Military focuses on development in Africa
In Djibouti, US forces combat terrorism with civil affairs work. Will this be a model for a future US military command in Africa?
from the June 22, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
CJTF-HOA teams have completed hundreds of projects in the past four years, ranging from well-drilling, vaccination programs, disaster response, and military-to-military training. The $49 million budget for 2007 will fund operations in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Seychelles, and Yemen.
Colonel Michael McMillie, 449th Air Expeditionary Group commander, uses one C-130 aircraft to supply 300 US troops working in the field. "It's a major logistical challenge," he says. "We're trying to reach remote locations with no paved roads, and we're transporting delicate and expensive equipment."
Stephen Morrison, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says he believes this far-flung fieldwork provides valuable training opportunities. "They're developing essential deployment skills, such as construction, camp maintenance, and team-building," he says. "And it's an ideal chance to practice community interaction in a semi-hostile environment."
Hathaway, whose Djibouti deployment came after five months in Iraq, says a unique aspect of his Hol-Hol mission is exposure to the local population. In Iraq, he survived incoming mortar rounds to build a runway and military housing but he never left the base. "Here, we see the same people everyday, we're relating one-to-one."
In an effort to overcome the language barrier, the Gulfport team defies Djibouti's punishing summer temperatures to play regular soccer matches with the local children.
"In the beginning, we were suspicious but now we've seen that they are good people and they're doing good things for our village," says Abdul-Rahman Bossis, an unemployed Hol-Hol resident.
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