One deployment, two worlds: Airmen in Djibouti experience a taste of Africa and the Marine Corps

Airman, March, 2005 by Chuck Roberts

When Airman 1st Class Amber Balbach deployed to Camp Lemonier for Combined Joint Task Force--Horn of Africa, she discovered two worlds: one she'd never heard of--Djibouti; and one she had never encountered--the Marine Corps. However, she said the experience was both professionally and personally rewarding.

She deployed to Djibouti, located on the east coast of Africa, along with fellow members of the 823rd RED HORSE Squadron from Hurlburt Field, Fla. Although she was accustomed to Florida's hot and sunny weather, it didn't prepare her for Djibouti's extreme heat--often topping 140 degrees. She also wasn't prepared for the extreme poverty found just outside the camp's gate, a former French Foreign Legion post that now accommodates about 1,400 service-members, most of them Marines.

But she's glad for the opportunity to be a part of the task force's mission to help stabilize the Horn of Africa region--an area that encompasses seven countries. For the past two years, members of the task force have been busy building and renovating schools, clinics, roads and providing medical treatment to people and livestock. By doing so, a more stabilized Horn of Africa will be a less likely place for terrorism to take hold. People at Camp Lemonier often refer to what they're doing as fighting terrorism by winning the hearts and minds of the African people.

It's rewarding duty for Airman Balbach, both in helping improve the lives of Africans and in giving her a different perspective of her own life. She lacks many of the creature comforts of home, but now those things didn't seem so important after a few trips downtown to the nearby capital city to pick up a few supplies for her unit. She experienced warm, friendly people in a nation where life if tough. The average life expectancy for Djiboutians is about 50 years and the annual average salary is about $450.

"I never envisioned it to be like that," she said.

By comparison, her deployed life at Camp Lemonier is comfortable, living in a air-conditioned tent, even though a trip to the toilet and bathing trailers in the middle of the night means a walk on a sea of gravel. Camp life at Djibouti also offers amenities found at similar camps, such as a base exchange, barber shop, dry cleaners, gift shop and recreation facilities with computers and phones to provide a chance to communicate with loved ones back home.

By comparison, her unit has brought new life to clinics and schools lacking electricity and running water for toilets. At one school, a RED HORSE member inquired why he didn't see any girls at the school. It was because of a lack of toilets. RED HORSE installed them and the female students soon showed up. It's now a standard item on their checklist to make sure all schools they work at have female facilities.

Unlike some of her counterparts who travel to countries such as Ethiopia, Airman Balbach's lob is to take care of administrative duties, so she doesn't get the chance to leave as often as she'd like to. Her interaction has been limited to a few trips downtown, but Airman Balbach enjoys the opportunity to meet the local people who seem supportive of the task force.

"They are the people for us," said Saida Yahya Mohamed, a recent graduate from the University of Djibouti who works at Camp Lemonier as an administrative specialist. In a country, where nearly 50 percent of the population is unemployed, she said the jobs offered by the U.S. military are a tremendous boost to the local people. Local workers keep the tent city spotless, fill wooden boxes with ice and bottles of water daily, and sweep up clouds of dust each evening along the sidewalk leading past the exchange, barber shop and local gift shop, also run by locals.

"If you really and truly asked [people] for shoes, more than 95 percent [of the people] would give you the shoes they're wearing," said Tech. Sgt. Ray Ortiz during a short drive to downtown Djibouti for some souvenir shopping. In addition to shopping, there are restaurants and a few popular night spots for dancing near the harbor. In this part of Djibouti, one can visualize a once modern city but one that has since grown worn and weary and in need of renovation. And for those looking to get further away from camp and city life, the base recreation office offers boat trips to local beaches and even scuba courses.

Sergeant Ortiz, who deployed from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., said he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the small but chaotic shopping area where serious bargaining is a must for souvenirs such as carved animal masks, soapstone dishes and colorful African clothing. His bald head and friendly smile were instantly accepted and warmly greeted by the vendor of the stall he stopped at with his boss, 1st Lt. Mike Oldham from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

"The Djiboutians are happy we're here, and they look at us as friends," Sergeant Ortiz said.

"This is a good duty," the lieutenant said, especially compared with that undertaken by his counterparts in places such as Iraq where "bullets are flying." He was glad to have had the opportunity to work with Marines. "I've met some very impressive one's [Marines] over here."