Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer Joshua Treadwell | Outgoing Joint Task Force Guantanamo commander, Navy Rear Adm. David M. Thomas Jr.,...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Joint Task Force Guantanamo bid "fair winds and following seas" to Navy Rear Adm. David M. Thomas Jr. in a ceremony held June 19.
With more than a year serving as the JTF commander, Thomas has made significant changes addressing mission critical elements.
"I decided after a couple weeks here that I had three focus areas — security, Trooper quality of service and strategic communication." Thomas said.
He explained each focus area, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the JTF from external and internal threat, taking good care of service members to ensure they have the "quality training, tools and time they need to do their job correctly," all while clearly communicating our mission — locally and globally — so everyone understands the direction and mission of the JTF.
"If our service members aren't well taken care of, on and off duty, then the whole mission falls apart," Thomas said. "They are my main battery; I want to make sure they have balance in their lives."
One of the challenges Thomas has faced during his tenure was presenting the JTF to the public in a way that clearly communicated the JTF mission and intention.
"The biggest challenge we face is making people believe there is nothing nefarious going on here," Thomas explained. "In the end, we're just Americans running an American detention facility safely and humanely, exactly the way the American people would like us to run it."
According to Thomas, the most important mission now is to keep the conditions of detention out of the debate that rages back home and on the world stage.
"What should we do with the detainees?" Thomas asked rhetorically. "We've had some recent movement of the detainees from Guantanamo Bay and while those policy questions are debated back home, what should we do with the ones who we don't feel are safe to transfer, or how do we prosecute the ones that we want to bring to justice? Where should we resettle the [remaining detainees]?
"We continue to safely and humanely provide the custody of the detainees while they're here and let the president, congress, the judicial [branch] and citizens come to the proper conclusions and solutions to those policy questions," Thomas emphasized.
With the "very complex dynamics that go on within the camps," Thomas' work to refine the JTF mission has been ongoing.
"We're never done, we continue to refine the plan," he said. "As things evolve, I discovered some things weren't as challenging and complex as I thought, and some things were a little more daunting. We always adjust. When I got here, I talked to my predecessor and the various commands that work for the JTF; our mission has evolved over time and it was important to ensure there's a common understanding [across the JTF]."
Starting at ground-zero, and analyzing some of the base documents are what helped Thomas form his missions and recast it in three simple phrases.
"Mission one [is] our fundamental mission — the safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of the detainees," Thomas said. "Mission two is intelligence collection and the assessment and dissemination to support law enforcement and the Global War on Terror, as well as our force protection here inside the wire, and the detainees themselves. Finally, our third mission is to support the Office of Military Commissions."
Defining these missions was a very important aspect of Thomas' job. Simplifying the mission allowed everyone to understand the purpose of our presence here.
With the missions outlined, Thomas and the members of JTF Guantanamo could make an assessment of the people, training programs, infrastructure and other activities associated with the organization and assess whether they map directly to the mission areas.
"Everyone who serves here serves with honor," Thomas said. "Being able to assure them that the world will understand what we do is very important to me."
As Thomas prepares to move on to his next command, he does so with appreciation of the achievements JTF Troopers made throughout the past year.
"I'm extraordinarily humbled by the wonderful work everyone here does, every day," Thomas emphasized. "I have a great team. I've been leading people my entire adult life and I've never been so proud to be associated with a group of people and a mission set like we have here. The achievements are not mine; they belong to the people who always rise to the occasion at JTF Guantanamo."
Thomas' next assignment will take him to Norfolk, Va., where he will assume command of an aircraft carrier strike group, Carrier Strike Group 2.
"I get to go back to sea," Thomas said smiling. "I'm a Sailor, and I can't wait to go back to sea."
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2009 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 35680 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 191 |
| Downloads: | 174 |
This work, Mission Complete, by Emily McCamy, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT