sure, your opportunity to officially sign up on 

a team roster has passed, but are you going 

to let that stop you from experiencing losing 

and winning with a group of friends? Anyone 

new to GTMO can sign up in a player’s pool at 

the sports office. A team forms when enough 

people enter the player’s pool. If a team needs 

an extra member and they choose you, sign 

up at the sports office 24 hours prior to game 

time to be added to the roster. 

“People can gain many different things 

by joining intramural sports!” said Alana 

Morrison, Morale, Welfare and Recreation 

sports coordinator. “If they are new to the 

island, it is a great opportunity to meet other 

participants with similar interests. Intramural 

sports are also a great opportunity to just 

stay in shape and just relax! The stresses of 

working and feeling like it is Groundhog Day 

everyday can be diminished by intramural 

sports!”

 This summer is about more than new 

romances, beach parties, and indie-rock music. 

It’s about sports. What’s it going to take to get 

you out of your room and onto the field? Put 

the cake down and pick up your glove because 

it’s softball season. 

“Intramural sports benefit all of the 

GTMO community!” said Morrison. “They 

allow for recreation time outside of the barracks and away from residential areas. It’s a 

great feeling knowing you can go down to the 

ball park for a sporting event and just relax 

with a hot dog and a soda from the concession stand.” 

Softball season: every man and woman’s 

chance to prove they don’t play ball like a wimp. 

It’s your chance to join together for a shot at 

something bigger. Win the softball league 

and you’ll be immortalized in Guantanamo 

Bay history. Lose and you’ll always remember the time you put every ounce of passion 

into being great or standing in right field for a 

couple of hours.

“Don’t let the long summer months just 

pass on by without playing in at least one 

league or tournament,” said Morrison. “The 

summer is filled with all kinds of sports and 

MWR wants to see as many participants out 

there! The more patrons mean even more 

leagues, tournaments, and prizes to go with 

them! Everyone wants a GTMO trophy, 

medal, and/or t-shirt! Come out and get yours 

this summer!”

S

–the boss says

“Although he was selected to attend West Point, the U.S. Military Academy, he never brags or boast 

about such a great accomplishment.”

Hobbies: Snorkeling, playing pool

Apartment or house? I don’t like to clean, 

apartment all the way

Time in service: 4 years

Advice to junior Troopers: “Be curious and 

volunteer for details and things like that 

because that’s where you go to acquire skills 

you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”

Bullet Bio

By Spc. Vanessa Davila

By Spc. Ryan Hallock

Trooper

Focus

How do you combat stress?

Sgt. Bradley Wagner

Boots on the Ground

“I yell at my computer. I get up, walk 

away, and take a breather.”

Staff Sgt.

Chinon Thome

“I chill in my room and read time cat, 

which is about a cat who goes back 

in time.”

Pvt.

Erin Campbell

“I talk things out with YN2 

Escobedo. I also email my husband 

and listen to Dave Matthews Band.”

Information Systems Technician 1st class

Whitney Burch

“I’m an easy-going guy. When things 

get stressful down here, I take time 

for myself.”

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class

Dominique Cannon

 The Wire | Page 6

Happy Memorial Day, Guantanamo Bay!

On Memorial Day, Americans across the nation and around 

the world pause to remember our fallen heroes. Many mark 

the day by decorating gravesites with flowers and flags, attending local parades and honoring surviving veterans. U.S. 

Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Joint Task Force Guantanamo will observe with a Memorial Day service and wreath laying at Cuzco Wells Cemetery. Take a moment this Memorial 

Day to honor the sacrifices of our departed servicemembers.
When a Trooper is feeling depressed, 

sometimes it may seem like he or she 

has nowhere to go and no one to talk to. The 

Joint Stress Mitigation and Restoration Team 

(JSMART), however, is a great place to relax 

and talk about whatever may be bothering 

you.

“Our organization is all about outreach 

and prevention,” said Navy Lt. Stephanie 

Long, officer-in-charge of JSMART. “The 

idea is that we’ll prevent irritants from turning into serious problems.”

Troopers assigned to JSMART reach out 

to other Troopers by going from section to 

section and to the camps, talking to people 

and handing out stress balls, notebooks and 

other free items. All of these items have the 

JSMART phone number on them.

JSMART has a show on Radio GTMO 

every Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., dealing 

with morale and psychiatric fitness.

“We try to get our name out there. If 

people know what we do and recognize us, 

they’ll feel more comfortable coming to us 

when they need us,” Long said.

JSMART has many ways of helping 

Troopers relax and decompress from whatever is stressing them. The building is kept at 

a comfortable temperature, and has a sitting 

room with comfortable couches, books, and 

a TV.

“Being relaxed allows you to let your mind 

wander away from whatever is bothering you, 

and lets you open up because you’re not feeling so guarded,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd 

Class Lucas Baker, a psychiatric technician 

with JSMART.

While much of JSMART’s mission focuses 

on preventing little problems from becoming 

big ones, the team also has trained psychological technicians to talk to those in need.

“We have psychiatric technicians for when 

people want to come and talk through whatever it is they need to talk about,” Long said. 

“Our psych techs are very good at what they 

do.”

Psychiatric technicians interview patients 

and provide therapy and counseling. No subject is taboo for the psych techs; they cover 

personal issues, work-related issues, relationship issues, and even substance-abuse issues.

“I think this can be a very high-stress 

environment, especially for those who work 

in the camps. With the younger Troopers, 

especially, this may be the first time they’ve 

left their family and friends, or left America, 

so they’re feeling isolated and need to talk to 

someone,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class 

Dominique Cannon, a psychiatric technician 

with JSMART. “We just want to allow people 

to vent and give them support and care that 

they might not be able to get from their command or their friends, or if they just don’t 

want to talk to their friends about something 

that’s personal.”

“Our most important job is to listen,” 

Baker said. “We also help people identify 

negative coping skills and then help them find 

more effective ways of coping.”

To become qualified, psychiatric technicians go to a 3-month course at Fort Sam 

Houston, Texas. The first two months consists of classroom instruction, followed by 

two weeks in a clinical setting and two weeks 

of service-specific training, Baker said.

