Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Feeling forgotten and less important is a common feeling that personnel left in the rear might experience while the rest of the element is deployed.
For Port Security Unit 308, currently deployed with Joint Task Force Guantanamo as part of the Maritime Security Detachment, that is not the case. With more than two thirds of their unit currently deployed here and one third still in the rear, based out of Kiln, Mississippi, Cmdr. Ronzelle Green, PSU 308 and MARSECDET commanding officer, makes sure everyone feels like they are a part of the mission.
With GTMO’s recent Morale, Welfare & Recreation Internet upgrade, the MARSECDET command staff was able to take checking up on their Coast Guardsmen to a whole new level with Skype video chatting.
“To be successful we have to all be in it together. We’re all one unit, so for our folks, it will let them feel like they are here with us. They might not be physically here, but they are here with us, supporting us and we’re supporting them also,” Green said.
On April 19, members of the command gathered in front of a laptop computer at Marine Hill Liberty Center’s sound-proof instrumental room, to check up on personnel and talk to them about the current mission here at GTMO.
Ensuring that service members are not forgotten is a huge part of morale both at home and abroad. It is the command staff’s duty to its subordinates to ensure that everyone feels like they are important to the mission at hand.
“It’s important to me to make sure that we are consistent; we’re doing the same things, and we’re saying the same message. Plus, it gives the people back home a taste [of our mission here],” Green said.
After a lot of planning and troubleshooting, the Skype call was scheduled and given the go-ahead. Coming from a technical background, Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Nesser, MARSECDET executive officer, was instrumental in coordinating the big day.
“I had to coordinate with the unit's executive officer, back in garrison, to make sure that the timing would work with the unit's drill weekend schedule and then our schedule here,” Nesser said.
While members of PSU 308 were huddled around a computer here, that was not the case for members back in garrison.
“Back at the unit they had a camera set up where we could actually see everybody and the audience and they had a really good microphone. So, even the people in the back of the room could stand up and ask questions, and we heard them just like they were here,” Nesser said.
“For us it’s just good seeing our guys. You look on the screen and see them and it’s just like ‘oh there’s so and so!’ I think that connection has to continue especially to be one unit. Without that, we can leave for nine months and forget all about them,” Green said.
This will not be the last time the command staff plans on seeing their team. They have plans to try and video chat with them at least once a month, or even every other month. Green wants to ensure continuity, and with the increased Internet speed they are able to do just that.
“A big thank you goes out to MWR for working on getting us the better connectivity. The Marine Hill MWR connectivity is just amazing,” Nesser said.
Green hopes that all units are able to keep the bond they have with service members back home. After all, it’s important that they always feel like they are a part of the team.
“It’s still one unit, one fight, and we want to continue that. So, with the other units coming down, figure out how they can create that bond, even if it’s virtual, with the folks back home. It makes a difference,” Green said.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2015 09:33 |
| Story ID: | 161899 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | KILN, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Port Security Unit 308 Skypes home, by SGT Amber Bohlman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT