Photo By Master Sgt. Blair Heusdens | Army Brig. Gen. Timothy Lake tours the detention facilities at Joint Task Force...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Army Brig. Gen. Timothy Lake of the Virgin Islands National Guard settles into his new job as the Joint Task Force Guantanamo deputy commander.
Lake, a native of the Virgin Islands, recently relieved Army Brig. Gen. Rafael O'Ferrall, who returned to Puerto Rico with Soldiers from the Joint Task Force Guantanamo Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
Lake is excited about his new assignment and feels the JTF mission is an important one.
"Guantanamo is important to our military's national security strategy," Lake said. "I think it is within the top five mission-critical assignments out there right now."
Lake was commissioned in 1985 as a distinguished military graduate through the North Carolina A&T State University Reserve Officer Training Corps and earned a master of science degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in 2004. He was promoted to brigadier general in September of 2009.
During his career, Lake has served on active duty and in the Virgin Islands National Guard, on the Joint and Army staff and at the White House Military Office in support of two presidents. Lake also served as the first joint task force commander in Baton Rouge, La., responsible for maintaining discipline and order after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
Upon notification of his upcoming assignment at JTF Guantanamo, Lake set out to find out everything he could about operations at the JTF. He visited JTF Guantanamo in September for a pre-deployment site survey and had an opportunity to see firsthand the mission and job he would have to fill.
"[From my experience in Washington], I already had a pretty good idea of what the JTF was all about, but it was all peripheral," Lake said. "After the site survey, I did more in-depth research into the mission and expectations of the JTF."
Lake also had the opportunity to spend a week and a half with O'Ferrall to familiarize himself with daily operations, missions and the service members at Guantanamo.
"I'm thankful for [Brig. Gen. O'Ferrall's] experience and he has been very forthcoming in sharing his knowledge while letting me also get a feel for where we could make changes," Lake said.
Lake looks forward to his tour as an opportunity to grow as an individual and make positive changes at the JTF, while ensuring the mission is accomplished.
"We are always growing in the military. You always intend on leaving your mission better than you found it," Lake said. "I am truly here to support the JTF commander and ensure the nation's objectives are being executed professionally in a joint environment."
After visiting with the service members at Guantanamo, Lake was given an impression of the quality of the force tasked with ensuring every aspect of the safe, humane, legal and transparent care of the detainees here.
"The [service members] here are very professional and understand the criticality of the mission and the national security implications of what we do here; not only for the United States, but internationally," Lake said.
As the new deputy commander, Lake has certain expectations of the Troopers here as they continue to carry out their mission.
"I expect the [service members] to stay focused, pay attention and understand why they are here and that their primary mission is the safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees," Lake said.
As discussion continues in Washington, D.C., about the future of the detention facilities, Lake likens the coming months to a part of an ongoing relay race. As units and service members continue to transition in and out of the JTF, Lake's advice is to focus on the mission and not on a particular closing date.
"This is the third leg of a relay race," Lake said. "There are many rumors in regard to the JTF life expectancy, but the guidance from the commander is that we don't know when the race will end, so we're going to run the race all the way through. If we have to pass the baton on, whether it be to military or civilian personnel — whenever it may be — we need to make sure we've run the race through professionally, not with a focus on the end date, because we have no influence on that date."
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2009 13:04 |
| Story ID: | 42408 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 528 |
| Downloads: | 309 |
This work, Gen. Lake Takes Over as Deputy Commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, by MSG Blair Heusdens, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