“In our classroom work, we examine the 

pathology of every major problem we’re 

likely to run into: personality disorders, mood 

disorders, PTSD, and so on. We use a book 

called ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of 

Mental Disorders’ that pretty much becomes 

our bible,” Baker said.

For Cannon, every day offers new challenges and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“When I was joining the Navy, I asked if 

corpsmen did any kind of psychiatric job. 

When they explained some of the jobs corpsmen do, from that point on, even while I was 

in the recruiter’s office, I wanted to be a psych 

tech,” Cannon said. “It’s a very rewarding job 

for me. Every problem that I deal with is very 

individual and unique.”

Cannon’s tour at GTMO is coming to a 

close, but Baker, a recent arrival, is ready to 

take the torch. The people at JSMART may 

change, but its mission remains the same.

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Throughout the month of May, United States military installations around the world celebrated Asian-Pacific American Heritage 

Month and Asian Americans who serve in the military. 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo celebrated Asian Americans May 21 

at the JTF Trooper Chapel. 

Capt. Joyce Louden of the 525th Military Police Battalion kicked 

off the ceremony with an account of her family history, as a multiracial 

Asian American.

“One of the things I can count on when I meet someone new is the 

question ‘so what are you,” said Louden. “I usually rattle off ‘I’m Scottish, English, Filipino, Hispanic, and Chinese.”

Louden explained that her father’s side of the family came to United States prior to the Revolutionary War and settled in upstate New 

York. Her mother’s side of the family came over from the Philippines 

in the late 1800s to cut sugar cane in Hawaii. However, both sides of 

Louden’s family have a long, strong history of serving in the American 

armed forces. 

 “Although with all of this rich history, I’m the first academy graduate,” said Louden, a graduate from the United States Military Academy. 

“My mother told me a story about her father. When she was younger 

he told it was a shame she couldn’t attend the academy because she was 

a girl, but he lived to see me accepted.”

The event also included a presentation of notable Asian Americans 

who served in the armed forces. The video was put together by Staff 

Sgt. Erice Manalansan, Sgt. Damon Vongphachanh, and Spc. Ryan 

Saiyasombat, members of the 314th Military Police Company.

“There are a lot of Asian Americans that contributed to the military 

and we picked certain ones that everyone knows,” said Manalanson. 

 “We were looking for people who stood out whether it was through 

their service, bravery or what they did during the wartime,” said Saiyasombat. 

One particular Medal of Honor recipient who stood out to Saiyasombat was Korean War veteran Cpl. Hiroshi Miyamura. 

Miyamura provided cover for his unit’s retreat at Imjin River in 

North Korea. He was captured during the attack and was held for two 

years in a Communist prison camp. On October 27, 1953 Miyamura 

was presented the Medal of Honor. 

“It was the ultimate act of bravery for him to put his men before 

himself,” said Saiyasombat. 

Outgoing JTF Command Master Chief Reynaldo Tiong gave the 

last speech of the celebration, and spoke about his Filipino heritage and 

the Asian American community. 

“Like our grandparents and our great grandparents before, we go 

on to raise our kids to be proud of our heritage,” said Tiong. “I want to 

tell how very happy we are that in all of our differences, we still maintain a great heritage and community on this good earth.” 

The finale of the event was a Hawaiian Hula, a dance with chanting 

or music. This Hula was presented to King Kamehameha by his warriors after unifying the islands of Hawaii. One of the performers of the 

dance was 1st Lt. Shaka Malufau of the 525th Military Police Battalion. 

Malufau explained that the dance was performed by King Kamehameha’s best warriors and symbolized freedom and unity. He added 

that the dance was appropriate because how it related to the ideals that 

United States value. 

 “It was amazing doing the dance before military personnel,” said 

Malufau. “I really enjoy being a Soldier. I really enjoy working with the 

military, so that Hula was the best thing that I can do to show my appreciation.” 

By Army Sgt. Saul Rosa

1st Lt. Shaka Malufau danced the hula at a ceremony for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. 

–photo by Mass Communications Spc. 1st Class Ty Bjornson 

Celebrating Asian Americans at JTF

By Pvt. Loren Cook

The Wire | Page 8 Feature Feature The Wire | Page 9
Getting up early in the morning is something many Troopers would prefer 

to forgo. Fewer still would willingly wake 

up early on a Saturday. Waking up early on 

Saturday to run a race, however, takes a very 

special kind of dedication.

About 150 servicemembers, family members, Department of Defense civilians, and 

third-country nationals celebrated Armed 

Forces Day on Saturday by displaying just 

this kind of dedication.

“I think having an athletic event is a 

great way to honor the armed forces,” said 

Navy Capt. Brad Thom, Joint Task Force 

Guantanamo command chaplain. “It encapsulates the physicality required in those who 

serve.”

The hard-charging runners showed up 

at Cooper Field just after sunrise and began 

warming up and stretching. Most had preregistered for the race; others registered that 

morning. Those who had registered early 

enough were guaranteed to walk away from 

the race with a T-shirt.

The race began promptly at 6:45 a.m. 

Runners ran once around the track before 

embarking on a course that took competitors 

around McDonald’s and the Naval Exchange, 

past the Cuzco Barracks, and nearly to the 

bottom of John Paul Jones Hill, where racers grabbed water and turned around. From 

there, runners headed back to Cooper Field 

and finished the race on the track.

“Events like this one are great for building 

esprit de corps,” Thom said. “We race against 

each other for a while, but once we’ve finished, we cheer each other on. If anything, 

it’s a competition against our own bodies.”

Medals were awarded to the first and second place male and female finishers in six 

different age categories. A raffle was held for 

the remaining T-shirts; however, it turned out 

there were enough T-shirts for everyone who 

entered the raffle to get one. Many people 

walked away smiling, with a wearable souvenir of their athletic endeavors.

Armed Forces Day is celebrated at military bases across the U.S., but not many can 

truly celebrate the armed forces as a whole 

like Guantanamo Bay can.

“I think this is a perfect place to celebrate 

Armed Forces Day because it’s such a joint 

environment. We have Soldiers, Airmen, 

Marines, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen all on 

the same base,” said Thom. “Not many bases 

can have an all-inclusive Armed Forces Day 

like we can.”

