Dozens of terror detainees will be leaving the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and heading to Illinois. The state prison in Thomson is slated to become "Gitmo North." President Obama is making the statement Tuesday.  

At the federal prison in Thomson there will be 800 to 900 guards. State officials tell us about 300 of those would be experienced federal guards. The rest would be hired from the community.

Members of the QCA community have guarded Guantanamo detainees before. Reservists from the 339th Military Company based in Davenport were sent to Cuba back in 2002.

It was a mission many did not expect. Army reservists from the QCA were keeping an eye on the enemy-- Guantanamo Bay detainees in Cuba.

"I didn't expect it at all. I think a lot of us didn't. A lot of us joined for school, for college," local reservist Celeste Iversen told TV-6 back in 2002.

TV-6 went to Cuba while our local soldiers were working at Camp X-Ray where detainees were initially held on the island. The suspected terrorists were outfitted in orange jumpsuits and locked up in chain-linked cell blocks. Our MPs were guards, but they did everything from escorting detainees to interrogation huts to escorting them to the outhouses.

"We're responsible for all of the care they get. Feeding, showers, really everything they need or want comes from the guard force," local army reservist Robert Welch explained.

The MPs dealt with different personalities. They described some detainees as disrespectful, others as hateful. Knowing they were guarding suspected terrorists wasn't always easy, but our MPs had a job to do.

"You put your personal feelings at the door. You take care of them like you're supposed to," Welch said.