"Back at the Gap" Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) Thousands of Cuban refugees arrive at Gap 28th in a series In April of 1980, Fidel Castro decided than anyone who wanted to leave Cuba would be allowed to do so. Cubans living in the United States organized the "Freedom Flotilla" , but at the same time, Castro used this opportunity to rid himself of undesirables. Although President Jimmy Carter agreed to let 3,500 refugees enter the country, the final count was about 125,000. Carter decided to let them all stay. This huge number of refugees overwhelmed the processing centers set up in Florida, and Fort Indiantown Gap was once again pressed into service as a resettlement camp. Army Forces Command notified First Army on May 11 that it was considering Fort Indiantown Gap as a processing center. Brigadier General Grail L. Brookshire was named as Task Force Commander. Robert Adamcik was appointed coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As the Commander of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, I was tasked to process the arrivals at the Harrisburg International Airport. I assigned the 193rd Special Operations Group, PaANG, at Harrisburg International Airport to provide the ground operations support for the chartered jet transports, to coordinate the passenger arrivals, and to insure smooth processing of both aircraft and passengers. The plan was devised and Army- chartered school busses were scheduled to meet each aircraft to take the refugees to Fort Indiantown Gap. A Spanish speaking sergeant was assigned to each bus to welcome the Cuban passengers and to help direct them to the proper processing area once they arrived at the Gap. The 193rd Group was advised by the operations center in Florida that the initial shipment of Cuban refugees would be only a small contingent, once each day for the first five days, to give everyone an opportunity to make sure the arrival and processing procedures were as efficient as possible. The first flight of 325 people arrived in Harrisburg on May 18, immediately followed by many other jet transports off loading the Cubans. The slow beginning was not to be because the system became immediately saturated. By May 24, the Air Guard and Army personnel had handled 10,209 Cuban refugees! In fact, between May 18 and May 31, a total of 19,003 refugees were processed at Fort Indiantown Gap. Families, juveniles and unaccompanied females were separated from single males. Many of these refugees were thankful to be in the United States, the land of the free. On May 18, I was at the Harrisburg International Airport to observe the arrival of the first plane load of Cuban passengers. It was a touching sight to watch these downtrodden refugees come down the steps from the large transport aircraft with nothing but the clothes on their back but expressing a sense of welcome relief - they were finally in the land of the free! Many got on their knees and prayed, some reached down and kissed the ground. They were a somber group and were obviously grateful to all of the Americans who were helping them to the waiting busses. However, as more and more Cubans arrived on later flights, there was the “bad element” intertwined with the peaceful refugees, many of whom had been convicts in the Cuban jails that Castro released and shipped them out just to get rid of them from Cuba. These hardcore convicts and tough guys caused damage to the buildings. They created so much turmoil, and became so difficult to handle that the Immigration and Naturalization Service was forced to construct a detention area in Area Six that was surrounded by a chain link fence and concertina wire. Although Fort Indiantown Gap is leased by the Federal Government, the Commonwealth retains jurisdiction for civilians, and the Cubans placed a large burden upon the law enforcement agencies of the State, as well as the court system. Another problem that occurred was due to the fact that there were not enough facilities to confine the criminals. The United States government did not expect so many criminals and was unprepared for them. When refugees committed crimes in the refugee population, they might be detained, but then lack of space would force their release into the general population. During the initial processing period, 389 refugees were transferred to federal correctional institutions for crimes committed either in the United States or based upon criminal records in Cuba. A large part of the criminal problem was attributable to mentally disturbed refugees in the population. These patients were treated by the Department of Health and Human Services, but were not removed from the general population. The crowding and stressful conditions only aggravated the problem. Unfortunately, during the beginning of the operation, because of the overload caused by the tremendous influx of refugees, resettlement got off to a poor start due to procedural problems between the Department of State and the voluntary agencies that were assisting in the resettlement. As resettlement occurred for the peaceful Cubans, the percentage of problem refugees grew proportionately. During July, the number of incidents grew. The unaccompanied males were beginning to escape and several refugees were apprehended off Post. The local civilian population was becoming increasingly angry about the problem. A threat was made against the Cubans unless steps were taken to control them better. General Brookshire asked for more military police units to assist. During this period of growing tensions, the State Department took over operations from FEMA., and Harry T. Johnson was named Director of the Refugee Center on July 15, 1980. In August, out placement dropped and violence increased. Several Cubans broke into a local tavern. The next day, as Federal Protective Service officers were conducting a search for weapons, a confrontation broke out and one of the officers was accused of mistreating a pregnant woman. This led to a major riot. Five hundred refugees broke into a dispensary, supply room and three dining halls. During the riot, one refugee received a massive head wound and later died as a result of his injuries. Members of the 519th Military Police Battalion and an Infantry company from the 82nd Airborne Division, both of whom were on hand to provide support for annual training, and the 2nd Brigade of the 28th Infantry Division that was on Post for annual training, helped quell the riot. Because of the riot, a battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division was assigned to provide a Direct Reaction Force. The refugee center at Fort Indiantown Gap attracted international attention with reporters from Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, The Netherlands and Sweden joining reporters from throughout the United States. One unexpected problem that occurred was due to the fact that many of the refugees had not used flush toilets before. At first they would not flush them and then later tried to wash their clothes in them. This practice resulted in a large amount of clothing and other personal items entering the sewer system. This practice was eliminated through education and by providing the refugees with wash tubs and hoses. However, the Cubans used 200 gallons of water per day per person, which was of concern since Pennsylvania was experiencing a drought at the time. When the refugee camp was finally closed, damages to the buildings and equipment were estimated at $2 million. Total costs were $24.9 million. Despite the difficulties caused by the criminal elements who were eventually incarcerated, the remaining peaceful Cubans were sponsored out to families in the eastern Pennsylvania area and peace was finally restored to Fort Indiantown Gap. Published in the Lebanon Daily News on Wednesday, 1 December 2004 Note:  An earlier version of this article indicated that General Brookshire passed away shortly after his assignment as Task Force Commander at Fort Indiantown Gap.  A member of his family has informed General Smoker that this is incorrect and that General Brookshire is still very much alive and enjoying retirement.  We apologize for this error. © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author. Go "Back at the Gap" Index