Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class David P. Coleman | Sitting in his office, Command Master Chief Scott Fleming wraps up his final days,...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - His seabag packed, Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s senior enlisted leader, Command Master Chief Scott Fleming, sat down with The Wire and gave us some of his final thoughts and reflections on his two-year tour.
Q: How would you characterize your experience as Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s senior enlisted leader?
A: Both fascinating and educational. Educational in understanding the dynamic down here in and of itself, understanding who’s who in the zoo organizationally and how all the pieces come together, how the troops interact.
If you’ve been in the military any amount of time these days I think everything you do, almost, at least operationally, involves a joint flavor. But I can’t believe there’s many places that are more joint than Guantanamo both ideologically and through execution. It’s been impressive watching everybody work together, handling a difficult mission.
So yeah, I hope I’m better for the experience and I think it’s been a successful tour. I know at least in terms of mission accomplishment we’ve enjoyed some success and continued to advance the credibility of the joint task force and the troops who are assigned here.
We’ve gone to great lengths to dispel the idea that we’re a black mark on America’s credibility. I think that when people come down here and see it first hand, they come away with an entirely different notion of Guantanamo.
Q: What are some of the most important lessons you’ll take back with you?
A: Patience is a virtue. Paying attention to detail matters. Your way of seeing things is not necessarily the only or right way of seeing things.
When you come down here and are exposed to so many different service cultures I think you initially come with the idea that ‘Well, I grew up this way.’ But when you get here and see what everyone else brings to the table, you walk away with a much broader perspective and appreciation for considering other ideas and not sticking hardcore to the mindset that my service’s way is the only way.
Q: What were your expectations of working in a joint environment and did they change or were they reinforced?
A: They were absolutely reinforced. I was in Camp Bucca in Iraq doing detention operations with JTF-134. So I saw firsthand a lot of the same dynamics. The idea that senior enlisted have the potential to solve a lot of problems through interaction, through mutual respect, through cooperation, and through an occasional argument. I saw that firsthand, in action at Bucca and I think I had a pretty good understanding coming in -- you know -- what it took to at least be semi-successful. Gitmo has done nothing but validate those basic ideas.
Q: What has been the toughest challenge you’ve faced as the JTF’s senior enlisted leader.
A: I think the toughest challenge for us ultimately is the negative legacy that surrounds Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Particularly with respect to the guard force because they go in every day and demonstrate incredible composure, restraint, maturity, interpersonal skills and yet, you’re very hard pressed to find anybody in a senior military leadership or elected position that talks about what we do in a positive light. I think that wears on a lot of our troops. It’s nice occasionally to pick up the newspaper and read what you’re doing matters and actually achieving mission success. For us, that’s a tough nut to crack. When people come down here, they get it on a personal level but on a broader scale, the recognition of exactly how well our troops do their job is conspicuously absent.
Q: What is the significance of the Spartan helmet on your desk?
A: It’s a failure on my part. It was intended to be a rotational unit recognition. Each unit, each week, was going to submit something at the command and staff meeting. The admiral and another group would vote for the winner. Whoever won that week would take the helmet. So it’s a vivid illustration of one of my failures, if you must know.
Q: What achievement are you most proud of?
A: I think creating unity among the senior enlisted leaders to address the needs of our troops. Not just the needs — the desires, the priorities. I say that sort of tongue-in-cheek, because, at the [senior enlisted leader] meeting today, we were talking about some of the same things we were talking about two years ago at my first SEL meeting.
So you wonder, in retrospect, if you accomplished anything, given that you are talking about the same exact things. But, I know for a fact, that we have made strides in regards to quality of life, with respect to mission accomplishment, with respect to mission readiness. I know that in my heart of hearts but, there’s still times when you look around and go "Did we do anything at all?" We’re still talking about housing or how insufficient the Internet is, so I say that working with the senior enlisted to address those needs is the accomplishment I’m most proud of. And I know it to be true.
But I still think, because of our turnover rate specifically, a new crowd every three months of people come here and come to those same realizations -- oh my God this is wrong and that is wrong. So you’re constantly fighting that turnover battle and constantly seeking to educate people about where we were and where we are.
Q: That said, what advice would you give to the Trooper who hasn’t yet arrived here?
A: Come in with an open mind. Remember that everything is relative. This can be a difficult place to work and live -- if you let it. If you come in with an open mind, learn the environment, learn the rules of engagement and appreciate the experience for what it is rather than what it’s not, then you will have a successful tour down here and leave better for the experience.
Q: What advice would you offer to the person selected to advise you?
A: Wow, it would almost be the same advice I would give to any Trooper coming down here – open mind. Be receptive to suggestion, to constructive criticism. Have an appreciation for the bigger picture. My relief is coming in off a ship so I think his exposure to this type of environment will be somewhat limited and the temptation may be to function from his old mentality as opposed to opening his aperture a little and recognizing the place for what it actually is and how dynamic it is. It’s not a static sort of place to be. Based on political sensitivity and a million other factors, this place- GTMO – will be a very interesting tour for him.
Q: The mission of JTF Guantanamo is the safe, transparent, legal and humane treatment of detainees. How have you helped move the ball on that front?
A: I think I helped move the ball because I was fortunate to work for and with some fantastic people who were open to new ideas. Who listened to my input and who, in their own right, were patient with me. Through that dialogue up and down the chain of command I think there was awareness of what we were trying to do and appreciation for the challenges that come with the mission and ultimately a respect for the job our Troopers do to make it all happen. So I think it’s communication.
Communication among the senior enlisted community is paramount. It’s almost cliché to say that but it really is. We talk laterally and we talk vertically and so those are relationships you improve universally with respect to everything we’ve already talked about. It all comes back to talking and working through the challenges.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to add?
A: It’s been an incredibly rewarding tour. I drank the joint kool-aid – I think I did that a while ago, actually. This has certainly given me even more desire to be in a joint environment and to experience the military not in a service specific light but in a broader context.
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2011 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 66233 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 213 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fleming's Farewell, by SFC Benjamin Cossel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
