Living and working on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO)

(POC) — Guantanamo Bay the naval base, nicknamed "GTMO" or "Gitmo", covers 116 square kilometers (45 sq mi) on the western and eastern banks of the bay located in Guantanamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off from its immediate hinterland.

The United States assumed territorial control over the southern portion of Guantanamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban–American Treaty. The United States exercises complete jurisdiction and control over this territory while recognizing that Cuba retains ultimate sovereignty. It is the home of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which is governed by the United States.

The base supports the ability of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships, along with allied nation ships to operate in the Caribbean area by providing contingency and quality logistical support with superior services and facilities. The base also supports the Department of Homeland Security in U.S. migrant operations to help care for displaced migrants from the surrounding area, effectively helping control the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.

A few common misconceptions and misinformation that people have about Guantanamo Bay are that the Naval Station has been around since the turn of the 20th century and was not formed as a result of Fidel Castro, The Cuban Missile Crisis, or the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Also, the Bay of Pigs was not at Guantanamo Bay-it was in another part of Cuba. When President Obama signed an order to close down Guantanamo Bay on his first day in office in 2009; he was attempting to shut down the detention center, not the Naval Station. Guantanamo Bay Naval Station will still be around regardless of whether the detention center is ever shut down or not.

Working on Guantanamo Bay

Some Expats describe their life in Guántanamo Bay as "a place you can order a slice of pizza from Pizza Hut inside an Irish pub in which most everyone is drinking Bud Light. Guántanamo Bay has what may be the last Blockbuster outlet on Earth. Guantánamo Bay is a colonial outpost, military base, detention center, beach resort, and sleepy fishing village crammed into 45 square miles of rocky Caribbean coast. It is neither Cuba nor America, though it is definitely both."

When President Obama signed an order to close down Guantanamo Bay on his first day in office in 2009; he was attempting to shut down the detention center, not the Naval Station. Guantanamo Bay Naval Station will still be around regardless of whether the detention center is ever shut down or not.

Guantanamo Bay is divided into two parts; Naval Station and JTF or Joint Task Force; meaning all branches of the military working together. In order to get onto the JTF side of the island you need a special badge and clearance. I was able to tour the JTF side of the island and see the camps and detention centers from the outside-not inside-I saw no detainees.