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B u t i t w a s a l s o o l d a n d f a m i l i a r . G e n e r a t i o n s o f M a r i n e s h a v e o r a n o t h e r . A l t h o u g h t h e y w o u l d n o t h a v e r e c o g n i z e d t h e w o r d so r P a n a m a k n e w t h e n o t i o n s o f " m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s o t h e r t h a n wi n t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y . I t i s n o a c c i d e n t s o m e o f t h e M a r i n e s w h o ww i t h t h e m a c o p y o f T h e S m a l l W a r s M a n u a l , a M a r i n e C o r p s ce i g n s h o r e s w r i t t e n b e t w e e n t h e t w o w o r l d w a r s b y w r i t e r s w i t hm a n y o f t h e s a m e p l a c e s .

I f t h e r e w a s o n e l e s s o n i n t h e C a r i b b e a n , i t w a s t h a t t r a d i t i o n a lc i p l i n e , a n d f l e x i b i l i t y w e r e s t i l l a s u s e f u l a n d a p p l i c a b l e i n t hh a d a l w a y s b e e n . H u m a n i t a r i a n o p e r a t i o n s d i d n o t l a c k i n t e n s i ti n t h i s s t o r y f a c e d w e r e n o t c o m b a t , b u t o n s o m e d a y s t h e y c a mc o n f r o n t e d c r o w d s o f a n g r y a n d v i o l e n t m i g r a n t s a t G u a n t a n a mS p e c i a l P u r p o s e M a r i n e A i r - G r o u n d T a s k F o r c e o c c u p i e d t h e n1 9 9 4 , t h e y e n t e r e d a n u n u s u a l e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t , a t l e a s t a t f i r st o d e a l w i t h l a r g e a n d u s u a l l y f r i e n d l y c r o w d s , a s w e l l a s a h o s tp e a r e d f r o m t h e s c e n e o n l y a f t e r a b r i e f b u t i n t e n s e f i r e f i g h t t hd e a d . I f t h e r e a r e a n y o v e r a l l l e s s o n s , t h e y a r e t h a t t h e s a m e M ab a t a n d m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s o t h e r t h a n w a r , a n d t h a t i t i s t h e l e a dw h o o f t e n d e t e r m i n e t h e o u t c o m e i n a m b i g u o u s s i t u a t i o n s .

T h e a u t h o r , C o l o n e l N i c h o l a s E . R e y n o l d s , U S M C R , b e g a n c ot i o n s i n t h e C a r i b b e a n i n 1 9 9 2 . H e w a s a b l e t o d r a w o n t h e wM u s e u m s D i v i s i o n ' s o r a l h i s t o r i a n , R i c h a r d A . L o n g , w h o c o n d u cc o m m a n d e r o f J o i n t T a s k F o r c e G u a n t a n a m o B a y , a n d t o m a k ec o u n t e r p a r t s a t t h e N a v a l H i s t o r i c a l C e n t e r , C a p t a i n s A l e x a n d e r U S N R , w h o h a d t h e g o o d f o r t u n e t o s p e n d t i m e a t G u a n t a n a m o t h e n c o n d u c t e d h i s o w n i n t e r v i e w s o f p a r t i c i p a n t s a n d c o l l e c t ea r c h i v e s .

W h e n i t b e c a m e c l e a r i n 1 9 9 4 t h e r e w o u l d b e a s e q u e l t o t h e o p e r a t i o n s k n o w n a s S e a S i g n a l a n d S a f e H a v e n , C o l o n e l R e y np a r t i c i p a n t s , c o l l e c t i n g d o c u m e n t s , a n d m a k i n g t h e t r i p t o G u a" w a l k t h e g r o u n d . "

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W h e n t h e C h i e f H i s t o r i a n o f t h e M a r i n e C o r p s , B e n i s M . F rG u a n t a n a r n o B a y i n 1 9 9 2 , I r e a c t e d l i k e m a n y M a r i n e s w h e n t hr i f l e m e n : W a s n ' t t h e r e a c o m b a t h i s t o r y t h a t n e e d e d d o i n g ? B ut o l d , a n d a s t i m e w e n t o n , I g r e w t o l i k e t h e a s s i g n m e n t . T h a t il e n g e s o f m i g r a n t o p e r a t i o n s . B e i n g a M a r i n e h a s n e v e r b e e n j u

d o ' m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s o t h e r t h a n w a r . " A c l o s e r e a d i n g o f M ah a v e . T h e s t o r y o f M a r i n e o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e C a r i b b e a n f r o m 1 9t e l l i n g a n d f r o m w h i c h f u t u r e M a r i n e c o m m a n d e r s c a n l e a r n .

I t i s a s t o r y I c o u l d n o t h a v e t o l d w i t h o u t t h e h e l p o f a n u m b ei n t h e s t o r y . T w o c o m m a n d i n g g e n e r a l s o f t h e h u m a n i t a r i a n j o i nH . W a l l s , J r . , a n d G e n e r a l M i c h a e l J . W i l l i a m s , m a d e t h e m s e l v e si n g t o s h a r e p e r s o n a l p a p e r s w i t h m e . T h e s a m e w a s p a r t i c u l a rw i t h G e n e r a l W i l l i a m s : C o l o n e l J o h n R . A l l e n a n d M a j o r F r a n zd o : t h e y s a v e d r e c o r d s a n d w r o t e a b o u t w h a t h a p p e n e d w h i l e i t w

W h e n t h e M a r i n e s l a n d e d i n H a i t i i n 1 9 1 5 t o r e s t o r e o r d e r , t h e c o n c i s e s u m m a r y o f t h e o p e r a t i o n t o L o n d o n :

T h e l a n d i n g p a r t y p u t o n s h o r e a t F o r t - a u - P r i n c e o n t h e 2 8 tA s k i l l f u l s h o w o f s t r e n g t h w a s , h o w e v e r , m a d e a n d b y a tm i l i t a r y i m p o r t a n c e , t o g e t h e r w i t h p r a c t i c a l l y a l l g o v e r n ma n d d i s a r m i n g a l l H a i t i a n m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l i a n s , t h e l a n d i np a t e a n y s e r i o u s r e s i s t a n c e w h i c h m i g h t h a v e b e e n o f f e r e d

Q u o t e d i n R o b e r t D e b s H e i n i , J r . , a n d N a n c y G o r d oS t o r y a / t h e H a i t i a n P e o p l e 1 4 9 2 - 1 9 7 5 i f i o s t o n : H o u g h t

t r i h u t i o n s g a v e l i f e t o w h a t m i g h t o t h e r w i s e h a v e b e e n a d r y rI w o u l d a l s o l i k e tt h a n k t h e o t h e r M a r i n e s , t o o n u m e r o u s t o m e n t i o n b y n a m e , wv i e w s . M a j o r J o h n T . Q u i n n I I , w h o w a s s e n t t o H a i t i b y t h e H i s t1 9 9 4 , w o u l d n o d o u b t v o i c e h i s a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r t h e o f f i c e r s o f SF o r c e C a r i b b e a n w h o s u p p o r t e d h i m , e s p e c i a l l y t h e c o m m a n d e r ,a t i o n s o f f i c e r , L i e u t e n a n t C o l o n e l T h o m a s C . G r e e n w o o d .

I w a s a b l e t o r e l y o n t h e s u p p o r t a n d a d v i c e o f m a n y m e m b e r s a n d w i s h t o e x p r e s s m y t h a n k s t o t h e m a l l . T h e f o r m e r D i r e c t o r ,w a s k i n d e n o u g h t o p r o v i d e g u i d a n c e i n t h e e a r l y s t a g e s o f t h eB e n i s M . F r a n k . T h e i r s u p p o r t a n d e n c o u r a g e m e n t o v e r t h e y e aC o l o n e l D e n n i s J . M r o c z k o w s k i , U S M C R , a n d D r . J a c k S h u l i m s ob a c k I n e e d e d . I a m g r a t e f u l t o m e m b e r s o f o t h e r s e c t i o n s o f t ht a n c e : D a n n y J . C r a w f o r d , h e a d o f t h e R e f e r e n c e S e c t i o n , a n d

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t o w a r d e n e m y p o s i t i o n s . I n a n e n s u i n g d i s p a t c he n t i t l e d " T h e R e d B a d g e o f C o u r a g e W a s H i s W i g -W a g F l a g , " n o v e l i s t a n d p a r t - t i m e w a r c o r r e s p o n -d e n t S t e p h e n C r a n e c a p t u r e d t h e m o m e n t f o r p o s -t e r i t y , d e s c r i b i n g S e r g e a n t Q u i c k a s t h e " s p r u c ey o u n g s e r g e a n t o f M a r i n e s , e r e c t , h i s b a c k t o t h es h o w e r i n g b u l l e t sI w a s ] s o l e m n l y a n di n t e n t l yw i g w a g g i n g . " T h e M a r i n e s w e n t o n t o t a k e t h eh i g h g r o u n d n e a r t h e l a r g e n a t u r a l h a r b o r k n o w na s G u a n t a n a m o B a y , w h i c h t h e U . S . N a v y w a n t e df o r a c o a l i n g s t a t i o n . T h i s b e c a m e t h e p r o l o g u ef o r t h e m o d e r n h i s t o r y o f t h e M a r i n e C o r p s i n t h eC a r i b b e a n .

I n t h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h e 2 0 t h C e n t uS t a t e s h e l d s w a y o v e r t h e C a r i bl a r g e l yb e c a u s e o f t h e s t r a t e g i c i m p o r t a n ct h e P a n a m a C a n a l , w h i c h w a s c o mT h e U . S . g e n e r a l l y r e s i s t e d a n y t hb i l i t y o f t h e r e g i o n .

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a n d F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t s . F o r t h e r o u g h l y 2 , 0 0 0M a r i n e s o f t h a t f i r s t c o n t i n g e n t , r e s t o r i n g o r d e rw a s a m a t t e r o f p r o t e c t i n g t h e c u s t o m s s e r v i c ea n d k e e p i n g t h e c a c o s , o r b a n d i t m a f i a s , u n d e rc o n t r o l .

U n d e r t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f a t r e a t y r a t i f i e d i n l a t e1 9 1 5 , t h e U . S . G o v e r n m e n t w o u l d o r g a n i z e aH a i t i a n p o l i c e f o r c e . M a r i n e a n d n a v a l o f f i c e r s ,i n c l u d i n g s u c h f a m o u s M a r i n e s a s t h e n - M a j o rS m e c l l e y D . B u t l e r , w e r e s e c o n d e d t o t h e p a r a -m i l i t a r y G e n d a r m e r i e t o o c c u p y t h e s e n i o r p o s t s .B a c k i n g t h e m u p w e r e M a r i n e n o n c o m m i s s i o n e d

o f f i c e r s a n d N a v y c o r p s m e n . M a r i n e s s e r v e d i nt h a t c a p a c i t y f o r n e a r l y 2 0 t u r b u l e n t y e a r s .T h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 9 0 0 s , M a r i n e s w e r e c o m m i t -

t e d t o o p e r a t i o n s o n e i t h e rs i d eo f H a i t i .P r o m i n e n t a m o n g t h e m w e r e i n t e r v e n t i o n s i n t h eD o m i n i c a n R e p u b l i c i n 1 9 0 4 , t h e n f r o m 1 9 1 4 t o1 9 2 4 , a n d f i n a l l y ,i n 1 9 6 5 . W h e n F i d e l C a s t r os e i z e d p o w e r i n C u b a , t h e n o t i o n o f f i g h t i n g c o m -m u n i s m s o n e a r U . S . s o i l a d d e d a n o t h e r d i m e n -s i o n t o o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e C a r i b b e a n , a n d t h e b a s ea t G u a n t a n a m o b e c a m e a n i m p o r t a n t i c o n i c o u t -p o s t o f f r e e d o m . I t a l s o p r o v e d u s e f u l t o t h e m o d -

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M a r i n e g a r r i s o n o n t h e b a s e s w e lt a l p r o p o r t i o n s d u r i n g t h e C u b a n m1 9 6 2 , h u t g e n e r a l l y t h e c o n t i n g e n tt i o n e d t h e r e w a s m u c h s m a l l e r . I n tM a r i n e s n u m b e r e d r o u g h l y 4 5 0 , mt e d t o s e c u r i t y a n d p a t r o l l i n g o p et h e p e r i m e t e r o f t h e b a s e . T h e C ut h e M a r i n e s a n d t h e M a r i n e s w a t ca l o n g t h e h e a v i l y m i n e d f e n c e lt h e m .

J a c k N i c h o l s o n , w h o p l a y e d t hb a r r a c k s c o m m a n d e r i n , " A F e w f i l m a b o u t M a r i n e s a t G u a n t a n a m om i s s i o n i n v i v i d t e r m s . A l t h o u gh e a v i l y f i c t i o n a l i z e d , t h e r e w e r e t r u t h i n N i c h o l s o n ' s m e m o r a b l e wh i s i n - y o u r - f a c e r e m a r k t h a t e v e r yb r e a k f a s t3 0 0 y a r d s f r o m 4 , 0 0 0 C u bw e r e t r a i n e d t o k i l l h i m . F o r t h es p e n t w e e k s a n d m o n t h s o n t h ew a t c h t o w e r s o r o n p a t r o l i n t h e s c rt h e " c a c t u s c u r t a i n , " i t w a s n o t a nd e a d l y s e r i o u sf o r m o f d u t y .O c c a s i o n a l l y ,M a r i n e s w o u l d r e s c u e a r e f u g e e f


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O P E R A T I O N G T M O

f i e l d o r h e l p o n e t h r o u g h t h e w i r e a n d t h e r e w a so c c a s i o n a l g u n f i r e , e s p e c i a l l y i f t h e C u b a n s s t a r t -e d s h o o t i n g a t a n e s c a p i n g r e f u g e . M a r i n e s w e r ea u t h o r i z e d t or e t u r nf i r eo n l y i n s e l f - d e f e n s eu n d e r s t r i c t l y e n f o r c e d r u l e s o f e n g a g e m e n r . '

i n 1 9 9 1 , m a n y o f t h e s e h i s t o r i c a l t h e m e s p l a y e do u t a g a i n . I n F e b r u a r y , J e a n - B e r t r a n d A r i s t i d e , af o r m e r C a t h o l i c p r i e s t a n d c h a r i s m a t i c p r e a c h e r ,t o o k o f f i c e a s t h e f i r s t d e m o c r a t i c a l l y e l e c t e d p r e s -i d e n t o f H a i t i . B y S e p t e m b e r o f t h a t s a m e y e a r , t h eH a i t i a n m i l i t a r y w a s f e d u p w i t h h i s r u l e a n d e a s -i l y o v e r t h r e w A r i s t i d e d e s p i t e h i s e n o r m o u s p o p -u l a r i t y w i t h t h e m a s s e s . A r i s t i d e f l e d t h e c o u n t r ya n d b e g a n a h i g h p r o f i l e , e x t r e m e l y v o c a l c a m -p a i g n a g a i n s t t h e m i l i t a r y r e g i m e o f B r i g a d i e rG e n e r a l R a o u l C e d r a s . T h e o u s t e d l e a d e r e v e n t u -a l l y m a d e h i s w a y t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w h e r e h el o b b i e d f o r a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e r e g i m e . T h e U . S .

G o v e r n m e n t r e a c t e d b y d e c l a r i n g a n e c o n o m i ce m b a r g o o f H a i t i , b u t t h e m o v e w a s m o r e t oe x p r e s s s u p p o r t o f a d e m o c r a t i c H a i t i t h a n f o rA r i s t i d e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e e m b a r g o r e s u l t e d i nt h e d o w n w a r d s p i r a l o f t h e a l r e a d y a b y s m a l l y l o w

s t a n d a r d o f l i v i n g o f m o s t H a i t i a n sl e f t t h e t i n y r u l i n g c l a s s , w h i c h aa b l e t o a s s u r e i t s o w n c o m f o r t , v i re d .

F r o m t h e d a y t h e c o u p o c c u r r eg e n e r a l f e a r s t h e c o u n t r y w o u l d ro f a n a r c h y , w h i c h m i g h t t h r e a t e n e s t i m a t e d 7 , 0 0 0 U . S . c i t i z e n s l i v i nn a t i o n . T h e n e w m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m ef e a r s t h r o u g h i t s e n f o r c e m e n t o f f ao f r e p r e s s i o n s u c h a s a l l o w i n g p o l ia f r e e h a n d t o b e a t r e a l o r i m a g i no f t e n i n f r o n t o f n e w s c a m e r a s . To f S t a f f r e a c t e d b y a s k i n g A d m i r a l LC o m m a n d e ri n C h i e f ,A t l a n t i c( C i n C L a n t ) ,N o r f o l k , V i r g i n i a , t o d e v e l o p a c of o r t h e e v a c u a t i o n n f A m e r i c a nO c t o b e r 1 9 9 9 , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 5 0M a r i n e sh a d

d e p a r t e d C a m p L e j e u n e ,N o r t h C a r o l i n a ,f o rG u a n t a n a m o t o s u p p o r t t h e p l a n .t i n g e n t o f M a r i n e s w a s o n s t a n d -H a i t i a s t h e f o r w a r d e l e m e n t o f J o( J T F ) 1 2 9 , t h e n a m e f o r w h i c h w

o v i c D N - s r - 9 3 - o o 3 o 6H a i t i a nm i g r a n t s b o a r d a U S . C o a s t G u a r d b o a t . T h o u s a n d s q fH a i t i a n sw e r e i n t e r c e p t e d a n d t a kb o a r d N a v y a n d C o a s t G u a r d s h i p s b e t w e e n O c t o b e r a n d D e c e mN a v a l S t a t i o n , G u a n l a n a m o B a y , 6 ' u b a , f o r t e m p o r a r y h o u s i n g


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4 A S K I L L F U L S H O W O F S T R E N G T I - 1

c h a n g e d t o J T F G T M O , a s o m e w h a t a w k w a r dc o n t r a c t i o n o f G u a n t a n a m o . B r i g a d i e r G e n e r a lR u s s e l l H . S u t t o n w a s a s s i g n e d a s c o m m a n d e r o ft h e g r o u p a n d h e d r e w h i s h e a d q u a r t e r s f r o m t h ec o m m a n d e l e m e n t o f T I M a r i n e E x p e d i t i o n a r yF o r c e ( I I M E F ) . 2

T h r o u g h o u t m u c h o f t h e c o m i n g y e a r . M a r i n e sw o u l dr e m a i n o n s t a n d - b yf o r a n o n - c o m b a t a n te v a c u a t i o n o p e r a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n si nH a i t i . M a n y o f t h o s e M a r i n e s s p e n t m u c h o f t h a tt i m e l i v i n g i n t h e b a r r a c k s a t G u a n t a n a m o B a y .T h e f o r c ed i d n o t d e p l o yf u r t h e r .B y l a t eN o v e m b e r t h e s i t u a t i o n i n H a i t i a p p e a r e d t o h a v es e t t l e d a n d t h e M a r i n e s r e t u r n e d t o t h e c o n t i n e n -t a l U n i t e d S t a t e s . 3

T h e r e a l s o w a s s o m e c o n t i n g e n c y p l a n n i n g f o rJ o i n t T a s k F o r c e i 4 0 , t h e m i s s i o n o f w h i c h m i g h tb e t o o c c u p y H a i t i . 4 B u t i n s t e a d o f l a u n c h i n g

o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e i s l a n d o f b e c a m e i n v o l v e d w i t h H a i t i a n s i nh a d f o r e s e e n . W i t h i n a m o n t h o fd r e d s o f H a i t i a n s t o o k t o t h e s e am o s t w i t h t h e g e n e r a l i n t e n t i o n oU n i t e d S t a t e s i n s e a r c h o f a b e t t e re c o n o m i c h a r d s h i p . T h i s e x o d u s f e w o f t h e b o a t s w e r e s e a w o r t h y d e s p e r a t e l y o v e r l o a d e d . O n e 3 0 - f ow h i c h t h e U . S . C o a s t G u a r d c a m e f l o u n d e r i n g , h e l d s o m e 2 4 0 p e ow o m e n a n dc h i l d r e n . M a n y o f t h e c rh a r d l y h e c a l l e d b o a t s ; m o r e c l o st h e f a b l e d m a k e s h i f t r a f t H u c k F id o w n t h e M i s s i s s i p p i .

