U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey will visit Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday to inspect U.S. naval operations there, as well as the conditions of detainees held there.

“Guantanamo has served this nation well as a key military installation,” said Gingrey, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “Now that we’re detaining enemy combatants there, congressional oversight of our operations in Cuba is even more important now than it has been in the past.”

Enemy combatants with suspected ties to al-Qaida or the Taliban have been detained at Guantanamo Bay since the United States overthrew the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

“If questions come up about the detainees’ conditions at the base, I want to be able to answer with authority that they’re being treated humanely,” Gingrey said. “We can and will fight al-Qaida with our military might, but we’ll also counter the hatred toward the U.S. by demonstrating our compassion and humanity toward the prisoners.”