“Detainees will receive a clean uniform the night before Eid-ul-Fitr and may exchange their prayer rug for a new one,” said U.S. Army Maj. Isaac Martinez, executive officer, Task Force Rocky Mountain, which is responsible for providing humane custody, control and care of the detainees at the DFIP. Detainees will receive additional time to conduct personal hygiene as a gesture to be clean and pure in keeping with the holiday’s tradition.

These are just some of the provisions TF Rocky Mountain, a subordinate unit of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, has made in the past month at the DFIP as detainees observe Ramadan.

“We used feedback from detainees prior to the start of Ramadan, as well as speaking with our Ministry of Justice partners and Afghan National Army military police regarding traditional food, eating times and prayer times during Ramadan,” said Martinez. “We held a facility Shura with selected detainees to create more transparency and provided them with a menu and listened to their feedback.”

As a result, DFIP official modified the detainee meal plan and developed a special holiday meal for Eid-ul-Fitr, including eggs in the morning, pudding for dessert and ice cream on the last day. Detainees will also receive grapes and traditional Afghan rice and tea.

DFIP officials also broadcast special evening prayers over loudspeakers during Ramadan.

“We used detainee Qāri' within the facility to lead the nightly Taraweeh prayer. The intent was to resemble a communal observation similar to a Mosque surrounding,” said Martinez.

Detainees may always practice their religion at the DFIP, and accommodations consistent with Afghan cultural norms and Islamic religious principles are made to the maximum amount security considerations allow.

“Cultural awareness, religious rights and lawful detention practices are important principles of our commitment to provide humane care and custody of detainees,” said U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, commander CJIATF-435. “It is our goal to set the conditions for respected and professional detention operations throughout Afghanistan. Any breach of dignity, actual or perceived, is not tolerated and can inflict irreversible damage in our efforts to provide humane care and custody.”

The DFIP, a state-of-the-art theater internment facility, is equipped with modern medical facilities, an on-site family visitation area, video teleconferencing capability, large recreation areas, vocational technical and educational classrooms, plus additional space to conduct legal proceedings. It was completed in September 2009 and occupied by detainees in late December 2009. The design of the DFIP accommodates detainee reintegration efforts and enables Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 to better align detainee operations with the overall strategy to defeat the extremist insurgency in Afghanistan.

Afghan National Army military police soldiers along with their U.S. partners from the Army, Navy and Air Force, provide oversight of detainee operations at the DFIP. CJIATF-435 actively partners with Afghan forces in preparation for the responsible transfer of military detention operations to the government of Afghanistan.