GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Feb. 10, 2015) -- Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh spoke to service members during a trip to see the detention facilities, Feb. 9, during his first trip to Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
This was McHugh's second trip to GTMO; however, McHugh said the last time he was here was roughly 20 years ago -- before the JTF was established.
"The one constant over the whole time was the Soldiers' willingness to serve," McHugh said.
A highlight of the Secretary's trip included a town hall meeting with Soldiers assigned to JTF-GTMO in which he expressed his appreciation for the hard work and dedication required to take on a mission that is often misunderstood and under-appreciated.
"I'm here today as your secretary," McHugh said. "Greatly humbled by what you do each and every day. In particularly, you're required to quietly do a mission that is important for this country, and is under an international microscope where every misstep is magnified dozens of times. Thank you for your service."
Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad, the JTF-GTMO commander, and his staff briefed McHugh on the day-to-day operations of the JTF and provided McHugh a tour of unique JTF facilities. The tour included detention facilities where the secretary visited with members of the guard force.
McHugh also met with Soldiers at a dining facility to eat lunch and talk to them about their concerns for the future of the Army.
McHugh finished his tour of GTMO by speaking to a crowd of Soldiers and other service members at a town hall hosted in the Windjammer Ballroom. The secretary answered a plethora of questions that spanned topics as broad as the future of JTF missions, the role of the Reserve and Guard forces in the overall Army mission and force structure.
Though McHugh was a politician for 25 years, he said that his intent visiting GTMO was to listen to the Soldiers and not give a speech to the service members gathered. The town hall was a question and answer session that gave GTMO service members the opportunity for their voices to be heard.
Cozad began the town hall by thanking McHugh for the visit and noted that though JTF-GTMO service members aren't in a combat zone, the mission could often be just as stressful and often thankless.
Just prior to the start of the town hall, McHugh promoted Crystal Orozco and Logan Hall to the rank of sergeant.
McHugh said it was an honor to promote the Soldiers. He said that NCOs are the glue that holds the force together.
"So, I'd like to congratulate the two newest noncommissioned officers in the Army," McHugh said. "When I first became the secretary six years ago, it was the year of the NCO. If there's one thing I've learned, it is: in order for this Army to succeed we need two things; one is our NCOs.
"It's the force construct that sets us apart from the rest of the armies. Second, and more importantly than that, you have to have Soldiers such as yourselves. Men and women who have come together for a cause greater than yourselves. They represent all that is great about you, and about this Army."
JTF GTMO is a U.S. Southern Command element responsible for the safe, humane, legal, transparent care and custody of detainees and it also has a mission to provide support to the Office of Military Commissions.
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