I n l a t e O c t o b e r , t h e C o a s t G u a rt i n e l yp a t r o l l e dt h e w a t e r si n t h e W i n d w a r dP a s s a g e b e t w e e n 1 - l a i t i a n d C u b a ,


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D Y I CD N - S T - 9 3 - 0 0 3 0 7

L a u n d r yl i n e s a n d c o t s f o r u s e b y H a i t i a n m i g r a n t s f i l l t h e w e l l d e c k( L S D 3 8 )w h i l ed o c k e d a t G u a n l a n a m o B a y .T h e P e n s a c o l a s e r v e d a s t e n i p o r a t y hc a m p s w e r e b e i n g e r e c t e d o n l a n d i n l a t e N o v e m h e r a n d e a r l y D

1 9 H a i t i a n s .P e r h a p s b e c a u s et h e w o r d s o m e h o wm a d e i t b a c k t oH a i t it h a tA m e r i c a n s w e r e p i c k i n gu p m i g r a n t s i n b o a t s , t h e f l o o d g a t e s o p e n e d w i d ea n d t h e C o a s t G u a r d w a s s o o n r e s c u i n g e v e r -i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f m i g r a n t s a t s e a . M e s s a g e sf r o m t h a t p e r i o d s u g g e s t m o s t o f t h e C o a s t G u a r da n d N a v y c o m m a n d e r s d e a l i n g w i t h t h e g r o w i n gm i g r a n t p r o b l e m b e l i e v e d t h e o n l y p r a c t i c a l i n t e r -i m s o l u t i o n w a s t o t a k e t h e m t o G u a n t a n a m o . B y1 0 N o v e m b e r , n e a r l y 5 0 0 m i g r a n t s w e r e o n t w oC o a s t G u a r d c u t t e r s a t a n c h o r i n t h e h a r b o r a tG u a n t a n a m o . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , a c u t t e r i sa f a i r l ys m a l l s h i p , m o r e l i k e a l a r g e m o t o r y a c h t t h a n as m a l l w a r s h i p , a n d t h e d e g r e e o f o v e r c r o w d -i n g a n d s u b s e q u e n t u n s a n i t a r y c o n d i t i o n s w a ss t a g g e r i n g . A f e w h u n d r e d y a r d s a w a y , t h o s e o ns h o r e c o u l d s e e j u s t h o w b a d c o n d i t i o n s w e r eb e c o m i n g .

T h e U . S . G o v e r n m e n t w a s n o w f a c e d w i t hd e c i d i n g w h e r e , a n d u n d e r w h a t c o n d i t i o n s , t h em i g r a n t s s h o u l d b e o f f - l o a d e d . T h e C o a s t G u a r dh a d p r e v i o u s l y b e e n a b l et o s i m p l yr e t u r nm i g r a n t s t o H a i t i u n d e r a b i l a t e r a l a r r a n g e m e n tk n o w na s t h e A l i e nM i g r a n t sI n t e r d i c t i o n

A g r e e m e n t ( A M I A ) . H o w e v e r , a c ot h e A M I A c h a n g e d t h a t a n d p r o hG o v e r n m e n t f r o m r e t u r n i n g m i gt o H a i t iw i t h o u t a r l e a s t r e v i e w i n g t h e i r w a y . G u a n t a n a m o w a s n e a r b y a n dt a g e o f p r o v i d i n g a s e c u r e h o l d i nb e i n g i n t h e t e r r i t o r i a l U n i t e d S t a t e

B u t t h i s s t o p g a p m e a s u r e o n l y mt i o n m o r e c r i t i c a l a s t i m e p a s s e d ao f p e r s o n s g r e w . T h e m i g r a n t s c ou n d e r f i e l d e x p e d i e n t s h e l t e r s o n tc u t t e r s w h e r e h e a t ,- d i r t ,a n d b o r e d o m c o mp o u n d e d e a c h o t h e r . V a r i o u s e c hm a n d d e b a t e d t h e p r o b l e m f o r n e aP i n a l l y ,t h e G u a n t a n a m o b a s ec o m m a n d e r ,C a p t a i n W i l l i a m C . M c C a m y , U S Nt i o n s o n t h e c u t t e r s h a d b e c o m e a n d o r d e r e d d i e b a s e t o p r e p a r er e f u g e e s a s h o r e . O n 2 2 N o v e m b e ra u t h o r i t yf r o m W a s h i n g t o n ,A d m i r a l E d n e ya u t h o r i z e d C a p t a i n M c C a m y t o pe m e r -g e n c y h u m a n i t a r i a n a s s i s t a n c e "m i g r a n t s . I t w a s a c a u t i o u s a p p r o v am e s s a g e m e n t i o n e d p r e p a r a t i o n s t o


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SKILLFUL S H O W OF SI'WNGTI-L

Photo courtesy of BGen George 13 W~lls, r

BGen George PI Wulls Jr. corn19randedJoint TaskForce Gj7MO. He stands on the hill ouerlookingCam p McCulla: t he temp ormy borne to thousandsof Haitian migrants. Guunl anamo Bay s visibleilz the backg round is the leeward side of the

task force to Guantananio Bay to care for themigrants, it went on to stipulate it did not author-ize the erection of any new structures for refugees

aboard GTMO, including tents. GFor the Marines at the barracks, it was like

waking up the morning after the Marine CorpsBall to find the migrants at their doorstep. l'heysaw the cullers in the bay swinging at anchor andwaiting for a decision. When the conunand i nNorfolk permitted them to land, the Haitians firstmet the Marines, who were working alongside theNavy to prepare for their largely unexpectedarrival. The Marines' principle focus was on thefacilities at Camp Bulkeley, an expeditionarytraining camp in the southeast corner of the basenamed after famed torpedo boat conmander,Lieutenant John Bulkeley, who Y ~piritedGeneral Douglas MacArthur from the Philippinesin 1942 and gone on to command the base atGuantanamo later in his career.

Camp Bulkeley was largely down to its bare-bones when the work began. There were a fewsimple whitewashed buildings nestled in the hillsoverlooking the sea, some basic plumbing, andconcrete slabs designed for tents. Each slab couldacconxnodate one general-purpose tent housing

18 to 20 cots, which left virtually no room for pri-vacy. One n ews stor yab out the camp described itas windswept, which only vaguely conveyedthe small, barren stretch of ground perched on acliff overlooking the Caribbean.;

A functional system evolved over time where

the Navy ran the camp inside while the Marinesprovided security outside the perirneter.8 Theoperation ran smoothly, in no small part becauseof an October naval base defensive exercise con-ducted to test base readiness for handling andprocessing large numbers of Cuban refugees-thekind of refugees the U.S. Government had beenexpecting for years.9

Meanwhile, tlie co n~ ma nd chelon at Norfolk,recognizing the small force of Marines and sailorsat Guantanarno could not care for large numbersof migrants for an extended period, were lookingahead at tlie possibility of deploying a joint taskforce to care for the migrants. The Marines of the2d Force Service Support Group 2d FSSG) atnearby Camp Lejeune were a natural choice forsuch a mission since the group already had devel-oped mdimentary contingency plans for handlinga Cuban exodus of up to 2,500 refugees inresponse to an August 1991 request from AdmiralPaul D Miller, Commander in Chief, AtlanticFleet, The support group also had sent represen-tatives to Guantanamo in September and Octoberfor further planning and participation in theOctober defensive exercise.lQ

Commanding the 2d FSSG was BrigadierGeneral George H. Walls, Jr. General \Valls, anengineer by training and a universally respectedofficer from Pennsylvania, had recently servedaway from the fleet as a professor of naval sci-ence. Many considered him the ideal combinationof warrior and diplomat, providing firm yethumane leaclership and possessing a gift for lead-ing troops and trusting subordinates. Perhapsmore than anything, it was General Walls' hands-on leadership that won him respect. He had areputation of being in touch with his troops andthe situation. A simple anecdote tells of a U SArmy sentry high in a watchtower at Guantanamothat found himself answering the general's ques-tions about his work. Not familiar with MarineCorps culture, the sentry was pleasantly surprisedthat a general officer would actudly try to look atthe world from a soldier's point of view.''

Among those holding the general in highesteem was a dedicated and professional memberof the Service Support Group. Sergeant MajorDouglas E Berry, who was to deploy with the


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OPEKATIOW GTMO 7

general because of his earlier experience on jointtask forces.

When Lieutenant General William M. Keys,then commancler of Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic,began to plan for the humanitarian operation inGuantanamo in mid-November, he turned to

General Walls. On or about 20 November,General Keys sent the planning order and GeneralWalls began to pull together the team he thoughtwould be needed for the operation.12 GeneralWalls and his subordinate, Colonel Peter R.Stenner , wh o was then commander of BrigadeService Support Group 6 and about to becomedirector of operations for the task force, drafted atable of organization for a JTF at Guantanamo.l h e y dr ew heavily from the Marine Corpsbecause Marines were, at least initially, a readilyavailable and known quantity.15

*

Given its training and mission, 2d FSSG wasalready organized to establish and run expedi-tionary camps. Remembering the lessons of theso-called Marie1 Boatlift of 1980, wh en more than124,000 Cubans fled their country by boat to seekrefuge in the U.S. during President Jimmy Carter'sadministration. Marines had worked with thoserefugees, and considering the type of work thatneeded to be done this time, General Walls andColonel Stenner selected Marines and sailors forthe job who were specialists in food sewice, engi-neering, and tneclical assistance. From the start,they also planned to reach outside the MarineCorps to select specialties that were not organic tothe Service Support Group: such as the highlyprofessional civil affairs capability of the U.S.Army, to allow other Services to provide a higherproportion of replacements when the Marinesrotated home.14 Initially, they thought the jointtask force would comprise a few hundred ser-vicemen caring for no more than 2,500 migrants.

Back at Guantanamo, even though the initial483 migrants had been brought ashore, pressurecontinued to mount as more migrants put to seaand were rescued by the Coast Guard. A tempo-

r ry restraining order from the Second FederalDistrict Court in Miami on 19 November compli-cated the situation by closing the option of quickrepatriation, forcing the migrants to remain guests

Sergeant Major B er ~y ea lized one of the probl e~ns heJTFwould face would be rhe different ways each Service tre3tetli ts members, and it woulcl be impo~tantor the JTF person-nel pnlicies to he as uni form as possible, especially withregard to benefits and discipline. He worked hard to makethat l lappen, reaching o ut to all of the nonc omn uss~ oned ffi-cers in the JTF. (Hefty inrvw)

of the armed forces for the time being. With theneed for the JTF growing, General Walls actedquickly on a 22 November pre-deployment orderstating U.S. CinCLant is authorized to landrefugees temporarily aboard NS [Naval Station]Guantanamo as a last resort. The order went o n

to direct the deployment of an advanced echelonand liaison officer team to Guantanamo to furtherpreparations lor the possible deployment of theJTF.15 On 23 November, the advance party leftCamp Lejeune. Just two days later on 25November, with six cutters in the harbor carrying1,415 migrants on board, and another shipenroute with an additional 304 migrants, GeneralWalls finally received ;I formal deployment orderand literally packed his 1~ags.l

According to the concept of operations, theAtlantic Fleet was to deploy a joint task force to

Guantanamo to conduct temporary emergencyhumanitarian assistance and security operations.The order contained 2 number of interestingcaveats, such as: the force should deploy so as to

Back at Guantanamo even though theinitial 483 migrants had been broughtashore prPessure continued to mount asmore migrants put to sea and were res-cued by the Coast Guard.