Superstars 

 

Age

9-15

16-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50+

Name

Zach Stone

Rohan Merril

Megan Digiovanni

Dane Stone

Jasmine Borunda

Eduardo Alatorre

Mark Sait

Debbie Remele

Caprice Vanauken

Wasim Mohamed

Wellington Jose

Katie Sutton

Karen Guerra

Augusto Gonzalez

David Poitras

Callie Leaver

Denise Winkler

Brad Thom

Ramonito Napalan

Sandra Wilson

Time

24:11

24:54

35:41

22:01

28:07

20:26

22:31

25:28

27:11

22:12

22:41

20:05

26:15

23:14.06

23:14.07

27:11

28:15

25:41

30:11

32:57

Overall winners

Katie Sutton

Eduardo Alatorre

Female

Male

20:05

20:26

Opposite page, top: Air Force Staff Sgt. 

David Poitras runs to a close second in the 

40-49 age category.

Opposite page, bottom: Runners sprint to 

the finish line.

Top: Army Sgt. Larissa Pillay fights 

through her fatigue as she runs toward 

John Paul Jones Hill.

Bottom: Go! About 150 runners begin the 

Armed Forces Day 5K at Cooper Field.

–photos by Pvt. Loren Cook

Troopers celebrate fitness, Armed Forces Day with 5K race

The Wire | Page 10 Feature Feature The Wire | Page 11

By Pvt. Loren Cook
A voice on the phone said, “I have a challenge for you.” 

She sounded so sunny and positive I said, 

“sure,” before she finished saying what I was 

being challenged to. 

“Yoga!” she chirped.

Guantanamo Bay yoga guru Myah Mason 

had read a recent article about stretching and 

took it upon herself to show the author an 

entirely different perspective on stretching 

and fitness. That author was me and I had 

just committed to four weeks of her class 

without knowing what I was in for.

Of course, I had all kinds of yoga references: there are movies of course, the sunrise yoga show on ESPN and my own impressions of the oneness of mind and body. 

Bah humbug!

Mason explained what she hoped a new 

student would learn in his first session. 

“To find out that yoga isn’t what you expected,” she said. “People have misconceptions from comedies and romantic movies, 

or they may be fearful of the religious side.”

Well, now I had no frame of reference 

at all. The last time I thought about yoga, 

women wore shimmery spandex tights, terry 

headbands and neon leg-warmers. 

That Wednesday, I put on what I thought 

to be appropriate yoga wear and headed out. 

Sans leg-warmers.

With her familiar sunshine-y demeanor 

Mason greeted me as the class gathered and 

gave me a quick run-down of the class. She 

teaches non-purist “YogaFit” which is all 

fitness-ism without mysticism.

“You never have to leave the world of the 

five senses to gain the full benefits of the exercise,” she said.

I grabbed a mat, picked out a dark corner 

and imitated the others in the class who were 

lying down. That I can do. The class began 

and I heard “aromatherapy” – ok, that’s a 

term I hear when my wife is very angry with 

me and she locks herself in the bathroom 

and puts flowery smelly stuff in a hot tub 

instead of throwing something at my head. 

Which is a good thing. Mason was offering 

wintergreen, a flavoring in Skoal and Mentos.

“Yum, Mentos,” I thought but wasn’t sure 

I wanted the essential oil. If I didn’t take it 

was that like betting the “don’t pass” line on 

a craps table- generally frowned upon?

How relieved was I when the familiar 

scent of Ben-Gay wafted through the room 

– who knew muscle rub smelled like wintergreen? Not me! If I could have I would have 

taken double!

Being a middle-aged man who has spent 

his adulthood running long races on little or 

no preparation I have developed an emotional connection with Ben-Gay. It was the 

scent of all things that were once possible 

with youthful vigor and optimism but now 

gone stale after being squashed into an office 

cubicle and fermented through middle age. 

It smelled like everything would be alright.

So it began. Mason started “cueing;” 

that’s yoga talk for Simon Says. She stated 

that we had to put out of our minds any 

sense of competition and focus on what our 

bodies needed that night.

What if you don’t know what you need? 

Just follow along. Simon says “Mountain!”

Cueing again- Sweeping arms to chair 

pose- where’s barstool pose? Shut up inner monologue- I am trying to concentrate! 

At one particularly critical juncture I really 

nailed it. I wanted to turn to the guy next 

to me ask, “Did you see me hit that Warrior 

pose?”

He’d say, “No, my eyes were closed.” Oh, 

right the no competition thing. Focus on 

your own body. Got it. But there hasn’t been 

a Warrior pose like that since Schwarzenegger in “Conan.”

I lost my place and hurried to catch 

up, down-dog-up-dog-plank and my inner 

monologue interrupted again. “Well let’s just 

child’s pose and jump back in when it’s convenient for all of us, shall we?” 

A balance challenge put an end to the 

floor work: not like balance a vertical pool 

cue in the palm of your hand, but the stand 

on one leg kind. I tried with about as much 

success as the standing front-hamstring 

stretch we do for PT. Then suddenly we were 

done. One hour of yoga and no quadruple 

lotus sunrise position. I made it.

After class, Mason asked me how I felt- I 

was sweating a bit. I felt good. I felt relaxed. 

I had just been introduced to yoga.

She explained that yoga is very individualized. 

Each class depends on your personal 

yoga experience. You can choose more or 

less challenging options. 

In Mason’s case, yoga followed an incredibly successful effort at weight loss. She was 

looking for more challenges in 2007 and – 

loved the benefits enough to continue to get 

instructor certified in 2008.

Mason recalled her first time. “I was 

nervous about the religious aspect but 

found the non-competitive nature a stress 

reliever,” she said. At that time, married to 

a deployed Soldier, she was home with two 

kids, and discovered yoga became her personal time and even helped her be a “nicer 

mommy.”

The next morning my back felt like I had 

shoveled too much snow. Those thousand 

little muscles with names no one remembers were all sore. But they were sore in 

the way that you like because you know you 

worked hard.

The next two classes went the same. 

Aromatherapy seemed almost normal and I 

felt a modicum of success with some of the 

poses and lost my place less often. When I 

left class my body knew it had done some 

work. In only three visits I had this yoga 

thing figured out. Then the inevitable “other shoe” dropped on the guy who thinks he 

knows it all. 

