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Guantanamo Bay guards suffer from high rates of PTSD, exclusive documents show

This segment originally aired Oct. 25, 2016, on VICE News Tonight on HBO

The Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba doesn’t just take its toll on inmates. Their guards suffer as well.

U.S. military personnel assigned to detention camp suffer from high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to exclusive interviews and documents obtained by VICE News.

“I had nightmares where they would somehow get ahold of me and grab my hair and slam my face off a steel door,” U.S. Navy veteran Nichole York told correspondent Jason Leopold.

York and fellow U.S. Navy veteran Andrew Turner describe being left in the dark about their mission prior to deployment, working 12-hour days, living in fear and isolation, screaming and abuse from detainees, and finally being diagnosed with PTSD.

Turner said he came forward in part so other service members assigned to Guantanamo would know they aren’t alone. “I don’t want them to be afraid,” he said.

Six years after leaving Guantanamo Bay, York said she’s still afraid of the detainees she left there. “My fear is them finding me.”

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