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Inside Gitmo's John
W. "Rudy" Rudisill,
the Dallas Cowboys Dentist
by Gordon Cucullu
Despite heat, humidity, long days, and late nights, Rudy was a constant companion on two visits to Guantanamo. He is a demanding research assistant: insisting that we review notes and photos in the evening, set up additional interviews and visits, posed important questions that we had to ask, and contributed materially to the substantive content of Inside Gitmo.
His full name is John W. Rudisill, but he's "Rudy" to his friends. And some friends he has. As former team dentist to the famous Dallas Cowboys football team, Rudy was on familiar terms with many of the players, coaches, and other managerial leaders of the team. He remains a die-hard 'Boys fan to this day, and insists that all work cease when his team is on the television set.
We spent one painful Sunday afternoon at Guantanamo watching his team get thumped by a surging Redskin team. Fortunately the famous Cheerleaders were as dynamic as ever, so Rudy rebounded like a champ - and is confident so will the Cowboys - and we were able to complete the visit successfully. Look out NFL for the 2010 season.
Rudy is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and dentist. During his tenure as Air Force dentist he was called on frequently to assist in the operating room. As a result, he acquired a much more complete range of medical training and exposure than one might normally associate with that specialty.
He did his residency rotations through the Texas Correctional system, treating prisoners while inside some of the Lone Star state's toughest prisons. Rudy jokes that at one time "my assistants were a murderer and rapist." Still his exposure to the tougher side of life prepared him to be the ideal research assistant to take with me to Guantanamo.
What Rudy brought to the table in researching the Inside Gitmo book was a keen eye to conditions inside the wire, especially regarding the hospital and medical facilities. He picked out some key weaknesses in the existing system, primarily in attitude of military medical personnel to the detainees. "We take pride in treating these detainees as patients, not prisoners," one hospital commander told us.
Taking me aside, Rudy noted that such a position could lead to a relaxed posture among medical personnel and might open a window for an incident. No long afterwards such an incident occurred and corrections were made by the staff.
With his familiarity with medical equipment, procedures, and layouts, Rudy was able to point out some of the ultra-modern pieces of equipment available to detainees (and not to US personnel) such as digital X-ray equipment, state-of-the-art operating theater, and the latest in prosthetic devices.
One of the limited dining facilities at the base, the Jamaican Jerk House - featured island "cuisine" in the form of jerk chicken, jerk pork, and....well, that was about it. No, they also had plenty of ice-cold Red Stripe beer that made the chow go down smoothly. Looking back at our too-frequent visits to the Jerk House, Rudy is convinced that long-term living at Guantanamo would turn into a great weigh loss program.
Rudy has become a popular speaker and media guest about Guantanamo. He speaks with inside knowledge and from personal experience about his visits and analysis of the facility. He often appears before Rotary and civic organizations, veterans groups, and on television and radio.
To contact Rudy, send an e-mail to him through Gordon at the gordon@colonelgordon.com address, subject: Rudy.
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Chapter Summaries & Source Documents
Join the Inside Gitmo discussion group
The Inside Gitmo email-based discussion group on Guantanamo's detention facility is intended to encourage rational, civil discussion of the myriad issues and problems associated with the facility, the detainees, and the staff.
Note that in the coming months I will be participating in dozens of radio shows across the country, and asked to speak on Guantanamo topics in a variety of different venues.
Rather than operating in a vacuum, the questions, comments, thoughts and exchanges from a wide variety of different people will enrich my perspectives and understanding of what others think and believe about Guantanamo.
Journalists, lawmakers, analysts, students, law enforcement professionals, and foreign affairs experts are encouraged to join.
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 "I've also been 'inside GITMO,' and Cucullu's riveting account shows why we've been safer with it — and why we may soon regret being without it."— Monica Crowley, host of the Monica Crowley Show and author of Nixon in Winter
 "Our new president should read it — twice — and take its truth-telling to heart." — Ralph Peters, columnist and author of Looking For Trouble
 "Every relevant military and civilian official should give Cucullu's analysis a fair hearing." — Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of An Autumn of War
 "An explosive expos of what's really been happening - 'inside the wire' at Guantanamo. Gordon Cucullu - with his Special Forces background, thorough research and extensive visits to Gitmo - knows more about the now-infamous detention facility than any 'outsider.' This book is a must-read for all who care about how we protect ourselves from those who are dying to kill us." — Oliver North, LtCol USMC (Ret.), host of War Stories on FOX News Channel & NYT bestselling author of American Heroes in the Fight Against Radical Islam
 "Inside Gitmo is a book of incalculable importance. It lays bare the myths and the stakes involved in the campaign to shut down a facility that any objective reader must conclude is vital to our national security. Every policy-maker in Washington and every citizen across America should study this books brilliant first-hand reporting and its alarming findings." — Frank Gaffney, Jr, President, Center for Security Policy and author of War Footing
 "Gordon Cucullu has written a lively work of history that fulfills its promise to explode 'the myths of Guantanamo Bay.' Anyone who wants to speak authoritatively about the Bush administration's detainee policies has to read this book." — Douglas J. Feith, senior fellow, Hudson Institute, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and author of War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism
The "Living Book" Concept
The "Living Book" Concept
This companion web site to Inside Gitmo was conceived and executed by Avery Johnson in collaboration with Chuck Martin. As a highly skilled, experienced researcher, Avery imposes strict demands on her work and that of author's with whom she works. Every stated fact must be backed by hard documentation. Hence readers find 524 citations in Inside Gitmo from a multiplicity of sources. Avery took that as "a good start."
Her concept - that you can interact with on these pages - is that with an issue as dynamic and multi-faceted as Guantanamo is too large to be captured only in a work of print. In order to complement and supplement the final work so that readers may continue to be apprised of developments on this critical subject and dig deeper into subjects that interest them, it is necessary and valuable to take advantage of technology.
Illustrative of this concept is that this site functions as a repository for all original documents used in the book as well as providing additional sources for continued research into the subject. For readers seeking context for specific passages referenced in the book, the site provides access to the original report, news article, book, or other source quoted. By so doing we are able to circumvent necessary space limitations in print by augmenting the book with electronic back-up.
Additionally, the site goes where print cannot: it provides an email based discussion group, videos, updated news articles, a blog, podcasts, and other resources. It highlights new developments, steers readers to newly published works, and offers visitors the opportunity to purchase relevant works from the site.
I think that this concept - a continually updated, vibrant companion website for a published book with complete references included - ought to be the new gold standard in publishing and strongly urge new and proven writers and authors to advantage themselves of these services.
Avery Johnson and her team can be contacted at avery.j@comcast.net.
I'm a retired Green Beret lieutenant colonel, Vietnam War veteran and career officer, and now a writer. After serving more than thirteen years in East Asia I was sent on assignments in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and eventually worked Korea and East Asian affairs at both the Pentagon and Department of State.
My many adventures since then have included raising llamas and alpacas in upstate New York, serving as the Executive Director of the Korea Society in Manhattan, working as an international marketing VP for General Electric in Asia, and traveling within corners of the world that few have had the privilege of experiencing.
In April-May 2008 I spent a month embedded with Military Police units in Iraq. Stories from my trip are posted at supportamericansoldiers.com — a book about what I saw and learned is also in the making.
My first book Separated at Birth: How North Korea became the Evil Twin was published in September 2004. |
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