Friday was different. It was way harder. I 

now know I was given two legs for a reason. 

And to have one in the air and the other 

support all of my weight while I leaned 

forward on my hand was absolutely not the 

reason. I imagine it was what a football goal 

post feels as swarming fans rip it down in 

celebration. The collapsed-goal-post pose 

as I call it was kicking my butt and teaching 

me a lesson in respect for gravity. 

So now the stretching was the exercise. I 

started to understand the challenge Mason 

had offered. My own idea of yoga prevented me from trying it. She wasn’t trying to 

change my mind about stretching: she was 

showing me that exercise can take a variety 

of forms. And a few of those forms may 

hurt a bit. 

Believe it or not, I’ve got more television channels here at Guantanamo Bay than 

I do back home, and I don’t even shell out 

for cable.

Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. 

But for the first time in recent memory, I can 

watch a channel which carries the National 

Hockey League playoffs and not have to pay 

an arm and a leg for 100 other channels I 

don’t watch. Or bar food I have to box up, 

take home, and not consume because it never 

heats up well. Having this pro bono entertainment resource is a boon to the obnoxious 

sports fan which will inevitably emerge from 

even the most un-sporty of people. Like me!

In a sport where teams have to play 80-

plus games just to see who qualifies for the 

playoffs, it is understandable for less-thandiehard fans to save the vehemence and passion until it counts: when it’s time to win it all! 

What about the regular season? My boys are 

moving up! 

My very first sports memory is of watching my team, the New Jersey Devils, win the 

Stanley Cup for the first time ever. Of course, 

I only know it was their first time winning 

from looking up the Wikipedia entry. My 

little brother and I were psyched to stay up 

late and eat lots of snacks and wear our (Modell’s sponsored freebies because Dad is super 

cheap) Devils jerseys. We jumped up and 

down around the living room whenever the 

buzzer announced a goal because it was the 

only game feature obvious enough for us to 

follow at that age. YAY BRODEUR! All other 

players’ names and commentary went in one 

ear and out the other.

In the following 10 years, I can remember 

attending only two games. The first was within 

a season or so of the Stanley cup win, at the 

old Meadowlands complex and tons of fun 

because my uncle bought us ice cream. I think 

they were playing the Islanders because all six 

of their fans were in the row in front of us. 

The second game was against the Philadelphia 

Flyers – a home game for them, and I was in 

college in south Jersey at the time – and the 

Devils won. Boo-ya!

Even now, I couldn’t tell you Zubrus from 

Zajac (also had to look these players up), nor 

what a hat trick is (three occurrences of a 

thing, apparently), nor what offsides means. 

Forget about spouting stats from other teams’ 

heydays in the mid-‘80s. When is the next 

game, anyway?

Until this point, I tuned out all sports entirely. The last mention of Devils anything 

was in October when my brother scored a trio 

of preseason tickets. Ice hockey fans in Cuba 

are almost as likely as a Jamaican bobsled 

team. And then... out of nowhere... a challenger appears. A supporter of the rival team! 

Gnashing of teeth! Rending of garments! Allout cubicle war! In actuality, we tend to throw 

things at one another regardless of whose 

team lost the playoffs. 

Consider the Joint Task Force Guantanamo demographics. Our National Guard units 

potentially form company- or battalion-sized 

fan bases for single teams. Navy individual 

augmentees from all over the country perhaps 

watch games from divisions other than Atlantic. Half the Army folks here in the public affairs shop are from New Jersey, though our fair 

state has always been split along Philadelphia 

versus north Jersey and New York team loyalties. Hockey, despite its reputation for fighting, 

isn’t even the best sport to see how nutty the 

fans get. In the grand scheme of sports popularity, we’re kind of insular and quiet. Football 

is probably a better overall barometer. 

Either way, regional rivalry is a pan-sport 

phenomenon. It also does funny things to 

people who otherwise get along just fine, 

and even people who would otherwise never 

consider vandalism as a hobby. My car back 

home, which regularly travels through Flyers 

territory, is resolutely team-neutral for safety 

purposes. Not that I fear a random Rangers 

fan will happen by my cubicle here and set it 

ablaze upon seeing a Devils playoff souvenir 

draped upon the wall. Heck, by the time this 

edition goes to print we might know who 

moves up in the Eastern Conference. 

But who cares about them? All I know 

about the other teams in the playoffs is that I 

don’t root for them. GO DEVILS!

The Wire | Page 12 Feature Feature The Wire | Page 13

By Army Maj. Jon Powers

By Army 1st Lt. Amelia Thatcher

I

STILL

HATE

STRETCHING

or do I?

CONFESSIONS

of a clueless

HOCKEY FAN

 see STRETCH page 13

STRETCH from page 13
The Wire | Page 14 At Your Service

At the Re a d y

At Your Service The Wire | Page 15

At the Re a d y

JOPLIN, Mo. – Within hours of the deadly 

Joplin tornado on May 22, 2011, Gov. Jay 

Nixon activated the Missouri National Guard 

and told the people of Joplin they would 

remain on duty as long as needed.

One year later, the Guard remains on 

mission in the southwest Missouri town as 

rebuilding continues, said Army Maj. Gen. 

Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the 

Missouri National Guard.

“When the Missouri National Guard says 

we will stay as long as needed, we mean it,” 

Danner said. “Since day one we’ve worked 

alongside the people of Joplin to help this 

community respond, recover and rebuild. 

Our Guardsmen will continue to support 

them as long as we are needed.”

The night the tornado struck, members 

of Joplin’s 203rd Engineer Battalion and 

supporting companies worked at search and 

rescue in the central disaster zone. Within 

days, military police, infantry Soldiers and 

aviation units joined in the state emergency 

duty.

At the height of the response, the 

Missouri Guard mobilized 377 personnel 

who worked at traffic control checkpoints 

and roving security patrols, in addition to 

assisting with transport and establishment of 

a Mobile Medical Unit for use by the staff of 

St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Joplin. 

One week following the devastating 

disaster, Missouri Guard personnel helped 

the community plan a memorial service 

at Missouri Southern State University. 

Both Nixon and President Barack Obama 

addressed mourners at Taylor Performing 

Arts Center that day in late May 2011.

The president cited selfless acts toward 

others, including stories of those who sacrificed their lives for people they’d never met.

