Photo By 1st Sgt. Daryl Madrid | Gen. John Kelly, U.S. SOUTHCOM commander, visited U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay,...... read more read more
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By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daryl T. Madrid
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - The commander of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. John F. Kelly, visited Joint Task Force Guantanamo Feb. 19. The continuing mission of JTF-GTMO is to provide the safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees here.
Kelly often visits the base to ensure the high level of dedication and professionalism of JTF personnel continues to exceed SOUTHCOM’s high standards. He said it’s part of his job to interact with young service members, as opposed to being in Washington with the older crowd.
“I come down periodically just to say thanks to a real great bunch of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen for the job they do down here,” Kelly said.
Kelly had nothing but good things to say about service members at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, which has a different mission than JTF-GTMO.
“The Naval Station side is an absolute key U.S. base in this part of the world,” Kelly said. “We use it for a multitude of things – not only migrant operations, but rescue work with the Coast Guard and the Navy uses it as a communications and refueling site. There is still a viable mission at the base that we really need. The Naval Station guys and gals do an excellent job, as well, and they should be proud of themselves.”
The general understands the naval station mission is different from the JTF, but the importance of their mission is vital for the sustained naval presence in the Caribbean.
“The GTMO mission remains to support the fleet and support the U.S. efforts here in the Caribbean,” Kelly said. “So, GTMO is still a very important facility to the United States.”
The multipurpose capabilities of GTMO expand beyond communications and refueling operations. In the past, the base has been used to provide a safe haven for refugees impacted by political unrest or natural disasters.
“This is the location for any mass migration from Haiti or Cuba, as the Coast Guard or United States Navy would pick up the migrants for safety purposes,” Kelly said. “We would bring them here and house them here until we re-patriot them. That’s still a very, very big mission.”
Kelly’s most recent visit to troops at JTF-GTMO was in December. He has been SOUTHCOM’s commander since 2012.
| Date Taken: | 02.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2015 09:20 |
| Story ID: | 155886 |
| Location: | U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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