1994 During the Haitian migrant "Operation SEA SIGNALl" at Guantanamo Bay, a number of migrant camps were set-up at "Radio Range" the site of the Naval Base's radio antennas on the south side of the base, and the future site of the more permanent detainee facility.

To identify the camps, a name was designated to each to correspond with the phonetic alphabet used for official military "radio" communication (Camp Alpha, Camp Bravo up to Camp Golf). When additional sites were established on the north side of the base, camp names were designated using the opposite end of the alphabet, to include Camp X-Ray.

Construction of the facility required over 180 people in conjunction with Navy Fleet Hospital 20 from Camp Lejeune, N.C. Initially, it took 17 Navy builders from Construction Battalion 423, commonly known as "the Seabees," to clear and prepare the land for the hospital. This took over three days of intense 24-hour operations beginning January 18, 2002. Tents went up in one day and the International Standards Organization (ISO) containers were unpacked, expanded and organized into rooms and storage areas fit for labs, washrooms and examination rooms.

The medical facility takes up approximately 11⁄2 acres and has a 36-bed capacity. It has three wings with the first wing housing a pharmacy, a lab, an x-ray, and mobile utility modules (akin to a head facility). The second wing is a medical suite which has the casualty receiving and operating room. The third wing is an intensive care unit wing.

Detainees at Camp X-Ray are housed in temporary 8-by-8 units surrounded by wire mesh. They sleep on 4-to-5 inch-thick mattresses with sheets and blankets. The mattresses are on the floor, as is Afghan custom. Each unit has a concrete slab floor and a combination wood & metal overhead cover.

Water is provided through one 1500-gallon portable tank and four 2000-gallon water bladders. Wastewater is stored in two other specialized ISO containers. Power is currently provided through generators, but there is a plan to hook up shore power and use the generators as backups. In addition, laundry facilities for hospital linens will be on site.

The 24-hour facility will have security measures in place, with two military police accompanying each detainee to the hospital and remaining there with him.

Navy Seabees lated built, in a matter of hours, a 'negative-pressure' isolation ward for the hospital out of spare parts in response to demands by Fleet Hospital medical staff concerned about detainees possibly identified as infectious disease patients. The isolation was initially a storage rooom built next to the existing Fleet Hospital's ICU Ward. Seabees wired the tent for lights and hooked up an air conditioning unit. More work was then required to prevent sending contaminated air back into the unit or circulating throughout the tent.

Detention units are separated by chain link fence while razor wire and watchtowers surround the compound. Guards inside the compound carry no weapons, to prevent detainees from possibly capturing weapons. The guards outside the compound are armed, however.

U.S. Army Military Police (MPs) provided the day-to-day security for the detainees inside Camp X-Ray while U.S. Marines provided security and perimeter patrols at Camp X-Ray.

The detainees were reportedly well-fed, being provided correct dietary meals, with access to shower and toilet facilities. Islamic detainees have the opportunity to pray six times a day and are ministered to by two of the U.S. military's 12 Muslim chaplains. Detainees may freely converse with one another and each has access to a copy of the Koran, if they so choose.

In addition, in response to health concerns about the detainees, Navy service members began construction in late January of a temporary medical facility capable of providing medical attention that ranges from dental exams to major surgery. The aim of the hospital was to provide the detainees with medical care similar to that given to US troops.

29 April, 2002 With the opening of Camp Delta, Camp X-ray was closed and the remaining detainees were transferred to Camp Delta.

Edited from GlobalSecurity.com