Djibouti for Thanksgiving

.Petty Officer 2nd Class Damien Brandlen, a Navy Seabee, helps deliver Thanksgiving dinner to isolated troops in the town of Tadjoura, Djibouti. - Chris Tyree, the Virginia-Pilot

Out of the dust and the heat that is the Horn of Africa, came a Thanksgiving feast flown to an isolated group of Navy Seabees and Guam National Guardsmen. A feast of turkey, ham, potatoes and chocolate cake, graced the three picnic tables decorated by a lone 3-D paper turkey sent by one of the Seabees mothers in Georgia. The food that graced their table was a true feast compared to their usual MREs or Spam and rice.

I have to admit that prior to the Great War on Terror, I could not have found Djibouti on the map. But, its strategic location at the mouth of the Red Sea has made it an important place. The United States has the Combined Task Force - Horn of Africa stationed there. It is comprised of members of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force.

Their mission is of a humanitarian nature. They work on projects such as drilling wells and building medical clinics. They are on a good-will mission to this tiny, impoverished nation. The central base is Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, the capitol city of Djibouti.

As this region has seen the bombing of the USS Cole and the bombing of two US embassies, these efforts towards good-will in this region are quite important.

Once again, the US military is enduring hardships in far-off places, and I am thankful for them everyday.

For more information on this mission, see
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=114907&ran=136146