A few good questions about GTMO
Jeff in Cuba returns again as guest-blogger, this time taking timeout from his busy schedule of shipping contraband cigars to his podcasting friends to answer these burning questions.
One of the occupational hazards of working in Guantanamo Bay is answering questions about A Few Good Men. I really shouldn’t be surprised; before the orange jumpsuit crowd showed up, Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 (and that would be your ever-so-tenuous '80s connection) play and subsequent 1992 movie was all most people knew about the nation's oldest overseas military installation. So on the off chance that you were wondering (or just have 10 minutes to kill), here are my favorite A Few Good Men queries:
Are the Marines in GTMO as fanatical as Jack Nicholson’s megalomaniacal Col. Nathan Jessup, or Keifer Sutherland’s jack-booted 1st Lt. Jonathan Kendrick?
The men and women of the Marine Corps Security Force Company are the finest people you will ever meet. They are polite and friendly, exactly the type of folks you want to see across the neighborhood poker table, or on the sidelines of your kid's soccer game. But they are very much United States Marines. If you were to climb to the top of any of the observation posts that ring the base, you would find a deadly serious young man with a gaze locked on the Cuban territory within his sector. How do they maintain this focus, even when there's no longer a credible military threat from across the fence? Look at it this way: The same discipline that allows a Marine in Iraq to act like nothing's going on when his life is in danger is the discipline that allows a Marine in GTMO to act like his life is in danger when there’s nothing going on.
Would the Cubans take a shot at me if traveled along the fence line in my white uniform?
No, but I'm sure they would laugh at me. GTMO’s a very casual place, and a dress uniform just screams "tourist." These days the only "shots" the Cubans are taking are with cameras. There are precious few portions of the base they can't see, and we just assume everything we do is being photographed. If you think of it as "paparazzi," it's not quite as creepy.
Do I "eat my breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans trained to kill me?"
The sentiment is accurate, but the geography is a little suspect. The base is indeed surrounded on three sides by the Cuban Frontier Brigade, a very professional military unit (and the military is one of the few things in Cuba that actually works). But my kitchen is about 2,000 yards away from the fence. And while they may be trained to kill me, it's comforting to know that they're NOT trying to kill me. And if there is someone out there trying to kill me, apparently they haven't been properly trained.
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Great post, Jeff! And what a great movie! My friend tells me stories of watching Tora! Tora! Tora! being filmed while she was living at GTMO and the evacuation practices twice a year. She said that they lived with packed suitcases by the door in the appropriate season's clothing so that they could leave at a moment's notice.
I can't thank you and your fellow comrades for all your hard work and support for the USA! God bless the USA!!
Posted by: Spiky Sandy | February 02, 2009 at 08:01 AM
Thanks for the post, Jeff, and thanks for all that you and the team in GTMO do.
Love your commentary on the blog and on the podcast. Keep it up, dude.
Posted by: petey in montreal | January 31, 2009 at 07:10 PM
If Daly hadn't eaten all the Munchos, I could've been a contributor to the Sit80s Nation as well!
Posted by: Ian (in CT) | January 31, 2009 at 06:38 PM
Great Post Jeff! I appreciate the info on GTMO.
Posted by: Ray | January 31, 2009 at 06:08 PM
always good stuff from jeff, my favorite contributor.
Posted by: don in tulsa | January 31, 2009 at 05:39 PM
Thanks for the guest blog, Jeff!
At times I miss being in the Navy, but I am always thankful to those that serve.
Keep Castro, Chavez, and Putin in check will ya!
Posted by: Ian (in CT) | January 31, 2009 at 02:43 PM
Great post Jeff!
My father was a sharpshooter in the Army back in the 50s. He stationed in Germany and Italy during his time. He taught me to respect the power of guns...which is why neither of us owns one!
I remember enjoying this movie when it came out but thinking it was a bit over the top. Then having it endlessly quoted made me annoyed with it. I haven't seen it since it's initial release, so I can only imagine what you go through working there!
I appreciate your service to the country!
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | January 31, 2009 at 01:28 PM