[be] mostly self-sufficient without the need forsupport from the Navy base; at the same tune, noconstruction of tents or other temporary facilitieswere permitted until Norfolk obtained theapproval of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff. The next day, as CinCLant authorized theNavy and the Coast Guard to offload the addi-tional migrants, General Walls landed in Cuba andofficially became the commander of OperationSafe Harbor; which was renamed two days later

as Operat ion GTMO.17 An interest ing foo tnote tothe order that renamed the operation stated theanticipated length of the operation was in excessof 30 days. The footnote indicates many in thehigher echelons, although reluctant to commit,expected the crisis would not blow over quickly.

General Walls immediately went to work to getenough members of his task force on the groundto take control of Camp Bulkeley from the Navy,which was scheduled to occur 29 November.~sThen, working with the Navy, he had to ensure


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8 A S K I L L F U L S H O W O F S T R E N G T H

C a m p B u l k e l e y c o u l d s h e l t e r a s m a n y a s 2 , 5 0 0m i g r a n t s a n d m a k e p l a n s f o r p o s s i b l e e x p a n s i o nt o a n o t h e r , b e t t e r l o c a t i o n a t C a m p M c C a l l a , a f o r -m e r a i r f i e l d o n t h e c o a s t n e a r t h e h e a r t o f t h eb a s e . ( T h e c a m p w a s n a m e d f o r C o m m a n d e r

B o w m a n H . M c C a l l a , t h e c o m m a n d e r o f t h es q u a d r o n t h a t h a d c a r r i e d S e r g e a n t J o h n Q u i c k t oC u b a . T h e c o m m a n d e r h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d a sg e n e r a l l y i r a s c i b l e a n d a f r i e n d o f t h e M a r i n e

a p p e a r t o o c c u p y i t . T h e t a s k fu n l o a d a l l t h e m i g r a n t s f r o m t h e ab y 2 D e c e m b e r a n d . t o p u t t h e m s i d e t h e M a r i n e s , s a i l o r s , a n d s o lb u i l d t h e i r o w n c a m p s . ' 9 T h e i n t

s t r u c t a d e q u a t e f a c i l i t i e s f o r s o m e a n d p h a s e o u t C a m p B u l l c e l e y b yk e e p i n g t h o s e f a c i l i t i e s ' i n r e s e r vf o r s p e c i a l p u r p o s e s . I t w a s s o o n

P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f l 3 G e n G e o r g e IJ r .

I n l a t e 1 9 9 1 , C a m p M c 6 ' a l l a ' s r o w s o f t e n t s a r e c l e a r l y v i s i b l ea i r f i e l d . T h e n a v a l b a s e c p i e r s a n d t h e a r e a k n o w n a s " M a i n sC o r p s . ) A l t h o u g h i n i t i a l l y l a c k i n g i n m a n y n e e d e df a c i l i t i e s ,t h e f o r m e r r u n w a y s ,a p r o n s , a n dh a n g a r s h a d o b v i o u s r e f u g e e c a m p p o t e n t i a l . T h e

m i g r a n t s w o u l d n o t h a v e t o l i v e i n a n e n v i r o n -m e n t o f d u s t a n d s a n d , a n d w h i l e t h e h a n g a r sc o u l d n o t a c c o m m o d a t e e v e r y o n e , t h e y w e r e w e l ls u i t e d a s r e a d y - n r n d e s h e l t e r s f o r m a n y o f t h em i g r a n t s . T h e J o i n t C h i e f s a p p a r e n t l y a p p r o v e df u r t h e r c o n s t r u c t i o n a t t h e s i t e a n d w o r k s t a r t e do n 3 0 N o v e m b e r , w h i c h w a s G e n e r a l W a l l s 4 9 t hb i r t h d a y .

T i m e r e m a i n e d a c r i t i c a l e l e m e n t a s t h e j o i n tt a s k f o r c e w o r k e d f r a n t i c a l l y t o k e e p p a c e w i t ht h e f l o w o f r e f u g e e s . A s s o o n a s U . S . s e r v i c e m e ne r e c t e d as h e l t e r ,H a i t i a n m i g r a n t s s e e m e d . t o

c a m p f o r m i g r a n t s w h o h a d b e e nc e e d t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h e o vw a s t o s e p a r a t e t h e f o r w n a t e m i g r

w h o w e r e s t i l l i n l i m b o o r a w a i t i nH a i t i . 2 "

T o m e e t t h e d e a d l i n e s , m a n y o f M a r i n e s w o r k e d 1 8 - h o u rd a y s .E v e n t h o s eM a r i n e s w i t ho t h e rd u t i e s f o u n d t h e m s ei m p r e s s e di n t o t h et a s kf o r c e ,T h e b a r r a c k sM a r i n e s , a l o n g w i t h a n a r t i l l e r y u nt o t h e b a s e f o r a ne x e r c i s e ,B a t t e r yE l , 3 dB a t t a l i o n ,1 0 t h M a r i n e s , s o o n c a m e o p e r a t i o n a l c o n t r o l o f t h e J T F , w hs t r e n g t h o f 4 6 o f f i c e r s a n d 5 4 9 e n l i3 0 N o v e m b e r . C o l o n e l G a r y A . B l a


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D V I C D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 3 2

A f t e r d i s e m b a r k i n g f r o m t h e U S C G V i g i l a n t ( W M E C 6 1 7 ) am i g r a n t s b o a r d a b u s t h a t w i l l c a r r y t h e m t o a h u m a n i t a r i a nT h em i g r a n t s ' f a c e s c o n v e y t h e s e n s e o f a p p r e h e n s i o n t h a t m a n y f e l

o f f i c e r o f t h e M a r i n e B a r r a c k s a n d a c o m m o ns e n s e l e a d e r w h o g o t t h e j o b d o n e w i t h o u t f a n -f a r e , w a s g i v e n c o m r n a n d 2 1 C o l o n e l B l a i r w a se s p e c i a l l y h a p p y t o h a v e B a t t e r y I - I u n d e r h i s c o n -t r o l s i n c e t h a t g r o u p h a d r e c e n t l y r e t u r n e d f r o mO p e r a t i o n P r o v i d e C o m f o r t , a l a r g e - s c a l e r e f u g e eo p e r a t i o n i n N o r t h e r n I r a q w h e r e M a r i n e s h e l p e de s t a b l i s h a n d r u n K u r d i s h r e f u g e er e l o c a t i o nc a m p s . 2 2

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e M a r i n e s , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 0m e m b e r s o f t h e t a s k f o r c e w e r e f r o m o t h e rS e r v i c e s . T h e r e w e r e n o w 1 , 4 7 7 m i g r a n t s i n t h ec a m p s a n d m o r e t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 s a t w a i t i n g o n s h i p si n t h e h a r b o r . 2 3 *A l t h o u g hr e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s s h i f t e d ,t h e A r m y g e n e r a l l y a d m i n i s t e r e d C a m p M c C a l l aw h i l e t h e M a r i n e s c o n t r o l l e d C a m p B u l k e l e y a n d

o f l yt h e b e g i n n i n g o f n e c e m b e r 1 9 9 1 , t h e j o i n t t a s k f o r c e h a db a n n e d t h e u s e o f t h e t e r m " r e f u g e e " f o r t h e H a i t i a n s a tG u a n t a n a m o . T h e y w e r e t o b e r e f e r r e d t o a s " m i g r a n t s " t oa v o i d t h e i m p r e s s i o n , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n s p e a k i n g t o j o u r n a l i s t s ,t h a t t h e y h a d t h e l e g a l s t a t u s o f r e f u g e e s . ( M a j T h e o d o r e R .M c K c l d i n I l l , N o t e s o n O p e r a t i o n G T M O , D e c 0 0 , G T M O / H a i t ic o l l e c t i o n , M c H c )

p r o v i d e d e x t e r n a l s e c u r i t y i n t h e r e a c t i o n f o r c e s f o r b o t h c a m p s . Ac o m p e t i n g p r i o r i t i e s w a s t h e u r g e ni c a lt r e a t m e n t , o r a t l e a s t t r i a g e . Ms n i g r a n t s h a d n e v e r h a d a n y k i n d om e n t i n t h e i r l i v e s , a n d t h e r e w a so f c o m m u n i c a b l e d i s e a s e s t h a t r e qa t e t r e a t m e n t t o a v e r t t h e s p e c t e rN a v y ( a n d l a t e r U . S . A i r F o r c e ) m es e t t o w o r k a n d q u i c k l y m a d e e n o rt h e m a h a g e m e n t o f t h i s p u b l i c hT h e c o r p s m e n , n u r s e s , a n d d o c t o rs i v e l y i n s e a r c h o f p a t i e n t s a n d mh o u r p r e s e n c e i n t h e c a m p s . A m ia c o r p s m a n a n y t i m e o f t h e d a y o r w i t h c o m m u n i c a b l e d i s e a s e s w e r en e c e s s a r y . i s o l a t e d f r o t n t h e g e n eP r e g n a n t w o t n e n a t o n e t i m e t h4 0 0i n t h e c a m p s r e c e i v e d s p e c i aa t t e n t i o n .T h e s e w e r e t h e f i r s t s t e p s i n e s t a bp r a c t i t i o n e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s . O n e s ms t r e n g t h o f t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w a sm i g r a n t w h o r e f u s e d t o r e t u r n t o


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1 0 A S K I L L F U L S H O W O F S T R E N G T H

D V T C D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 5 7 6

A s p a n o f t h e p r o c e s s i n g a t C a m p M c G ' a l l a , e a c hm i g r a n t r e c e i v e d a q u i c k m e d i c a l c h e c k u p . F o rm a n y t h i s w a s t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t h e i r l i v e s t h a t ah e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r h a d s e e n t h e m .h a d c o m p l e t e d t h e p r e s c r i b e d r o u n d o f d e n t a lw o r k . 2 4

A n o t h e r e a r l y p r i o r i t y , o n e t h a t r e c e i v e d t h ep e r s o n a l a t t e n t i o no f G e n e r a l W a l l s , w a s t h ep r o m u l g a t i o n o f a s e t o f r u l e s o f e n g a g e m e n t .T h i s d o c u m e n t b e g a n w i t ha r e m i n d e r t h a t" H a i t i a n s a r e n o t E P W s [ e n e m y p r i s o n e r s o f w a r ] .T r e a t t h e m h u m a n e l y w i t h d i g n i t y a n d r e s p e c t .U s e o n l y t h e m i n i m u m f o r c e n e c e s s a r y . " G e n e r a lW a l l s i n t e n d e d t o s e t t h e t o n e f o r h i s c o m m a n d ' sr e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e m i g r a n t . s t h r o u g h t h e r u l e s o fe n g a g e m e n t a n d h i s o w n b r a n d o f l e a d e r s h i p . H em a i n t a i n e d t h a t t e n o r t h r o u g h o u t h i st i m e a tG u a n t a n a m o . 2 5

A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t w a s t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e c i v i la f f a i r s c o n c e p t o f o p e r a t i o n s . C i v i la f f a i r so c c u p i e da c e n t r a lr o l ei n O p e r a t i o nG T M O . I t d e a l t w i t h t h e d a y - t o - d a y m a n a g e m e n to f t h e c a m p s a n d w a s c o n d u c t e d b y a w e l l -t r a i n e d a n d w e l l - p r e p a r e d g r o u p o f s o l d i e r s f r o mt h e A r m y ' s 9 6 t h C i v i l A f f a i r s D e t a c h m e n t , 9 6 t hC i v i l A f f a i r s B a t t a l i o n .

