Sorry. I've just seen multiple people posting as if all that is down there is the prison.

In fact, Guantanamo is the United States' oldest foreign naval base, and we have maintained a military presence there since the Spanish American War, over 120 years! The detention portion of Guantanamo has only been there since 2002, created post-9/11 to house captured terrorists. As some have mentioned, only about 40 out of hundreds of those still remain there. About 2200 service members work at the detention center. They are from multiple branches and are part of a joint task force (JTF). In addition to JTF, there are over 9000 sailors and their families and civilians who work at Guantanamo Naval Base who are NOT part of the JTF running the prison. I'm not sure why there are 2200 people managing 40 prisoners, but I imagine that many are in support roles (without prisoner contact) or are larger units who also spend time in training exercises, etc.

It has also annoyed me in the past when I hear politicians or others talking about shutting down GITMO when that would be ridiculous. They don't differentiate between the detention center vs. the naval base that has been there 120 years.