Courtesy Photo | Shelter seekers, including military personnel and civilians with luggage and supplies,...... read more read more
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — W.T. Sampson Elementary/High School, part of the DoDEA Americas region, housed 1,272 individuals during the hurricane, which passed through Naval Station Guantanamo Bay around 1 a.m. Wednesday, October 29th. No injuries were reported among those seeking refuge in the facility, which was not designed to serve as a hurricane shelter but was built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes. Shelter wardens, including HMCM Francisco Moreno III from the NSGB Navy Medical Readiness Training Center and 1st Sgt. Cameron Castaneda, SSgt. Samantha Sanders, Sgt. Corey Zelensky and Cpl. Tanner McIntosh from the Marine Corps Security Force Company oversaw operations and emphasized daily muster reports to ensure 100% accountability. Security was provided by Lt. Joseph Milroy and SSgt. Cordell Vaske from the Marine Corps Security Force Company, along with MA1 Lee Brewer from NSGB Installation Security. The sheltered individuals, who included essential personnel and contractors who remained on the installation, brought their own sleeping bags and food supplies to sustain them for three days.
Additionally, 72 DoDEA staff members and their families, along with their pets, were safely evacuated from the area to Pensacola, Florida, ahead of the storm's arrival. The evacuees were transported via multiple military flights, including C-17 aircraft, and arrived without incident. They were mixed with other non-essential base personnel during the evacuation. At Naval Air Station Pensacola, evacuees were housed in lodging such as the Navy Lodge or off-base accommodations.
"One of the key components was the evacuation site, the safe haven. That's been a huge part of this whole transition, and they've been great. NAS Pensacola has been amazing," said Dr. Angelo Barcinas, Mid-Atlantic District chief of staff for DoDEA Americas. “Officials there even organized a trunk-or-treat event for the children on Halloween.”
Some evacuated W.T. Sampson students assisted with presenting the American flag at the beginning of a Pensacola Ice Flyers hockey game, with tickets donated by the team and the team's general manager also provided a meal for the group.
The Naval Air Station Pensacola-based Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron — the Blue Angels — hosted nearly 300 Naval Station Guantanamo Bay non-mission essential personnel temporarily displaced by Hurricane Melissa for the team’s Oct. 30 practice at the air station's Sherman Field.
Like all DoDEA buildings, the school is constructed to meet local building codes, ensuring structural integrity during extreme weather events. The facility's reinforced design allowed it to withstand the hurricane's impacts, including potential flooding and debris, with reports indicating no blown-out windows or structural damage, only minor leaks around doors and windows. This marked the first time the current school facility was used as a shelter, though the previous school building had served that role in past storms.
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 3 storm at landfall, brought sustained winds of up to 115 mph and dumped more than a foot of rain in some areas of eastern Cuba. The storm was still passing over Cuba as of late Wednesday, with everyone remaining in shelter-in-place status until the base commanding officer issued an all-clear. As of Friday, assessments of buildings and infrastructure were ongoing, with initial cleanups handled by Marines and on-island contract cleaners. No virtual classes were in session, and DoDEA planned to send key staff, including the administrative officer, principal, and IT personnel, back on early flights for further evaluations. A public works department contact was also conducting preliminary assessments. Officials anticipated a possible return to the base as early as this week.
The W.T. Sampson campus serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade. While DoDEA has standard operating procedures for hurricanes, decisions on evacuations and sheltering fall under the purview of the installation commander.
DoDEA operates as a field activity of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. It is responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th-grade educational programs for the Department of Defense. DoDEA operates 161 accredited schools in 9 districts in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico, serving over 67,000 military-connected students. DoDEA Americas operates 50 accredited schools across two districts on 16 military installations, including Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard bases in seven states, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Committed to excellence in education, DoDEA fosters well-rounded, lifelong learners, equipping them to succeed in a dynamic world.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2025 11:40 |
| Story ID: | 551352 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 278 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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