Commissions Support Group: ready for anything

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Carmen Fleischmann | The housing and administration shop with Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Commissions Support Group poses for a picture in front of Camp Justice, May 19. CSG maintains temporary lodging at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to house visitors from the Office of Military Commissions and defense lawyers. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the Global War on Terrorism. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.  

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

05.22.2009

Story by Sgt. Carmen Fleischmann 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Lately in the national media, page after page is littered with talk about military commissions beginning again at Guantanamo Bay. Politicians, media outlets, and the public all appear to be on edge; everyone that is, except for the Commissions Support Group.

The CSG is responsible for coordinating support for everyone involved in the commissions process and overseeing everything from international transportation to overnight billeting for the attorneys, prosecutors and anyone else involved with the trials.

"Lately we've been in maintenance mode," said Navy Lt. Nick Levine, the CSG officer in charge, who views any potential reinstating of military commissions as just an increase in tempo for the CSG. "Already we order materials, budget billeting, and generally maintain Camp Justice and the cuzco trailers for attorneys who continuously come down."

Working in support of that mission are several different sections that make up the CSG. The 474th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron for example, is responsible for all of Camp Justice, which includes providing power to all buildings and maintenance for the cuzcos that house the attorneys and visitors. The CSG also depends on civilian contractors to provide specific equipment for the hearings, and communicates consistently with the Office of Military Commissions in Washington, D.C., to ensure that all the facilities are up to standard and everything is in place before any commissions proceedings begin again.

"We stay prepared because basically, we never stop," said Sgt. 1st Class Alex Franco, CSG administration non-commissioned officer in charge. "We continue maintenance and inspections — that way if anyone decides to use the facilities, they're ready."

Even when actual commissions proceedings are not taking place, the CSG manages to keep fluent in detainee operations as well, through the ongoing legal briefings between the defense attorneys and their clients. These meetings remain constant even while proceedings are on hold, and the CSG is tasked with providing lodging, security, cell phones and other necessities for court appointees for the detainees.

"People think we're doing nothing," said Army Lt. Col. Nelson Del Valle, deputy director of the CSG, "but in fact we are always preparing. We are always ready."

• Date Taken: 05.22.2009
• Date Posted: 05.26.2009 11:45
• Story ID: 34111
• Location: GUANTANAMO BAY, CU