T h e p l a n , a l r e a d y e l a b o r a t e d b yw a s s p l i t i n t o t h r e e p h a s e s . P h a s e t e r m a c t i o n s r e q u i r e d o v e r t h e fm i g r a n ts e c u r i t y ,s a f e t y ,a n dw e l f a r e . T h e s ei n c l u d e d t h e c l o s e o u t o f C a m pr e f i n e m e n t o f m i g r a n t l i v i n g a r r a nm i t t h e r e u n i f i c a t i o n o f e x t e n d e d fi n g s o m e m e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i oi n H a i t i , a n d e s t a b l i s h i n g a p h o t o P h a s e I i w a s t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o a s t ei n t h e p e r i o d f r o m d a y 3 0 t o d a y t h e p r o v i s i o n o f r e l i g i o u s s e r v i c e sa c o m m u n i t y c o u n c i l , a n d d i e em i g r a n t s i i i c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d m ae c t s . P h a s e I I I , w h i c h w o u l d r u nu n t i l t h e e n d o f t h e o p e r a t i o n , w op u b l i c e d u c a t i o n , c o t t a g e i n d u s t r il i c a t i o n o f a c a m p n e w s p a p e r . 2 6

T h e s e p a r a t i o n o f m i g r a n t s i n t og o r i e s w a s a p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v es t a r t , t h e J T F h a d b e e n o r g a n i z i n g c a t e g o r i e s : f a m i l i e s , s i n g l e m a l e s , m i n o r s ," s c r e e n e d i n "f o r i m m i g r a t i o nt o t h eU n i t e d S t a t e s , a n d " s c r e e n e d - o u t "t o H a i t i . M o s t o f t h o s e w h o w ew e r e a b l e t o c l a i m t h e y w e r e v i c tp e r s e c u t i o n . S o m e o f t h e s e c a t e g o

o v i c D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 5 7A M a r i n e p r o c e s s e s p a p e r w o rm i g r a n t s a t C a m p M c G a l l a . I n dd i v i d e d i n t o t w o h a s i c g r o u p s , ti m m i g r a t i o n t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s r e t u r n e d t o H a i t i .


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future. A 5 December demonstmtion at CampBulkeley was sparked by complaints the process-ing was too slow and camp conditions were toorestrictive. A demonstration at Camp McCalla I on10 December grew from a lurid rumor the Cubanarmy planned to storm the base and kill the

Haitians if they were not out of Cuba within fivedays. The mmor spawned after one migrantreported hearing the news on a Cuban radio sta-tion. The result was near panic. Responding laterto reporters, Major Donald J. Kappel, the JTF'spublic affairs officer, said: "There were noinjuries, no violence-just agitation. People wereyelling and running around the camp. Once wegot wind of this, we told them they were safeand no on e would hurt them."% Nevertheless,denlonst rations at IbIcCalla I1 and McCalla con-tinued over the next few days. Marines and sol-

diers erected additional concertina barriersbetween the various groups as a precaution.z J

On the night of 94 December, McCalla IT wasonce again the focus of attention. There was aseries of meetings in the compound, whichhoused single tnales as well as a few families. Themeetings began small, with key individuals

haranguing listeners. Videotapes made by the JTFintelligence section 0-2 show organizers speak-ing and gesticulating to groups seated on theground around them. The leaders made their waythrough the c on ~p ou nd hreatening and cajolingothers into sharing their viewpoint. few hold-

outs that stayed in their tents were aggressivelyharassed; some may have been beaten.30

The JTF found out the next day just how h r themilitants were willing to go . General \Valls an d hisstaff were in their offices in the small headquar-ters building on a hill overlooking Camp McCalla.Sergeant Major Berry recalled General Walls com-ing down the passageway and exclaiming,"Sergeant Major, they're out of the camp " Wallsand Berry, along with the general's aide an d driv-er, quickly covered the shon distance to the campto confront the crowd, which comprised roughly

5 males from McCalla I1 who had gatheredalong the north and east fences. General \Vallsattempted to reason with them across the loo pedstrands of concertina wire. Some of the clernon-strators were polite, thanking him for his efforts'but adding it was time for them to move on.Other demonstrators were more hostile, threaten-

Phoro counesy o RCen Gcorgc H Wdls, JI-.

During a less happy moment in eurly December 1991 Haitian migrants protest camp conditions.Although conditions at the camp were beuign ma xy vocal migrants were eager to move on to the UnitedStates and did not t~ndemtand he delay.


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OPERATION GTMO 13

ing the general i he did not comply with theirdemands. Approximately 50 migrants breachedthe northwest corner of the conc e~ti na wire,apparently planning to start their journey to theUnited States then and there by walking out ofCamp McCalla and Guantanamo and proceedingthrough Cuba. Some even packed their meagerbelongings and were carrying them in bundlesand satchels.3l

As the situation quickly deteriorated, some ofthe migrants began throwing garbage and rocks,one object striking General Walls in the head. Hewas not injured, but his cover had heen knockedoff. He replaced his headgear and moved on, hisentourage forming a protective ring around him.The general remarked to the sergeant major hewould be happy when the US. Army militarypolice (MPs) arrived. Sergeant Major Berry said

they were already there and pointed to the rear,where some 10 meters away the IvIPs stood wear-ing riot gear with face shields already down.Some MPs had dogs with them. (Finding a large,shaggy but threatening Belgian Shepherd in theirpath, on e group of Haitian escapees had simplyturned around and gone back to the camp short-ly before th e genera l's arrival on scene. ) An Armychaplain, who arrived to lend a hand, fell to theground after a full carton of milk hit him in thegroin. Another soldier was bitten by a Haitian andevacuated. In the words of the official message

announcing the disturbance to Norfolk, the JTFreported the Haitians employed tent poles, cots,cot cross bars [the pieces of wood that stretchedthe canvas tight on the cots], gallon water jugs.and broken pieces of asphalt as weapons. i2 Themigrants also used the cots to breach the lines ofconcertina wire by laying them across the rings ofwire to form a bridge of sorts over the razor-sharpbarbs.

The melee eventually ebbed and the riot wascontained. Reinforcements arrived from variousunits, including the base and the barracks. Somewere still wearing shower shoes and civilianclothes. In the end, no migrant made it out of theMcCalla area.

However, confining the disturbance was notthe same as defusing it. Within McCalla 11, some-where between 50 and 250 ringleaders fanned theflames and tried to spread the unrest to othercompounds. They tore down all the general-purpose tents in their own compound and tried'tocross into McCalla 111 They were stopped by agroup of Marines from the barracks and a detach-ment from the Senrice Support Group's 8th

Engmeer Support Battallon who. along w ~ t h rmyMI'S, formed a perimeter around McCalla I1 Thatdid not stop the malcontents from shouting acrossthe wire to the migrants In McCalla 111 and

Within McCalla 11 somewhere between 50 an d 250 ringleaders fannedthe James and tried to spread theunrest to other compounds. They toredown all the general purpose tents intheir own compound and tried to crossinto McCalla 111

attempting to persuade them to join in the protest.

They also directed their attention to the Haitianwomen and children who happened to be ini\?cCalla 11 Some of the post-action repotts incli-cated the women and children had been heldhostage. While this may have been too formal adescription for their situation, they certainly wereat the mercy of the malcontents and subject topressure from them, At close of business on 15

December, the JI P reported it would keep theperimeter intact and, in understated official lan-guage, added: tensions are such [that] it is cur-rently deemed not prudent to reenter the camp t o

ensure internal security. Jj At approximately thesame time, General Walls asked for reinforce-ments from the mainland United States.34

On the evening of 15 December, a representa-tive of the United Nations High Conunissioner forRefugees spoke with the rioters, who expressedtheir desire to leave the prison camp and talk t

representatives from the Haitian communily in theUS. The migrants promised to suspend the riotingfor 48 hours if the U.S. Government sho wed signsof preparing to move them from Guantanamo tothe mainland. At the same time, General Walls.wh o labeled the situation extremely volatile,explored means of meeting the more legitimatedemands-such as allowing migrants wh o alreadyhad been screened to proceed to the UnitedStates.35 The general also made his message clearto the men in AkCalla 11. During a brief exchange,Walls told one of the malcontents that neither henor, by implication, any of his cohorts were goingto the United States because they were behavingirresponsibly. The general admonished him tochange his behavior and asked if there were anyquestions. There were none.36


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D V I C D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 4 5 1

A s c a m p l i f t r e t u r n e d t o n o r m a l f o l l o w i n g s e v e r a l d a y s o f d i s t u rA i r b o r n e D i v i s i o n B a n d p e r f o r m f o r t h e m i g r a n t s o n G h n s t m a s

e s s a r y .I f g r o u p s o f m i g r a n t s b r o k e t h r o u g h t h el i n e , t h e t r o o p s o n t h e l i n e w e r e t o r e m a i n i n f o r -m a t i o n a n d a l l o w t h e s n a t c h t e a m s t o h a n d l e t h ei n t r u s i o n . A l l t h i n g s c o n s i d e r e d ,i t w a s a v e r yc a r e f u l l y p l a n n e do p e r a t i o n t h a tl e f tl i t t l et oc h a n c e a n d c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d t h e c o m m a n d e r ' si n t e n t o f c o n t r o l a n d r e s t r a i n t .

W h e n t h e t i m e c a m e f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n t o b e g i ni n t h e e a r l y m o r n i n g o f 1 7 D e c e m b e r , t h e H a i t i a n si n t h e c a m p w e r e n e a r i n g e x h a u s t i o n . M a n y w e r ea c t u a l l y a s l e e p w h e n 0 4 0 0 r o l l e d a r o u n d . T h i sw a s p a r t o f t h e J T F p l a n : t o s t r i k e w h e n t h em i g r a n t s w e r e a t t h e e n d o f t h e i r t e t h e r . T h e r e i sn o q u e s t i o n t h e H a i t i a n s w e r e t a k e n c o m p l e t e l yb y s u r p r i s e , a n d i t w a s n o t a p l e a s a n t s u r p r i s e .G r i m - f a c e dM a r i n e s , s o m e h o l d i n gr i f l e sw i t hf i x e d b a y o n e t s , e n c i r c l e d t h e c a m p . M a r i n e e n g i -n e e r s w e a r i n g f l a k j a c k e t s a n d h e l m e t s a n d a r m e dw i t h b r e a c h i n g t o o l s m o v e d s w i f t l y t o m a k e g a p si n t h e w i r e t h r o u g h w h i c h t h e A r m y M P 5 ,e q u i p p e d w i t h r i o t g e a t ; e n t e r e d t h e c o m p o u n d .T h e s t u n n e d m i g r a n t s o f f e r e d n o r e s i s t a n c e , a n dt h e f i r s t a n d p o t e n t i a l l y m o s t d i f f i c u l t p h a s e o ft h e o p e r a t i o n w a s o v e r i n n i n e m i n u t e s . 4 2

T h e J T P i m m e d i a t e l y p r o c e e d e d t o P h a s e s I Ia n d I I I . I t t o o k s o m e 3 0 m i n u t e s t o t r a n s f e r f a m i -l i e s t o M c C a l l a I V , w h i c h c l e a r e d t h e w a y f o r t h e

r e m o v a l o f a l l c o t s , t e n t s , p o l e s , aT h e P h a s e I V c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a r o u n d M c a l l a I I b e g a n w i t h i n f is t a r t o f t h e o p e r a t i o n . A l l t h e m a l ec a m p w e r e c a r e f u l l y s e a r c h e db e f o r e b e i n g e i t h e r r e t u r n e dt o t h e c a m p o rm o v e d t o C a m p V I I . T h e p r o c ec h e c k a g a i n s t t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d o ne r a m e n f r o m t h e J - 2 d u r i n g t h e u nt h e d e s t i n a t i o n , e a c h m i g r a n t r e c ek e t s a n d a c o t a l b e i t a c o t w ic r o s s b a r s . A s G e n e r a l W a l l s n o t e dt o N o r f o l k , l i f e i n M c C a l l a I I w o u ln o r m a l o n c em i g r a n t s s h o w a w i l l i n go b e y b a s i c c a m p r u l e s . " 4

T h e a i r a l e r t b a t t a l i o n f r o m C a m pt i n u e d t o p l a y a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e , e sf o r c i n g t h e e x t e r i o r p e r i m e t e r o f Mt h e n e w b a r r i e r w a s b e i n g e r e c t e di n g t h e b a t t a l i o n o n 2 3 D e c e m bC a m p L e j e u n e , G e n e r a l W a l l s wh a d " c o n d u c t e d t h e j o i n t o p e r a t ip r o f e s s i o n a l i s m a n d s p i r i t t h a t U .k n o w n t o p o s s e s s . " 4 4

O n t h e s a m e d a y , t h e C o m m aM a r i n e s C o r p s , G e n e r a l C a r l E . Mt o s e e w h a th i s M a r i n e s h a d a c c o m p l i


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G e n e r a l M u n d y r e c o g n i z e d t h e r e c e n t e f f o r t s o fa l l M a r i n e s a t G u a n t a n a m o a n d d i s c u s s e d h o wO p e r a t i o n G T M O m i g h t e n d . T h e s a m e m e s s a g et h a t a n n o u n c e d t h e C o m m a n d a n t ' s i m p e n d i n ga r r i v a l d i s c u s s e d p l a n s t o r e p a t r i a t e m i g r a n t s t oH a i t i , s t a t i n g t h e J T F w a st o b e g i n t o p r e p a r em i g r a n t s f o r r e p a t r i a t i o n . 4 5

T h e p l a n s h o w e d t h e s a m e r e f r a i n t h a t h a dp e r s i s t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e o p e r a t i o n . T h e p r e f e r -e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e s e n i o r l e v e l s o f c o m m a n di n N o r f o l k a n d W a s h i n g t o n , w a s f o r t h e o p e r a t i o nt o e n d a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e s o u n i t s o f t h e J T Fc o u l d m o v e o n t o o t h e r w o r k . T h a t p o i n t o f v i e ww a s e s p e c i a l l y i m p o r t a n t f o r s m a l l S e r v i c e s s u c ha s t h e M a r i n e s , w h i c h f o u n d i t s r e s o u r c e s d r a i n e ds i g n i f i c a n t l y b y t h e o p e r a t i o n . B u t a s r i m e w e n to n ,i t b e c a m e c l e a rt h e t y p e s o f c h a l l e n g e sM a r i n e s f a c e d a t G u a n t a n a m o w o u l d b e c o m e p a r t

o f t h e o p e r a t i o n a l r e a l i t i e s i n t h e p o s t - C o l d W a re r a .

A n t i c l i m a x a n d R e p a t r i a t i o n

N e w y e a r ' s D a y 1 9 9 2 c a m e a n d w e n t w i t h o u ta n y r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e s i t u a t i o n . A t t h e e n d o f

D e c e m b e r ,t h e r e w e r e s o m e 7 , 0 0 0H a i t i a nm i g r a n t s a t G u a n r a n a m o . A m o n t hb e r h a d s w e l l e d t o m o r e t h a n 1 1 , 0J a n u a r y , t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t v a c as t a y s t h a t h a d k e p t P r e s i d e n t G e o ra d m i n i s t r a t i o n f r o m f o r c i b l y r e p a tt o H a i t i . T h e d a y f o l l o w i n g t h e c oo f f i c e r s s p r e a d t h e w o r d a m o n gm i g r a n t s a n d a s k e d f o r v o l u n t e e r st h e f i r s t b o a t s . E v e n i f n o o n e v ow a s n o d o u b t t h e U . S . w o u l d r e p ao u t m i g r a n t s . " F o r t h e m o s t p a r t , tc a l m l y , " G e n e r a l W a l l s c o m m e n ta d d i n g t h e m i g r a n t s " u n d e r s t a n d d e c i s i o n ] a l l o w e d f o r i n v o l u n t a r y r

T h e J T F w a s s o o n l o a d i n g m i g r aG u a r d c u t t e r s b o u n d f o r P o r t - a ut h e y d i s e m b a r k e d u n d e r i n t e r n a t i o

i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h c a r e f u l l y c r a fb e t w e e n t h e 1 - l a i t i a n a n d U . S . Gw e l l a s v a r i o u s i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g ag o a l w a s t o p r o t e c t t h e r e m r n i n ga r r a n g e m e n t s w e r e m a d e f o r U n iR e d C r o s s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t o m o na l o n g w i t h H a i t i a n a n d U . S . o f f i c

O V I C D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 8 2A m o n gt h e p r o m i n e n t v i s i t o r s t o c a m p M c c ' a l l a . w a s t h e C h a i n n a n L . P o w e l l , s h o w n h e r e i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 9 2 l i s t e n i n g t o M a r i n e Go n e o f t h e m i g r a n t l e a d e r s , P a s t o r E d m e L e x i d a n .


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D V I C D N - S T - 9 3 - 0 0 3 0 8

A t P o r t - a u - P r i n c c w h e r e C o a s i G u a r d c u t t e r s h a dd r o p p e d t h e m o f f ; r e p a t r i a t e d 1 - l a i t i a n m i g r a n t sw a i t f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n b a c k t o t h e i r v i l l a g e s a n da n u n k n o w n r e c e p t i o n .

W h i l e m o s t s c r e e n e d - o u t m i g r a n t s w e n t p e a c e -f u l l y , o f t e n r e l i e v e d t h e b o r e d o m a n d u n c e r t a i n t yo f l i f e a t C a m p M c C a l l a h a d c o m e t o a n e n d , t h e r ew e r e a f e w d r a m a t i c m o m e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y w h e nr e p o r t e r s w e r e o n h a n d . ' K i l l m e n o w , " w a i l e do n e m i g r a n t , f l a i l i n g h i s a r m s . " I f I g o b a c k t oH a i t i , t h e y w i l l k i l l m e . . . .N o I d o n ' t w a n t t o g ob a c k t o H a i t i " 4 8

T o k e e p o r d e r o n t h e c u t t e r s , t h e J T F d e p l o y e dM a r i n e s i n t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l r o l e a s s h i p b o a r d s e c u -r i t y d e t a c h m e n t s . P r o m i n e n t a m o n g t h e M a r i n e ss e l e c t e d f o r t h i s d u t y w e r e t e a m s f r o m t h e 2 d a n d3 d P l a t o o n s o f t h e F l e e t A n t i - T e r r o r i s t S e c u r i t yT e a m ( F A S T ) C o m p a n y ,A t l a n t i c ,b a s e di nN o r f o l k , V i r g i n i a . 4 9 M a r i n e s f r o m t h e b a r r a c k s a tG u a n t a n a m o s o m e t i m e s r o d e t h e s h i p s i n 1 0 - m a nd e t a c h m e n t s , b u t w h e n e v e r t h e F A S T M a r i n e sw e r e p r e s e n t , t h e m i s s i o n o f t h e b a r r a c k s M a r i n e sw a s s i m p l yt o p r o v i d ep i e r - s i d es e c u r i t ya tG u a n t a n a m o . 5

T h e s e a g o i n g M a r i n e s f a c e d a u n i q u e s e t o fc h a l l e n g e s i n t h e i r w o r k . T h e e x p e r i e n c e s o f t h eM a r i n e s a n d C o a s t G u a r d c r e w o f t h e c u t t e r

T a m p a ( W M E C 9 0 2 ) o n o n e o f t h eG u a n t a n a m o t o P o r t - a u - P r i n c e o f ft r a t i o n o f t h o s e c h a l l e n g e s . A f t e r ba t G u a n t a n a m o , m a n y o f t h e 9 6h o a r d w e r e b e l l i g e r e n t ; c l a i m i n g t o l d t h ed e s t i n a t i o n w a s M i a m i ,n o t P o r t - a u -P r i n c e . T h e y w e n t o n a h u n g e r s t rl e s s p o i n t l e s s g e s t u r e s i n c e t h e t r i pa m e r e 1 2 h o u r s . W h e n t h e s h i p da u - P r i n c e i n a l i g h t r a i n a r o u n d 1 1a l l t h e m i g r a n t s r e f u s e d t o g o a s h oo f t h e p r e s s l o o k e d o n , o n e o f t h e t o s c r e a m , a s i f i n g r e a t p a i n . A t t h e s h i p ' s c o m p a n y b e g a n t o c a r rp o s s e s s i o n sa s h o r e .A t t h i sp o i n t ,a b o u t6 5m i g r a n t s l e f t t h e s h i p t o r e g a i n t h e

T h r o u g h a l i n g u i s t a t t a c h e d t os h i p ' so f f i c e r sn e g o t i a t e d w i t ht h e r e m a i n i n g

m i g r a n t s , w h o s a i d t h e y w o u l db o a r d t h e T a m p a t h a n a s v i c t i m s r e g i m ea s h o r e .T h en e g o t i a t i o n se v e n t u a l l yr e a c h e d a n i m p a s s e , a n d t h e s hs h i f t e d g e a r s , p r e p a r i n g t o u s e af o r c e b y c h a r g i n g t h e s h i p ' s f i r e h oe n a b l e d t h e C o a s t G u a r d c r e w tt h e m i g r a n t s o f f t h e s h i p . W h e n o n l o o k e r s t h a t t h e y " u s e f o r c e , " o np o l i c e m e n o n t h e p i e r c o u n t e r e d oh a v e f o r c e h e r e , t o o . " B u t t h e t e n s iT h e r e w a s e v e n a r i p p l e o f l a u g h to f t h e m i g r a n t s f i l e d a s h o r e w i t h o uo f t h e m i g r a n t s w e n t s o f a r a s t o bk i s st h e d o c k . B y 1 4 4 0 ,t h e l a s tb u s l o a d o fm i g r a n t s h a d l e f t t h e d o c k y a r d s . '

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e A m e r i c aP o r t - a u - P r i n c e w h o w e r e a t t h e pe d t h a t m o s t o f t h e m i g r a n t s w i t h ws p o k e n s a i d t h e y w e r e g l a d t o bw a s o n l y a f e w m a l c o n t e n t s w h o t r o u b l e . T h e e m b a s s y d i d n o t r e s tt h e c o m i n g w e e k s , l o o k e d h a r d f ob u t i o n a g a i n s t t h e r e t u r n e e s , b u t f o

S i m p l y r e p a t r i a t i n g t h e H a i t i a n s a

d i d n o t e n d t h e o p e r a t i o n . I t s e eH a i t i a n t h e C o a s t G u a r d d e p o s i t e dP o r t - a u - P r i n c e , a n o t h e r s e ts a i l ,h o p i n g t o b ep i c k e d u p b y t h e C o a s t G u a r d a n dN a v y b a s e i n C u b a w h e r e t h e y cc h a n c e o f b e c o m i n g a p o l i t i c a l r e ft o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s .I f a n y t h i n g , t h e i n f l um i g r a n t s g r e w i n t h e s p r i n g o f 1 9M c C a l l a o f t e n c a m e c l o s e t o c a p as t i l l1 2 , 5 0 0 , d e s p i t e r e p a t r i a t i o n s o1 , 0 0 0 m i g r a n t s p e r m o n t h .


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D Y I C D N - S T - 9 2 - 0 5 8 2

A M a r i n e t a l k s w i t h H a i t i a n m i g r a n t s a t C a m p M c C ' a l l a . M a n y c h a r g e s , b u t J o i n t T a s k F o r c e r u l e s f o r b a d e a n y c o n d u c t t h a t wt i o n s h i p , l e t a l o n e f r a t e r n i z a t i o n .

A s t i m e w e n t o n , m e m b e r s o f t h e J T F b e c a m em o r e a d e p ta t r u n n i n gt h e c a m p . F r o m i n t e r c e p -t i o n a t s e a , t h r o u g h p r o c e s s i n g a n d s c r e e n i n g , t os u b s i s t e n c e a n d i m m i g r a t i o n o r r e p a t r i a t i o n , t h eo p e r a t i o n h a d b e c o m e l a r g e l y t r o u b l e - f r e e . T h i sw a s p o s s i b l e b e c a u s e o f t h e s o l i d g r o u n d w o r kl a i d b y G e n e r a W a l l s a n d h i s t r o o p s . 5 3 *

W a t e r i r s s o u r c e s ,u s e a n d d i s p o s a l w a s a p r i m a r y c o n -c e r n f o r M a r i n e e n g i n e e r s i n O p e r a t i o n G T M O . M o s t o f t h eH a i t i a n m i g r a n t s h a r t n e v e r h a d s u c h f r e e a r c e s s t o c l e a n ,

p o t a b l e w a t e r . T h e y b a t h e d i ni t , w a s h e d t h e i r c l o t h e s i ni t .a n d d r a n k i t 2 4 h o u r s a d a y T h i s c r e a t e d a c h a l l e n g e i n t h ef o r m o f e o n t r n l l i n g r u n o f f , t h e ' g r a y w a t e r " o f s o a p r e s i d u ea n t I d i r t . T h e e n g i n e e r s w e l c o m e d t h e a r r i v a l o f a n A i r F o r c e" d i t c h w i t c h , " w h i c h e n a b l e d t h e r a p i d d i g g i n g o f d r a i n a g ed i t c h e s t u t h e e d g e o f t h e s t e e pc l i f f , w h i c h w a s C a m pM c C a l l a ' s w e s t e r n p e r i m e t e r . F r o m t h e r e t h e w a t e r d r o p p e di n t o G u a n t a n a m o B a y . A n I s r a e l i - m a d e r e v e r s e - o s m o s i s p u r i f i -c a t i o n p l a n t p r o d u c e d a l l o f t h e w a t e r a t G u a n t a n a m o . T h ec a p a c i t y o f t h e p l a n t w a s l a r g e e n o u g h f o r t h e r e l a t i v e l y s m a l ln u m b e r s o f m i g r a n t s i n O p e r a t i n n G ' l ' M O . R a t i o n i n g w a t e rw a s n e v e r a n i s s u e i n 1 9 9 1 , b u t i t w a s t o b e c o m e a c r i t i c a li s s u e a F e w y e a r s l a t e r . ( M a j T h e o d o r e R . M c K e l d i n l i t , N o t e so n O p e r a t i o n G ' f M O , D e c 0 0 , G T M O / F l a i t i c o l l e c t i o n , M C H C )

O p e r a t i o n G T M O a l w a y s h a d b ea t e m p o r a r y e x p e d i e n t , n o t a s a n o f p r o c e s s i n g p o t e n t i a l i m m i g r a n tp o l i c y m a k e r s i n W a s h i n g t o n t h as e n s e , t h e c a m p a t G u a n t a n a m o p r o b l e m b e c a u s e i t s v e r y e x i s t e na t t r a c t m a n y m i g r a n t s w h o m i g h ts t a y e d h o m e . A s a r e s u l t o f t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n d e c i d e d i n l a t e Md i f f e r e n t a p p r o a c h . B y a n E x e c u t2 4 M a y , t h e P r e s i d e n t d i r e c t e d t h e

r e s c u e a n d r e p a t i - i a t e m i g r a n t s d i rP r i n c ew i t h o u ta n i n t e r m e d i a t es t a y a tG u a n t a n a m o . 5 4 A f e w c l a y s l a t e r , tt i o n a n n o u n c e d i t w o u l d p h a s e oo n t h e b a s e t o k e e p f r o m e n t i c i n g t h e i r h o m e l a n d 5 5 I t s e e m e d t i l eh a d f o u n d a s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r od i r e c t r e p a t r i a t i o n c o u p l e d w i t ht h u s r e m o v i n g t h e i n c e n t i v e f o r a h o m e .

T h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s a p p r o a c h he f f e c t ,a n d t h e n u m b e ro f m i g r a n t sa t


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O P E R A T I O N C T M O

G u a n t a n a r n o b e g a n t od w i n d l e a s n o n e wm i g r a n t s a r r i v e d . A l l t h a t r e m a i n e d w e r e m i g r a n t ss c h e d u l e d f o r d e p a r t u r e , e i t h e r t o r e t u r n t o H a i t io r , f o r t h e l u c k y m i n o r i t y , t o s t a r t a n e w l i f e i n t h eU n i t e d S t a t e s . B y 6 J u n e , t h e n u m b e r o f m i g r a n t sh a d f a l l e n t o 8 , 0 3 5 a n d w o u l d d r o p t o o n l y 2 , 0 0 3b y 2 1 J u n e . O n 1 4 J u n e , t h e j o i n t t a s k f o r c e c o i n -

t h e m .T h e F r e n c h w o r d o n t h e t e n t f l a p , " m a l e u r "

" u n h a p p i n e s s . "m a n d e r d i s t r i b u t e d t h e r e d e p l o y m e n t o r d e r . T h eo r d e r c a l l e d f o r t h e d i s m a n t l i n g o f C a m p M c C a l l aa n d t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f r e m a i n i n g m i g r a n t s a tC a m p B u l k e l e y . W h e n t h e m i g r a n t p o p u l a t i o nd r o p p e d c l o s e t o 1 , 0 0 0 , w h i c h i t d i d b y 3 0 J u n e ,t h e J T F s h i f t e d i t sf l a g t o C a m p B u l k e l e y a n dr e l i e v e d t h e M a r i n e c o m p o n e n t o f i t s r e s p o n s i b i l -i t y f o r t h a t c a m p . T h i s f r e e d m a n y M a r i n e s t o d oo t h e r w o r k o r t o r e t u r n t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s .B e f o r e r e t u r n i n g h o m e , M a r i n e s f r o m C a m p

L e j e u n e w o r k e d h a r d t o m a k e C am e m o r y b y d i s m a n t l i n g a n d s t o r ia n d o t h e r e q u i p m e n t . C a m p M c Co n l O J u l y . 5 6

T h e n u m b e r o f m e m b e r s a s s i g nt a s k f o r c e c o n t i n u e d t o s h r i n k ad e p a r t e d . B y 1 8 A u g u s t , t h e r e w

( u s u a l l y s p e l l e d a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t l y )

m e m b e r s o f t h e J T F c a r i n g f o r 2C a m p B u l k e l e y . T h o s e 2 9 3 H a i t i a nl i m b o . M o s t h a d b e e n s c r e e n e d ab e e n f r e e t o t r a v e l b u t f o r o n e ma b o u t 2 3 0 o f t h e m w e r e H J V - p o sw e r e t h e i r f a m i l y m e m b e r s . U n d e r Un e a r l y i m p o s s i b l e f o r a n y o n e w hw i t h t h e v i r u s t o e n t e r t h e c o u n t r y . 5

T h e r e f o l l o w e d a l m o s t a y e a r o f st h e m i g r a n t s b e h i n d w i r e a t C a m p

D V I C D F - S I - 9 9 - 0 6 0 2 3

A g r o u p q f H a i t i a n m i g r a n t s s t a n d o u t s i d e t h e i r t e n t a t ( a m p M


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r u m p J T F c a r i n g f o r d i e m . A c o m p o s i t e M a r i n e M Fc o m p a n y f r o m C a m p L e j e u n e p r o v i d e d s e c u r i t y a tC a m p B u l k e l e y f o r m u c h o f t h a t t i m e . W h e n M Pp l a t o o n s r o t a t e d , b a r r a c k s M a r i n e s s t e p p e d i n f o rt h e m . T h e q u i c k r e a c t i o n f o r c e a l s o w a s d i s -p a t c h e d w h e n e v e r t h e r e w a s a c a l l f o r r e i n f o r c e ,m e n t s ' T w o M a r i n e o f f i c e r s c o m m a n d e d t h e J T Fd u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d , B r i g a d i e r G e n e r a l R i c h a r d I .N e a l , f r o m 2 2 J u n e t o1 8 A u g u s t 1 9 9 2 , a n dC o l o n e l L a w r e n c e R . Z i n s e r , f r o m 1 5 D e c e m b e r1 9 9 2 t o 1 1 M a r c h 1 9 9 3 . 5

I n 1 9 9 2 , t h e q u i c k r e a c t i o n f o r c e d e p l o y e d s e v -e r a l t i m e s .T h e m o s t n o t a b l ed e p l o y m e n t so c c u r r e d i n J u l y a n d A u g u s t w h e n v i o l e n t p r o t e s t sb r o k e o u t a m o n g t h e m i g r a n t s w h o , b o r e d a n d

r e s t l e s s , w a n t e d t h e U . S . G o v e r n m e n t t o r e s o l v et h e i r s t a t u s o n e w a y o r t h e o t h e r . A i r i n g c o n c e r n sa t r e g u l a r l y s c h e d u l e d t o w n m e e t i n g s f a i l e d t or e l i e v e t e n s i o n s . T h e r e w a s , a f t e r a l l , l i t t l e t h e J T Fc o u l d d o a b o u t p o l i c i e s l a i d d o w n i n W a s h i n g t o n .D u r i n g t h ed i s t u r b a n c e o n1 7 - 1 8 J u l y , t h em i g r a n t s d e s t r o y e d a f i r e t r u c k a n d i n j u r e d 1 4 A i r

Q u i c kr e a c t i o nf o r c e s r a n g e d t r o m s q u a d - s i z e d t o w h a t e v e rs i z ef o r c e w a s n e e d e d t o c o n t a i n t h e s i t u a t i o n s a f e l y . T h et o r c e s c o m p r i s e d w e l l - e q u i p p e dM a r i n e sw h o c o u l d d e p l o yw i t h i n m i n u t e s t o q u e l l a n y d i s t u r b a n c e .

F o r c e s e c u r i t y p o l i c e m e n s e v e rt h e y r e q u i r e d t r e a t m e n t a t t h e l o ct a l . T h e i n j u r i e s w e r e i n u r r e d is e c u r i t yp o l i c e m e n h a d e x e r c i s e dr e s t r a i n t w h e n f a c i n g t h e m i g r a n t s .

A m o n t h l a t e r , o n 2 9 A u g u s t , t h em o r e i n t e n s e d i s t u r b a n c e . T h i s t i mb u r n e d s e v e n S E A h u t s ( S o u t h e aat e m p o r a r y b a r r a c k s u s e d e x t e n s iV i e t n a m W a r ) t o c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o tg o t a t t e n t i o n , b u t n o t t h e k i n d t h ea g a i n , a s i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 1 , t ho f f i c e r o f t h e M a r i n e B a r r a c k s , n oT . M u r r a y , a b l u f f I r i s h - A m e r i c ao n e o f h i s s u b o r d i n a t e s a s a M a

o r g a n i z e d a t a s k f o r c e t or e s t o r e o r d e r .t n as c a l e d - d o w n v e r s i o n o f O p e r a t i oC o l o n e l M u r r a y q u i c k l y o r g a n iM a r i n e s a n d s a i l o r s i n t o a n e f f e c tw a s a b l e t o r e s t o r e o r d e r i n t h e cs i n g l e H a i t i a n o r U . S . c a s u a l t y . 6 NJ T F s t i l l h a d t o f o o t t h e $ 1 2 , 5 0 0 c a u s e d b y t h e m i g r a n t s . 6 '

I n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e d i s t u r bq u a l i t y - o f - l i f e i m p r o v e m e n t s w e rt ot r a n s f o r m t h e c a m p i n t o a t e m p o rT h e r e w e r e u p g r a d e s i n p l u m b i n g


D \ T I CD N - S T - 9 9 - 0 6 0 2 8

M i g r a n t sg o a b o u t t h e i r d a i l y r o u t i n e a t c a m p M c 6 ' a l l a . i n t h e s u ma n i n c r e a s i n g l y f r u s t r a t i n g s i t u a t i o n , w h i l e o t h e r s d i s p l a y e d o u


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a n d m i g r a n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e c a m p ' s a d m i n i s -t r a t i o n w a s i n c r e a s e d . I n a r e l a t e d m o v e o n 2 1S e p t e m b e r , t h e J T F c l o s e d C a m p V I I , t h e s e g r e g a -t i o n f a c i l i t y f o r m a l c o n t e n t s , a n d o p e n e d C a m pB u l k e l e y ' s g a t e s f r o m 0 8 0 0 t o 2 0 0 0 . T h e r e r e a l l yw a s n o w h e r e f o r t h e m i g r a n t s t o g o , h u t i t w a s aw e l c o m e g e s t u r e . 6 2

T h e p a y o f f w a s t h a t , a s t h e s t a l e m a t e d r a g g e do n i n t o 1 9 9 3 , m i g r a n t p r o t e s t s b e c a m e s o m e w h a tl e s s v i o l e n t . T h e n e x t p r o t e s t , w h i c h b e g a n a t1 3 0 0 o n 2 9 J a n u a r y a f t e r t h e m i g r a n t s h a d c o n -f e r r e d w i t h l a w y e r s f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w a s ah u n g e r s t h k e . w h i c h w a s m o n i t o r e d c l o s e l y b y

m e d i c a lp e r s o n n e l . T h e h u n g e r s t rl a s t e dt h r o u g h F e b r u a r y a n d i n t o M a r ct h e a t t e n t i o n o f d i g n i t a r i e s l i k e t h eL . J a c k s o n a n d R h o d e I s l a n d S e nP e l l . J a c k s o n v o w e d t o j o i n t h e ht h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n d i d n o t r e l e n tH a i t i a n s t o e n t e r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e sw h i c h c o n t i n u e d t o v o t e b y w i d e i m m i g r a t i o n b y a n y o n e w h o w a st i e d t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s h a n d s . 3

T h e r e f o l l o w e d a v a r i e t y o f p e a c e" b r e a k - o u t " a t t e m p t b y 1 0 m i g r a ni n t h e b a s e b r i g ) , a n d t h e b u r n i n

S k e t c h b y c a p t B u r t o n E . M o o r e , J t . ( M a r i n eA p o r t r a y a l o f M a r i n e s a n d r e f u g e e s e n t i t l e d " T h e O l d G u n n y i sM o o r e d e p i c t e d t h e 2 9 J u n e 1 9 9 2 e v e n t w h e r e H a i t i a n s w e r e dp o u n d b u i l d i n g s a t C a m p B u l k e l e y a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g c o n f r o n t a t


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22 SKILLFUL SHOW OF STRENGTH

camp shelters. As lawyers and courts in the U.S.continued to ponder the migrants' fate, the monthof May saw another, shorter hunger strike-thisone only 12 days-and a rock-throwing incidenton 30 May. Events finally turned in the migrants'favor. Some of the migrants entered the United

States through various loopholes in the law, andon 8 Ju ne a U S district judge in New York ruledin favor of allowing the remaining migrants to

At the end of the day the statistics forOperation GTMO alone told a dramaticstory. The JTF had processed more than30 000 migmnts 10 791 of whom hadentered the U S while some 23 833 wererepatriated to Haiti.

enter the U.S. as parolees.6.i It was an empty vic-tory for many of the migrants infected with theAIDS virus. Years later, they still had not regular-ized their status or fit into society. Their relation-ship with the established Haitian communities inNew York and Miami remained ambivalent atbest, and they were almost as isolated as they hadI~een t Guantanamo.65

Apparently exhausted by the process, theadministration did not object, and promised toremove the remaining migrants from Guantanamowithin two weeks. Armed with this decree, theJTP lost no time in preparing for its deactivation.By 23 June 1993, the command was down to 60troops and happy to turn Camp Bulkeley backover to the Navy base. The JTF was formally deac-tivated and relinquished control of its headquar-ters facilities in the early morning of 30 June . Thelast of its members started for home the next day,leaving the most frustrating part of OperationGTMO behind them.66 These events coincidedwith diplon~atic initiatives to return PresidentJean-Beltrand Aristide to power and end theongoing crisis in Haiti.

At the end of the day, the statistics forOperation GTMO alone told a dramatic story. TheJTF had processed more than 30,000 migrants,10,791 of whom had entered the U.S. while some23,833 were repatriated to Haiti. The cost of theoperation was recorded as $58,463;000.6'

What were the implications of O p e r ~ t ' onG'I'MO for the Marine Corps? On e was straightfor-ward: that migrant operations were not an anom-aly, but a mission for the 1990s. General Wallscommented this was the kind of mission that only

the military could execute on short notice-withits capability for a quick, orderly, coordinated airand ground response to a humanitarian crisis.@ talso called for a degree of force--or at least thethreat of force-applied with skill and restraint topreserve order.@ While Opera tion GTMO was

something of a departure from the missions of theCold War, a Marine looking back at the history ofthe Corps can find many of the elements of Oper-ation GTMO in earlier operations: ambiguous sit-uations-a strange mixture of humani tarian,police, and mililary operations-that called forcreativity, flexibility, and good small unit leader-ship.

The related conclusion that migrant operationswere a harbinger of things to come was evidentin the after-action reports. The JTF engineer offi-cer, for example, fornlally suggested that Marine

Corps civil affairs officers design and maintain off-the-shelf plans for the construction of small, medi-um, and large camps for varying periods of time.Other suggestions stressed the u sek~ lne ss f mili-tary occupational specialties in migrant opera-tions, such as a strong intelligen

a skillful show of strength u.s. marines in the caribbean 1991-1996

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