Approximately 700 family members who had evacuated from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay were able to decompress when the news came that their base had sustained minimal damage from Hurricane Matthew Oct. 5.

The evacuees were surprised to hear an update directly from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay's Commanding Officer, Capt. David Culpepper.

"Everyone is safe and sound," Culpepper said. "There was a lot of effort to make sure the base was secure. Everybody who was sheltered has already been bussed back home. It's still raining, but the winds have become more normal to Guantanamo standards."

With the news that the damage to the base was not as bad as anticipated, the attention turned very quickly to when they would be able to go home, a question asked by one of the evacuees.

"I told everybody before they left that when it came time to get everybody back, I would look first at evaluating the installation, because to get them back here the air field needs to be back up and we will probably have that back up later today," Culpepper said. "The second part is power and water, both of which are established." Plans are now being made to return family, friends and colleagues back to the Naval Station as soon as possible.

Cheers erupted through the crowd, at the news. Culpepper culminated the conference call by thanking the evacuees for their fortitude and reminding them to remain patient. Due to the hurricane's expected track up the eastern coast of the United States, and its impending effects to other Navy Region Southeast installations, efforts to get the evacuees back to Guantanamo Bay may be delayed.

"That storm is tracking up the East Coast, so be patient as the focus of effort for the next couple of days will be making sure the folks on the East Coast are out of harm's way before the focus of effort can shift back to getting everybody back here," said Culpepper.

Naval Station Guantanamo Bay has returned to full operational capability and offers their sincerest condolences to those in Haiti and other areas affected by Hurricane Matthew.

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