By JOHNNY V. BOYKINS

Johnny Boykins, Eckerd College Class of '08

Very few people have been to the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and fewer people have been inside the wire of Camp America, the Detainee prison.  What do you think about when someone mentions Guantanamo Bay? For many Americans it means the place where some of the world’s most dangerous people are held, including the alleged September 11^th Mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and his co-conspirators. For some Americans it’s a place of secrecy, torture, and where the rule of law and due process doesn’t exist. For me a person who has been on both sides of the fence I have mixed feelings about Guantanamo Bay and the very complicated problem America has on its hands.

The sign reads: Camp Justice

In 2002, after the invasion in Afghanistan and the George W. Bush proclaimed Global War against Terror, the United States needed a holding facility for all suspected Terrorist captured on the battlefield of war, and those captured by the CIA and the FBI. Through Executive Order, the first holding facility was constructed. Camp X-ray was in operations for four months while the main facility was being constructed; now Camp Delta is in use within the compounds of Camp America. This is where the first set of problems lies. We all have seen the now infamous pictures of uniformed soldiers huddled over cowering detainees in orange jump suits that are shackled and blindfolded. Almost eight years later those of are only images that come up in a Google search. This was a public relations nightmare the United States of America could not get past. We also look at these images of an open air camp with detainee on their knees and think that what is happening in Guantanamo Bay today. That is not what is happening in Guantanamo Bay Camp America prison today in 2009. The detention facility is comprised of 8 different camps of various security levels for the 200 plus detainees held in Camp America. The prison looks similar to what you would think a prison would look like. The standards of the holding cells meets the requirements set forth by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with meeting the standards of the United States Bureau of Prisons. Detainees receive a high level of care. There is a team of Doctors, Nurses, Physician Assistants, and Military Corpsmen who are dedicated to the health concerns of the detainees. Detainees have received state of the art medical attention from heart surgeries to a complete dietary review. In every holding cell there are arrows that point to Mecca and give the distance in miles and kilometers of how far they are away from the holy landmark. Careful consideration is taken into account for their religious practices. Prayer times are observed, and all required religious material is provided to each detainee. In 2009, I will attest to the safe, humane care and custody of the detained persons in Guantanamo Bay.

As for the legality of Guantanamo Bay, I would like to remind people as they scream about due process that in 2006 the United States Congress in the heat of night passed the Military Commissions Act which allows for the secret military commissions to be utilized for detainee trials. I have firsthand experience when it comes to the Military Commissions.  The United States Coast Guard was tasked with providing internal security for the Military Commissions. We also were tasked with the protection of the Expeditionary Legal Complex. I had not completely made up my mind when it came to the legal aspect of GTMO detainees. When I read the procedure and rules regarding prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, the definitions of the POW did not quite mark the alleged terrorist we had captured.  Nor did I agree that we as America had a right to hold individual indefinitely without trial or accusation.  My understanding of the process developed once I had a chance to see the process in action. Hamden v. Rumsfeld was the first commission that I was able to watch the developments.  I’ve my decision; I believe in the rule of law and due process, and the legal system created in Guantanamo Bay cannot coexist with the American values I possess. The nature of classified information, high valued detainees, and national security can be handled within the system that already exists in the habeas courts of the United States.

I agree with President Obama’s Executive Order, ordering the closure of the Island deemed the most secured gated community in all the Caribbean on January 22, 2009. Sadly, I don’t suspect that he will meet his deadline of closing the facility within one year. The situation is extremely complicated. There are a great number of detained persons who simply don’t have a home to return to. The United States through diplomatic efforts is working tirelessly to repatriate these once-accused terrorist.  The controversial move to relocate the 9/11 masterminds back to New York City has brought major attention to this complicated issue. Who wants terrorist lurking in their backyard? No one does.

All in all, my experience in Guantanamo Bay has taught me a few things. 1) Terrorists do exist in our world. There are people out there who have hatred and anger towards the United States and its values of freedom and democracy. 2) Most of those detainees in Guantanamo Bay are terrorists or have aided in terrorist activity. 3) The men and women in Uniform stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are just as much on the front lines in the Global War on Terrorism as those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. 4) The situation that the United States has entangled itself in, in the last seven years is extremely complicated. Although President Obama has vowed to close GTMO, it is going to be extremely difficult in the months to come. 5) There may have been human rights violations in GTMO in the early months that the detention facility was first opened but in 2009, but detainees now are treated safely and humanely. Finally 6) I believe that America is a country that is bound by the rule of law and that we will live up to the values and principles that are etched in our constitution. We will right the wrongs that may have occurred and seek the justice that the American people want and need. When I left Guantanamo Bay, the motto was Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, the work that the men and women in uniform in GTMO are filled with honor and we will continue to hold up our oath to defend freedom where it is under attack.