After a three-hour flight aboard an Air Sunshine E-110, we
landed in Guantanamo Bay at about 5:30pm. Passengers on the flight included
other media representatives (WJXT’s Bruce Hamilton and an Israeli TV
journalist), a guard from Camp 6, a lawyer, a translator, and contract workers.
JTF (Joint Task Force) GITMO Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cody Starken, 25 years
old, met us at the airport. He is member of the Florida National Guard and grew
up in the Cape Canaveral area.
The coastline is rocky and mountainous. The weather was
warm, humid, and overcast. The airport runway juts out near the entrance of the
bay. The airport was a relatively quiet place. We, along with the 13-or-so
other passengers were escorted into a giant hanger where our entry clearance
forms and passports were checked. Then all of our bags were put through an
x-ray machine and we walked through a metal detector. We didn’t even get
screened at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.
Continue reading "First Day in Guantanamo Bay" »
It took six months of planning, but we're finally off to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Patrick Fleming and I are flying down this afternoon to spend a few days shooting a couple stories at the detention facilities at the U.S. Naval Base. We return to Florida on Thursday.
The stories will air on the University of Florida's PBS station, WUFT-TV. I'd like to thank the station and the College of Journalism & Communications for financing the trip. Needless to say, we're both excited to be traveling to Cuba and we're looking forward to bringing back a few good stories.
This will be an interesting time to visit GITMO for a few reasons. First, President Obama wants the detention facilities shut down by January. Whether that's going to happen in time or happen at all is a major point of discussion. Not to mention what will happen to the detainees.
Continue reading "Off to Guantanamo Bay" »