“Amid heartbreak and tragedy, no one is a 

stranger,” Obama said.

That sentiment has been echoed repeatedly since the storm hit that changed the 

landscape of the city of 50,000. Tens of 

thousands of people donated time and labor 

to those they never met, from nearby communities to those overseas. 

Following the storm, Nixon tasked the 

Missouri National Guard with providing 

state oversight for the federal debris removal 

program in Joplin and nearby Duquesne. The 

Guard provided 45 personnel and developed 

debris clearance tracking mechanisms, liaised 

with municipal, state and federal partners, 

and resolved various property issues, resulting in a highly successful rapid removal 

process. 

This effort continues in 2012, but by late 

2011, over 1.5 million cubic yards of debris 

were removed; over 3,100 Expedited Debris 

Removal parcels were cleared; and more 

than 1,100 commercial parcels in Joplin and 

Duquesne were cleared. 

The Missouri National Guard has also 

been assisting the Department of Workforce 

Development with the Missouri Disaster 

Recovery Jobs Program for Jasper and 

Newton Counties. The program creates 

temporary jobs to aid in the cleanup of 

public areas and restoration as a result of 

the disaster. Jobs include debris removal 

and restoration of public facilities and 

rights-of-way. 

More than 1,502 civilians have been temporarily employed through the program. 

Currently, 15 Citizen-Soldiers serve the 

Disaster Recovery Jobs Program as part of 

the Guard’s Task Force Phoenix. 

“The mission has been very successful in the recovery of Joplin,” said Guard 

task force member and Joplin liaison Army 

Capt. Bryan Dodge. “It is great to see all the 

houses and businesses that have been built in 

the last year. You can still see the scars of the 

tornado, but it is healing.”

Task Force Phoenix works from the 

Guard armory in Joplin, within eyesight of 

the still standing but empty Mercy Hospital. 

The armory sustained damage from the tornado when the roof was torn off, ruining 

ceiling tiles and flooding the armory’s drill 

floor from rains that followed the twister. 

The armory’s 203rd Engineer Battalion 

Missouri Guard remains on mission 

one year after Joplin tornado

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – United States 

Army and Kuwaiti Army Soldiers have hardened their ongoing partnership with fire 

– live fire, that is.

In a Combined-Arms Live-Fire Exercise, 

known as a CALFX, at the Udari Range May 

8, units of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 

1st Cavalry Division (Iron Horse) and the 

Kuwaiti Army’s 151st Tank Battalion, 15th 

Mubarak Armored Brigade successfully 

performed a series of maneuvers to stop a 

simulated invasion force, validating months 

of training which began soon after the brigade withdrew from Iraq to Kuwait.

“It proved our ability to partner and 

work with the Kuwaiti military,” said Maj. 

Eric Melloh, operations officer for the 2nd 

Combined Arms Battalion, 8th Cavalry. 

“We’re able to shoot, move and communicate together. You can’t fight if you can’t do 

all three of those things.”

This partnership increases the strategic 

reach of the United States, stressed Melloh, 

who is from Huntsville, Texas.

In addition to the 2nd Combined Arms 

Battalion and the 151st Tank Battalion, the 

exercise involved the 1st Battalion, 82nd 

Field Artillery of the 1st Brigade, the brigade 

headquarters, and the 29th Combat Aviation 

Brigade. The troops were tasked with engaging targets representing an invading enemy 

armored force.

A safe distance away, a group of observers from the United States military and 

Kuwaiti military saw, and heard, the capabilities Melloh described.

 The 2nd Battalion’s scout platoon 

screened friendly forces and engaged targets 

with the 25mm cannons on their M3 Bradley 

Infantry Fighting Vehicles. They also called 

for indirect fire from the 2nd Battalion’s 

mortar platoon and the artillery Soldiers, 

who slammed the targets with high-explosive rounds and provided smoke to cover the 

scouts’ withdrawal south, toward their tactical assembly area.

That coordination requires trust, said 

Sgt. 1st Class Taylor Donohoe, the 2nd 

Battalion’s mortar platoon sergeant. The 

scouts have to trust that they’re going to get 

the fire missions they want when they want, 

he explained.

“We have to incorporate our shooting with their movement so we’re shooting 

safely,” said Donohoe, of Chilton, Texas. 

The smoke has to be at the right attitude 

and have the correct density so “the scouts 

can move out and the tanks can move in,” 

he added.

The American M1A2 Abrams tanks and 

Kuwaiti M84 tank did just that, churning 

up the sand as they roared across the desert to swing into position and engage the 

targets. The boom of the tanks’ main guns 

echoed across the dunes and dust and black 

smoke drifted in the wind as the Kuwaiti and 

American troops bested the scenario, hitting 

targets representing a reconnaissance element of eight Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 

armored vehicles, known as BMPs, and a 

main force of more than a dozen T72, T55 

and T54 tanks.

The observers broke into applause as the 

exercise ended.

“Everybody shot good,” said Sgt. 1st 

Class Eddie Jones, the 2nd Battalion’s master 

gunner, adding that they’ve been cross-training with the Kuwaitis since January.

Jones recalled training with the Kuwaitis 

during two joint exercises here in the ‘90s. 

The Kuwaiti Soldiers couldn’t have conducted a live-fire exercise like this back then, 

he said.

“You can see the difference from then to 

now,” he said. “Now they’re out front, leading. They want to show that they learned 

from us.”

The good communication in the live-fire 

exercise was due to the support of United 

States Army linguists and the Kuwaiti leaders’ 

strong command of the English language, 

Melloh said.

“Most of it was talking back and forth 

in English,” he said of the communications 

during the exercise. 

The exercise was also a big step for 

the brigade, which had been conducting 

full-spectrum operations in Iraq last year, 

according to 2nd Battalion Operations Sgt. 

Major Richard Burns, of Belton, Texas.

“We shifted our focus to a partnership 

with the Kuwaiti government,” he said.

That shift involved a return to training, 

Burns said. Starting with tasks like individual 

marksmanship, the troops re-honed their 

soldier skills, working their way up to things 

like squad and platoon live-fire exercises, he 

explained.

“It was a lot of planning, but the Soldiers 

rolled right into the role,” Burns said. “Now 

we’re truly the best-trained unit the United 

States Army has to offer.” 

