Photo By Sgt. Emily Greene | Army Spc. Brandon Little, with the 525th Military Police Battalion attached to Joint...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Tattoos mean different things to different people. From marks of family allegiance to a way to express an individual spirit tattoos can be seen sported openly or hidden away from public view. This month service members at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay were provided a rare opportunity to get their very own tattoo while serving here.
Morale, Welfare and Recreation sponsored "Tattoos by: Tyler, Rich, Guapo, Miho & Leo," a group of tattoo artists from Massachusetts and Colorado who get together once a year to provide tattoos to service members at Guantanamo Bay.
Tyler Green and his brother, Rich, have become regular visitors to Guantanamo Bay. They say they enjoy being able to provide their unique services to service members at Guantanamo Bay.
"I'm given the opportunity here to help provide a form of stress release for the service members here," said Tyler. "If they can come to us and spend an hour or two getting tattooed, it is an hour of escape from anything else going on in their life and the stresses of their job."
Rich said when he first came to Guantanamo Bay he expected to do a lot of military-themed tattoos. He said he was surprised to discover otherwise.
"I get the same variety of requests here as I do in the States. There isn't the expected Guantanamo Bay or military type of tattoo requested. People want anything from symbols that mean something to them personally, family names or meaningful quotes," said Rich.
Larry Close is an advanced research technologist with the Joint Intelligence Group, Joint Task Force Guantanamo. He said every tattoo he has is significant to him. The wild cat he had tattooed on his chest by the visiting team is made even more unforgettable because he was able to have it done here at Guantanamo Bay.
"I always say you should get a tattoo you really like; something meaningful to you. It is something you will have to look at for the rest of your life," Close said.
Army Spc. Brandon Little, a guard with the 525th Military Police Battalion, had "Weight of the World" tattooed on his shoulders.
"All of my tattoos are memorable for me. I can look at my tattoos and they make me think about what is important to me," said Little.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Nichole Harden, a guard with JTF received a tattoo of a tiger on her foot by El Guapo.
"I've been wanting this tattoo for a long time. It makes it even more cool to get it done here in Cuba," said Harden.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Mario Castro, Marine Security Force Company, U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay said he had gotten some surprised looks while Rich was tattooing his last name across his back.
"It makes people do a double-take here sometimes. I really like the way my tattoo turned out, but I underestimated the pain. It will be an experience I always remember," Castro said.
Miho said that while he is in Guantanamo Bay he gives twice the number of tattoos he does in a normal day at home in Colorado.
"It is worth all the hard work, though. It is an honor to be able to do this for the service members here," Miho said.
The entire artistic team said they enjoyed being able to provide their unique services to Guantanamo Bay service members. They said they were already looking forward to future trips to Guantanamo Bay.
"This has been another great experience. Hopefully everyone enjoys their new tattoos and the memories that come along with them," Tyler said.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2009 14:53 |
| Story ID: | 35677 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 263 |
| Downloads: | 148 |
This work, Guantanamo gets inked, by SGT Emily Greene, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT