Joint Task Force Guantanamo Mission

Performed duties of an SGL assigned to the Basic Leader Course (BLC) for the Fires Center of Excellence (FCOE). Served as the subject matter expert for all Course Management Plan (CMP) and Programs of Instruction (POI,) training and maintaining instructor certification. Responsible for the wellbeing, safety, professional development, and training of 16 Soldiers on a 22-day recurring cycle, performing nine cycles a year. During my tenure as a BLC SGL, I achieved numerous accomplishments and achievements. Received enormous praise from the United States Sergeants Major Academy (USAMA) for renovation of a Training Support Package (TSP) that was implemented across BLCs for the entire Army. Hand-picked as NCO of the Month for September 2015, selected

As a young college graduate COL Mahoney wanted to join the Army and make an immediate impact in law enforcement; so he became a member of the Military Police (MP) Corps in1982. With discipline and dedication, he climbed the ranks, obeyed the orders of his superiors, motivated his peers to persevere, encouraged his subordinates, and honed his personal leadership skills. Time after time he led the physical training sessions and the complex mission requirements training of the MP force in each of his units.

The regular routine of the prison from an officer’s point of view consists of locking and unlocking cells, moving prisoners from cells to showers to mess halls, and physically inspecting units to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the prison as a whole. However, solidarity throughout the prison is non-existent – especially vital when officers are heavily outnumbered by criminals. Commands from officers are denied by prisoners, as well as other officers – communication is limited and teamwork by guards is nonexistent. Conover argues that his training is inadequate and could not have prepared him for the reality within prison walls. “You feel it

The book NewJack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover is an profound book to read it gave me a great glimpse of how the prison life really is and how you can put yourself in comparing how Hollywood movies or TV shows displays them. Conover discuss about the history of Sing Sing prison since 1826. It was an authentic and straight forward of how the prison life is especially for those who want to pursue as a correctional officers. It gave two perspectives one from the guards and the other by the inmates. It shows a psychological effects of violence between the guards and inmates within the cell walls also it gave the transformation life in training and life with inmates. What surprise me in the book it only took the recruiters seven weeks training camp during those week they had to “write the use of force, from penal law to “standard of inmates behavior”… there would be tests every Friday, on which we had to score 70 percent or better. We’d have two hours of physical performance test in out last week. We’d learn how to use batons and how to fight hand to hand in a course called Defensive Tactics. We’d have to qualify on a shooting range. Finally, we’d be exposed to tear gas and learn how to fire gas guns (p.23).” The training camp was very similar to a military boot camp. After the seven weeks of training they all went straight to prison work during prison they had to deal with the hardship, stress and chaos surrounding the job of officers and what they go through during

To become a Martial Arts Instructor (MAI), a Marine must hold the rank of Corporal and bear a gray belt at a minimum. The MAI Course proved to be the most arduous, yet fruitful event I have experienced thus far. It consisted of a 126.5-hour curriculum, enduring long intervals of physical training, team building exercises, learning new techniques, conducting periods of instruction, endless evaluations, and a culminating event - all spanning over a three-week period. On the last day of training, my instructor trainers administered our culminating event. This affair stretched just over

Did you know, as American taxpayers, maintaining the prison at Guantánamo has costed $4.8 billion since it had opened in 2002? Well this al back to “ The Global War on Terror” under the Bush administration that,. response to the 9/11 attacks, targeted middle eastern regions of the world;, collecting men from left to right by heavily armed American soldiers. Unfortunately, some of them are destined to pay for another man’s crime by serving time in Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay, located within a naval base in Cuba, became a facility purposed to hold alleged enemy combatants and terrorists alike. Because of later documented injustices reported against detainees, it gained negative spotlight by both citizens and world leaders. When Obama succeeded in presidency, closing the facility became one of his priorities for a number of reasons.

He chose to tell the students about the fight that happened at Losano Ridge, very close to the Pakistan border, this fight was in Afghanistan in 2003. Mr. Mullaney wanted to tell the story in two ways so the students could see the difference. First he told his students the normal or expected version. He went over the basics, like movement after contact and under fire, medical evacuation, and so on. But it did not do justice to the chaos, noise, fear, and exhilaration they went through.

Guantanamo Bay in Cuba houses some of the most dangerous people. The people being held have ranged in committing various crimes. What makes Guantanamo Bay well known is how the time period a detainee has spent in prison without a trial. While in prison for an extensive period of time, a detainee is bound to receive discipline for not following the guards. There are often a variety of different methods that the guards use to teach discipline to the detainees. All who follow Guantanamo Bay as institution often criticizes the measures taken. What makes Guantanamo Bay an ironic place to start this journey is because Guantanamo Bay is at the center of attention to a very important, controversial law passed in 2006. The controversial law was

You wake up in a dimly-lit room laying down, your back flat on a cold table, facing unfamiliar men standing over you. You attempt to move, but your arms and legs are strapped down leaving you completely defenseless. Panicking, you begin to scream, but your screams are cut short as a wet cloth is laid over your face. You feel water being poured over the cloth and you begin choking; you can’t breathe; you are drowning. You are being waterboarded. What you just experienced was one of many common interrogation techniques used to pry information from suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay naval base. These techniques,

“Techniques, forms, and self-defense” Once he said this I felt as if all the black belts eyes fell upon me. I gulped nervously to myself after trying to figure out how to successfully defend myself from three of the daunting, large black belts who could easily pummel me. I tried to remain calm and collected but, my right leg kept shaking vigorously which I got control of eventually. We began the techniques portion, all three of us went at the same time doing all of the same techniques. After successfully completing the first three, I felt more confident that I could easily get through

To review the concerns of parents and the government many of the following practices commonly employed in juvenile boot camps are not legally allowed as treatment of U.S. juveniles in Guantanamo Bay. For example, private residential facilities for juveniles often use stress-inducing phobias and fears, physical training, exposure to cold weather, sleep deprivation, nutritional deprivation, stress positions, extended isolation, forced labor, and denial of use of the bathroom to “modify the behavior” of adolescents.( Allison Pinto, Ph.D., Monica Epstein, Ph.D., Paul Lewis, B.B.A., Kathryn Whitehead,

Navy Lt. Katherine Kline, the officer in charge of JSMART, says the goal of JSMART is “to promote wellness in all JTF members. Being in the military, we are trained to put others first but it is our belief that if you can't take care of yourself, then you can't take care of others. I always encourage people to think of it like this -- when you're on an airplane and the oxygen masks drop, what do they tell you to do with it? The answer is, put yours on first because if you can't breathe then you can't help anyone else to breathe. That is the epitome of self-care.”

In about 20 sessions, he will teach you how to effectively defend against all of the most common violent attacks. You will learn how to survive unarmed assaults including strikes, kicks, grabs and hair pulls. You will also learn how to turn the tables on an attacker that wields a knife, a gun, a stick or a bat.

Guantanamo Bay, though started with good intentions, only highlights America’s negative side. Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who played a significant role in the opening of Guantanamo, has drastically changed his opinion and said that it, “Validates every negative perception of the U.S.” (Sutton 1). One example of this occurred in 2006, when President Bush justified the use of “physical coercion” (torture) during interrogations (Fetini 1). Some of these torture methods include isolation, beatings, sleep deprivation, and general abuse. Other tactics such as disrespect for Islamic symbols or sexual provocation are used to encourage stress in detainees (Bloche 1). These immoral methods led to an international outcry. It was later remarked that the Cuban territory upon which Guantanamo is located is being used as a “concentration camp” of sorts (Fetini 1). Guantanamo and its unethical values are being recognized by nations around the world, displaying America in a bad light.

In the United States, one of the major methods in obtaining crucial information has been through the use of Guantanamo Bay. While many have condemned of the torture that is believed to occur there, not only does Guantanamo Bay comply with national and international standards, but it also complies with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (Meese 1) which states