The planning and training, which paid 

off in the successful CALFX, set conditions 

for the units relieving them in the coming 

months, Burns said.

“We set the wheels in motion for this 

great partnership,” he said.

The implications are more far-reaching, 

Melloh said.

“It’s all about inter-operability between 

nations in the middle east,” he said. “This is 

just one of the ways forward.”

Training milestone solidifies 

Kuwait–U.S. partnership

By Ann Keyes

Missouri National Guard

BySgt. 1st Class Raymond Drumsta

South Carolina Army National Guard

 see GUARD page 16
The Wire | Page 16 Around the World Mind, Body & Spirit The Wire | Page 17

MUDUBUGU, Burundi – Texas National 

Guardsmen had the opportunity to share best 

practices with Burundi soldiers preparing for 

an upcoming deployment during a visit to 

Mudubugu, Burundi, March 26-April 6, 2012.

The exchange included courses in combat life 

saver, tactical combat casualty care, mechanized 

infantry and mortars. The U.S. Army Soldiers 

shared their knowledge on the subjects in a classroom setting and then the Burundi soldiers put it 

to use in a practical exercise.

“We talked about basic first aid, advanced 

trauma care, combat casualty care and evacuation of casualties,” said Leahy, Task Force 

Raptor medical specialist. “Then we would 

practice dressing wounds, placing tourniquets 

and employing the different types of carries, like 

fireman’s carry and buddy carry.”

According to Bautista, Task Force Raptor 

physician assistant, the Burundi soldiers were 

excellent students.

“They were very eager to learn and gain 

knowledge,” Bautista said. “Even though we 

were sharing basic information, they wanted 

to know more. I enjoyed sharing what I knew 

with them because I felt it was going to be put 

to good use.”

The Burundi soldiers were in the last phase 

of pre-mobilization training for their deployment in support of missions in East Africa. 

Marr, an infantry platoon sergeant with Task 

Force Raptor, felt proud to be part of their 

preparation.

“I love training Soldiers,” Marr said. 

“Especially these men, who were getting ready 

to deploy just like I am deployed now. I felt like 

I wanted to go with them--not to help or get 

involved in any conflict, but to make sure they 

were OK and utilizing what I shared. For two 

weeks these were my guys. I bonded with them 

and felt that camaraderie I feel with my Soldiers 

back home.”

According to the Texas National Guardsmen, 

sharing their values and standards as Soldiers was 

the best part of the training.

“With the Burundi noncommissioned officers and officers, we shared the values we hold as 

leaders,” said Siwecki, a Task Force Raptor infantry platoon leader. “Things like how younger 

soldiers look to us, not only for leadership, but to 

bring them back home safely; guiding principles 

that they will soon put to use.”

A graduation marked the end of the Burundi 

soldiers’ training and the beginning of their 

deployment. It also left the U.S. Soldiers with 

a sense of accomplishment and being part of 

something larger than themselves.

“When I first heard that I was coming to 

Africa, I thought I’d be more directly involved 

by providing medical care to the local population,” Bautista said. “However, after working 

with the Burundi soldiers, I realized by sharing 

what I know, not only as a medical professional 

but as a U.S. Soldier, these men will go out, do 

good things and potentially save lives.” 

By Staff Sgt. Malcolm McClendon

Texas Army National Guard

Texas National Guardsmen exchange 

best practices with Burundi soldiers

museum was also exposed to water, soaking historic documents and photos.

“The state of Missouri quickly came to our 

aid so the armory could be used to help other citizens of Joplin,” said Army Maj. Michael Brown, 

administrative officer of the engineering battalion. 

“We were able to do some demolition and reconstruction that improved the building.”

Damaged pieces from the museum 

were recovered by the Missouri National 

Guard’s Museum of Military History, and 

were delicately cleaned and preserved. 

The old photos, plaques, awards and flags are 

historically valuable, said Brown of the unit’s lineage that dates to 1883. After preservation efforts 

were complete, all the artifacts were put back on 

display in the armory.

On May 21, the Joplin High School class of 

2012, who has spent the last year learning in a 

mall instead of their high school that was annihilated in the storm, will receive diplomas on the 

MSSU campus. Once again, Nixon and Obama 

will speak to those most affected by the EF5 

tornado. 

Nixon told those at the Joplin memorial service in 2011 that that the spirit of Missourians 

would ensure the city perseveres. 

“One year from today, Joplin will look different, and more different still in two years, and three 

and five,” said Nixon, citing his state’s ‘Show-Me’ 

attitude. “Once we have set our resolve, no storm, 

no fire, no flood can turn us from our paths.”

One year later, Joplin does look much different, with countless businesses and homes rebuilt. 

Large swaths of land are barren where destruction and debris once stood as far as the eye could 

see. And the Missouri Guard remains on duty.

I

t may come as a shock to learn that there 

exist a number of similarities between the 

study of popular culture and the study of 

psychology. Though many find it difficult to 

identify the inherent parallels between the two 

fields, the link certainly exists. In American 

society, popular culture stands to informally 

identify certain attitudes, beliefs, trends and 

images within our mainstream culture. It 

shouldn’t come as any surprise that much of 

the information we receive on a daily basis 

from mass media (even in its most sensationalized and dramatic presentation) influences 

not only the way we speak, behave and 

appear, but also our mental health.

When someone says “American pop culture,” the first thing that comes to mind is 

reality television. You may be thinking to 

yourself, “What in the world does reality television have to do with psychology? “ Well, 

just take a moment and turn on any generic 

show following the uncensored lives of your 

favorite celebrities and you will find your 

answer. We as a culture have become increasingly invested in reality television, because it 

appeals to our inner desires to be omnipotent 

and follow the interesting and crazy antics 

of equally bizarre people. It showcases the 

intense drama, friendships, love and betrayal 

of these individuals and ultimately provides 

the viewer with all the rollercoaster excitement of life in small, 30-minute bite-sized 

meals. These are not Hollywood A-list actors 

playing a role. They are the projected, orangeskinned and spiky-haired versions of you and 

me, going about their daily lives just for our 

entertainment. 

