Colonel Gary A. Blair commands the Marine Barracks Ground Defense/Security Force at Guantanamo Bay. He recalled, "On November 13th, we accumulated three or four Coast Guard cutters out here in the bay, each with hundreds of Haitians aboard. Up to that point, there had been no resolution about what to do with them, and there were some real sanitation problems aboard the cutters."

In addition to Coast Guardsmen assigned to each vessel, the additional 150 to 200 Haitians rescued and living aboard for a couple of weeks not only taxed living and sanitation conditions, but made feeding the multitude and simply moving about the ship difficult.

"That's when Navy Captain William McCamy (Naval Base Commander) decided to bring the Haitians ashore. That would give the migrants room to move around, and permit the cutters to return to the Windward Passage to rescue additional Haitians leaving their country for economic or political reasons.

"We began bringing them ashore, and Marine Barracks personnel became involved. We escorted the Haitians to Camp Bulkeley, where Barracks Marines had established a tent camp. And that's basically how it all began."

More fishing boats tried to make the trip from Haiti to the American installation at Guantanamo Bay; some succeeded and others sank. The initial compound at Camp Bulkeley quickly filled to overflowing and on November 22, 1991, the Joint Task Force (JTF) arrived, commanded by Marine Brigadier General George H. Walls Jr. Five more camps were constructed at McCalla Field, using the emergency and helicopter runways.

The concrete expanse measures 6,750 feet and provides solid support to hundreds of tents erected for the migrants. Concertina wire separated the various sections. Lights and shower facilities were installed. Portable heads ("Johns") were emplaced.

"We came down here in a humanitarian role," BrigGen Walls explained. "We provided food, medical care and shelter for the Haitians, while demonstrating how versatile and well prepared the men and women of the Joint Task Force are.

"Many came down here with less than 48-hours notice, expecting to stay for a lot shorter period of time than they have. Some were unsure about what they were going to do when they got here, because this is a one of a kind operation that has never been done before.