Taking Opportunities

Photo By Maj. Gretel Weiskopf | Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Xiaoming Guo poses for a photo, Nov. 12, near a U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay memorial. Guo, who has been in the Naval Reserve for more then 10 years as a storekeeper, is currently deployed here to support Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Commissions Support Group. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detained enemy combatants, 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 Terror. 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.  

11.14.2008

Story by Sgt. Gretel Weiskopf 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

By Gretel Sharpee
Joint Task Force Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Imagine you had no choice in your job, you were told what you were going to do every day of your life, and you had no input. Imagine also that you and your wife were told how many children you could have, when you could have those children and where you were going to live.

For Americans this is hard to imagine because we wouldn't dare let anyone make those decisions for us. But for citizens of China, that is the normal way life carries on, and until Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Xiaoming Guo was 26, that was his life.

"If I had never been given the freedom to pick my job, I would have never missed not being able to," said Guo, a storekeeper currently supporting Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Commissions Support Group. "After I came to the U.S. though, I immediately embraced the tremendous freedoms and endless opportunities which were offered to me."

Guo came to the U.S. with his wife in 1986 when he was 26 years old. He couldn't understand any English, "not even a simple sentence like, 'sign your name here.'" After staying with a friend of his family for the first eight days in country, Guo was dropped off at the U.S. International University with $140 in his pocket.

A musician in China, Guo played music in exchange for room and board and English classes. Within a year Guo was able to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language test, which allowed him to apply and be accepted into Coleman College. He was a student there until he received his Master's degree in Information Technology.

In 1996, Guo was working at San Diego State University as a library assistant when he saw a Navy Reserve recruiting event taking place on campus. After hearing about the training, education and retirement benefits the Navy had to offer, Guo signed up, even though he was still a citizen of China.

"People in the service care for each other and look out for each other. You don't see that in the civilian world," said Guo. "[Being in the Navy] has been a great experience for me – I am grateful for everything."

Finally in 1999 Guo applied for U.S. citizenship. After six-to-eight months, his paperwork was approved and he participated in the swearing-in ceremony.

"While reading the pledge, my heart started pounding, there was a lump in my throat, my blood circulated very fast – I told myself it's worth it, all my effort paid off," said Guo, while recounting the memory.

He continued, "I'm very proud that I can serve in the military and have this opportunity to work in the Military Commissions office. We are making history here at Guantanamo Bay."

• Date Taken: 11.14.2008
• Date Posted: 11.17.2008 09:27
• Story ID: 26437