Depending on who you ask, reality shows 

are either a recent trending phenomenon 

that allows hopeful celebrities their 15 minutes of fame or the sum total of low-brow 

pop culture in America. Given the lucrative 

opportunities a reality show presents to certain networks, it’s better to settle in for the 

long haul, because they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. But what is it that draws 

such a large viewership to fawn over these 

human train wrecks and keep demanding 

more? Why are people so intimately attracted 

to the personal lives of otherwise ordinary 

people? Given the momentum these types of 

shows have gained in American mass media 

and the overall voyeuristic interest in them, 

psychologists across the nation have sought 

various answers to questions like these. Many 

psychologists have theorized that reality television is the “American dream,” shaped into a 

serialized and enjoyable experience. It allows 

the viewers to briefly suspend their disbelief 

and fantasize about gaining status through 

automatic fame. Ordinary people can watch 

the shows, see people like themselves, and 

imagine that they too could become celebrities by being on television. That’s another 

reason why these shows are watched: they 

impart an unshakable belief that being on 

television elevates you and makes you special 

and important.

Sometimes the mental processes which 

drive us to watch reality television are fairly 

cynical. In an illuminating article in the journal 

“Media Psychology, “ two Ohio researchers, 

Steven Reiss and James Wiltz discovered 

that the largest motivations for viewing reality television were divided between a “desire 

for self importance “ and “vengeance. “ 

Professor Reiss writes that, “the people who 

watched reality television had above-average 

trait motivation to feel self-important and, 

to a lesser extent, vindicated, friendly and 

free of morality.” Though this information 

can be interpreted a number of ways, viewers who watch reality television are primarily 

motivated for self-improvement reasons: 

instead of enduring the hard work of personal accomplishment and fulfillment, reality 

television offers a theatrical panorama of 

individuals who the viewer perceives as being 

inferior to them. 

Regardless of how much merit or substance reality television may have scripted 

into its content, these types of shows are 

viewed primarily for entertainment. As social 

creatures, we are all drawn to gossip and the 

affairs of others, so when they are offered in 

an explosive, non-stop drama, we all gather 

around to throw peanuts at the monkey dancing for our entertainment. We feel superior to 

them, knowing that we would never degrade 

ourselves for a competition or allow the public as a whole a shameless glimpse into our 

lives. Reality television is best summarized 

as being junk-food for the brain: quick, delicious, filling, and probably not good for you.

One of the missions of the Joint Stress 

Mitigation and Restoration team (JSMART) is 

to offer increased awareness of psychological 

topics. We serve all service members currently 

assigned to Joint Task Force Guantanamo 

and offer therapy for those in need. Our 

working hours are currently 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

We are open Monday through Friday and we 

are closed on the weekends and federally recognized holidays. Our services are provided 

voluntarily and on a walk-in basis. You can 

contact us at 2321 during working hours. For 

emergencies, a staff member is on call at 

3566. Have a nice day!

Reality television and psychology

GUARD from page 14

By Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Dominique Cannon

JSMART

Mind, Body & Spirit

Created and Drawn by Randy Denman
 The Wire | Page 18 Movie Review

I never understood the appeal of daytime soap operas. Though, I must confess, I’ve always 

been curious about “Dark Shadows,” the daytime soap that ran from 1967-1971. I’ve always 

been aware of it, but never saw it. This show 

was set in a dark Maine mansion where family 

patriarch Barnabas Collins was a 200-year-old 

vampire. Supernatural occurrences were normal for the series. So were supernatural beings 

like werewolves, witches, warlocks, zombies and 

ghosts. They sure didn’t have those on “As the 

World Turns.” 

“Dark Shadows” was never a mainstream 

mainstay, though it did gain a cult-like fan following. Now “Dark Shadows” has been re-imagined 

for a big-screen makeover by director Tim Burton 

(“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Sweeney 

Todd”) and actor Johnny Depp, who are also 

fans of the series. Depp even claimed when he 

was a teenager he wanted to be Barnabas Collins. 

In Burton’s new “Dark Shadows” movie, Depp 

gets to do exactly that.

The film opens in 1760 with the entrepreneurial Collins family leaving Liverpool, 

England for Maine to further their fishing business empire. The family settles in the bustling 

Collinsport and they build the elaborate family 

mansion of Collinswood Manor. Growing up 

in the lap of luxury, Barnabas Collins (Depp, 

“Pirates of the Caribbean”) enjoyed his youth as 

a wealthy playboy destined to take over the family business. That is until he spurned the love of 

jealous witch Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green, 

“Casino Royale”) for his fiancée Josette DePres 

(Bella Heathcote, “In Time”). Angelique uses her 

dark arts to kill Josette and turn Barnabas into a 

vampire to mourn Josette for eternity. Framed 

by the dubious witch, Barnabas is chained and 

buried alive by the townspeople of Collinsport. 

After 200 years of confinement, Barnabas 

is freed in 1972. His discovery of a certain fast 

food chain’s sign provides one of the biggest 

laughs in the whole movie. He finds his beloved 

Collinswood to be a shadow of its former self 

with only four living Collins residing there. The 

family is no longer a proud one, but dysfunctional and unhappy. The curse Angelique had 

put on Barnabas also affected the future generations of the Collins with travesty and despair.

Angelique is still in Collinsport after two centuries. Through her black magic, she has not aged 

a day. She has made it her life’s work to sink the 

Collins family into financial ruin with her own 

fishing businesses. Once she discovers Barnabas 

is back, she resumes her fascination with him and 

plots to have him at all costs. 

As I watched “Dark Shadows,” I deeply 

admired the craft of the movie. Here is a film 

that doesn’t go over the top with CGI to tell its 

story. CGI is there, but the film relies more on 

tone, darkness, shadows and the elaborate sets of 

Collinswood Manor to create a convincing atmosphere for the characters to exist in. I enjoyed the 

old-fashioned feel to the picture, befitting to the 

eras we see depicted, which is something many 

big-budget special effects extravaganzas seem to 

get wrong. 

Johnny Depp is fun to watch as Barnabas 

Collins. I really enjoyed his appropriately stilted 

performance as a late 1700s British man muddling his way through 1970s American culture. 

His observations of music icons Karen 

Carpenter, Alice Cooper and Steve Miller definitely provide nice touches of humor. Barnabas 

is a fish out of water. His interactions with other 

characters are high points throughout the film. 

