Photo By 1st Sgt. James Wagner | Army Spc. Kevin Tardi, right, a military policeman with Joint Task Force Guantanamo's...... read more read more
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Combining all five military branches into a tightly woven tapestry, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, work together daily to carry out the mission in one of the most highly scrutinized pieces of real estate on the planet.
"To conduct safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees," that's the mission of Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Not only do the service members come in variety, so goes the variety of individual missions that work toward the total mission.
Public Affairs, the Joint Medical Group and the Joint Detention Group are just a few of the key players that work with service members from multiple branches. From guarding and caring for detainees, to providing command information and media relations support, the different styles come together to accomplish the mission.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Megan Rascoe from the Joint Intelligence Group, another key player in the JTF mission, says it definitely puts a twist to things when you combine multiple services.
"Before coming here, I had only seen the Navy way of doing things," Rascoe said. "But it's interesting, learning how the other branches do things. When working with just all the Navy leadership, standards and styles are pretty much the same. Once you throw in multiple services, things change. It provides a unique challenge that I honestly feel will help me wherever I find myself, after I leave here."
Being surrounded by people from every service doesn't necessarily mean one works with them on a regular basis. For those who work in specialized shops and spend most of their time inside, it's easy to forget they're in a joint environment. There are other people, however, whose very job means interacting with different service members on a daily basis.
JTF Guantanamo chaplains know no one service, they only see the service member.
"From our perspective, people are people," said Air Force Maj. William Wiecher, a JTF chaplain. "Although service branches seem to interact differently with their chaplains, in this joint environment that doesn't really matter. As a JTF chaplain, we're available at all times for all service members."
With the variety of uniforms, customs and courtesies and quirks of the different branches, one of the most difficult things about working in a joint environment, at least at first, can be something as simple as knowing who to salute.
"You see something shiny and your hand goes up," said Army Sgt. Daisy Glass, Joint Detention Group non-commissioned officer. "What you don't realize though is you're saluting an enlisted Navy chief. The little things like that are the first hurdles to overcome. Once you've moved on from that, it becomes [natural].
"Sure we all have the same mission, but each of us does it a little differently. In the end we compromise and get the job done," Glass said. "Working here has been an amazing experience."
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2010 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 46150 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 258 |
| Downloads: | 222 |
This work, Working together at JTF, by PO2 Shane Arrington, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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