Kudos is also in order for Eva Green. She’s very 

classy and sassy as Angelique. She’s a great foil to 

the Collins family. 

Though “Dark Shadows” is replete with vampirism, witchcraft, secret identities, re-incarnation, 

ghostly apparitions and a brooding mansion with 

secrets, I couldn’t help but feel the movie felt a 

little flat. You would think the film with all these 

elements would have enormous entertainment 

potential. In fact, the whole second act is one big 

lull. As it stands, “Dark Shadows” is like an icecold sodapop without the fizz. 

I’m not sure if Tim Burton really knew where 

he was going with this movie. Is this film best 

served as a comedy? Well, maybe if there were 

more humor to balance out the story and tone. Is 

it a drama? For a picture inspired by a soap opera, 

the normal plot-twists and surprises you would 

expect to see are absent. Is it a horror film? Not 

really, but it does borrow overtones from the 

spooky Republic/Hammer films of yesteryear. 

“Dark Shadows” is not a bad film by any 

means. I kind of liked it, but not enough to recommend it (a bare minimum of three banana 

rats are required for that). The film suffers from 

being a “one-shot.” It has all these really great 

parts to it, but due to time restraints, nothing 

is really explored beyond the basics. It is like 

the filmmakers put everything into this picture 

because they wanted it to be representative of 

the television series. The problem there is the TV 

show had time to go into these different tangents 

over a course of several episodes. The movie 

does not have the ability to do that. 

“Dark Shadows” looks good with great looking sets and spot-on acting. The soundtrack is a 

great montage of rock songs popular in the early 

seventies. If anything, you can at least enjoy the 

ambiance, the visuals, acting and music provide 

throughout this picture. The picture is only hindered by a sense of aimlessness. So, Mr. Tim 

Burton, if you’re not sure what kind of a film 

you’re trying to make, then your audience might 

not know what to make of your film either. I’m 

just sayin’. 

By Mass Communication Spc. 1st Class 

Ty Bjornson

Dark Shadows

Bulletin Board The Wire | Page 19

GTMO Religious 

Services

NAVSTA 

Main Chapel

Downtown

Lyceum

Camp 

Bulkeley

 FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU 26

Call the movie hotline at 4880 or see https://intranet/movies.html for more information.

25 27 28 29 30 31

Battleship

(NEW)

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

American 

Reunion 

(R) 10 p.m.

No Movie: Stage 

preparation for 

band concerts.

The Avengers

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Battleship

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

No Movies: 

See Volcano 

Joe and the 

Hot Lava Band 

and Vertical 

Horizon

American 

Reunion

(R) 8 p.m.

Battleship

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Silent House

(last showing)

(R) 8 p.m.

A Thousand Words

(last showing)

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

The Hunger 

Games

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Celebrate 

Zombie month 

with the movie 

Zombieland

(R) 8 p.m.

The Avengers 

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

A Thousand Words

(last showing)

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Dark Shadows

(PG-13) 8 p.m.

Daily Catholic Mass

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

Vigil Mass

Saturday 5 p.m. 

Mass

Sunday 9 a.m.

General Protestant

Sunday 11 a.m. 

Gospel Service

Sunday 1 p.m.

Christian Fellowship

Sunday 6 p.m. 

 Iglesia Ni Cristo

Sunday 5:30 a.m. 

Room A

Pentecostal Gospel

Sunday 8 a.m. & 5 p.m. 

Room D

LDS Service

Sunday 10 a.m. 

Room A

Islamic Service

Friday 1 p.m. 

Room C

Intense Spiritual 

Fitness Power Lunch!

Study the Book of 

Romans with 

Chaplain Chouest

Thursdays 11-11:30 a.m.

JTF Command 

Chaplain’s Office

Protestant Worship

Sunday 9 a.m.

Bible Study

Wednesday 6 p.m.

Downtown

Lyceum

Camp 

Bulkeley

JTF Trooper 

Chapel

For other services, contact the NAVSTA 

Chaplain’s Office at 2323.

For more information, contact the 

JTF Chaplain’s Office at 2305.

GTMO Quick 

Reference

Caribbean Coffee & Cream – 77859

Mon.-Sat. 6 a.m.-10 p.m. 

Sun. 1-10 p.m.

Jerk House – 2535

Sun.-Th. 5-9 p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 5-10 p.m. 

Bowling Center – 2118

Mon.-Fri. 6-11 p.m.

 Fri. 6 p.m.-12 a.m

Sat. 1 p.m.-12 a.m.

Sun. & Holidays 1-11 p.m.

KFC and A&W Express – 75653

Daily 11 a.m.-10 

p.m.

MWR Liberty Centers – 2010 

Deer Point: Mon.-Fri. 4 p.m.-12 a.m.

Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m.-12 a.m.

Marine Hill: Mon.-Th. 11-12 a.m.

Fri. 11-2 a.m., Sun. 9-12 a.m.

Tierra Kay: Sun-Th. 7-12 a.m.

Fri. & Sat. 7-2 a.m.

Camp America - open 24 hours

Pirate’s Cove

Th.-Sat. 7 p.m.-12 a.m.

Cuban Club – 75962 (call ahead!)

Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

McDonald’s – 3797

Mon.-Th. 5 a.m.-11 p.m.

Fri-Sat. 5 a.m.-2 a.m.

Sun. 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Pizza Hut – 77995

Mon.-Th. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Fri. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sat. & Sun. 12-9 p.m.

Windjammer – 77252

Fri. & Sat. 5 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Windjammer Cafe

Mon.-Th. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Fri. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sat. 5-10 p.m.

Sun. 5-9 p.m.

O’Kelly’s Irish Pub

Mon.-Th. 5-9 p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 5 p.m.-2 a.m.

Sun. 5-9 p.m.

Safe Ride - 84781

Movie Review PG-13

113 min.
Hospital Corspman Fengyuen Yu extinguishes a virtual fire with Jose Blacio’s, of the Navy Hospital, instruction at the 

Safety Stand-Down. The Safety Stand-Down was sponsored by the Naval Station Security Office to host safety demonstrations and presentations. Both JTF and NAVSTA personnel attended the event. 

–photo by Army Sgt. Saul Rosa