June 16 to July 6

It has been two months since I first arrived in Djibouti!  The days go by surprisingly fast.  While the job can be frustrating, I can honestly say most days here are not that bad. 

Also, I now have something to look forward to.  For those who do not know, military personnel who are deployed for as long as I am get a 96 hour pass and two weeks R&R.  In August, five of us are going to take our 96 and travel to Tanzania to hike up Mount Kilimanjaro.  I am not in the best shape right now, and it is a four-day hike to 19,000 feet, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  How can I pass it up?  Additionally, it looks like I will get to take my R&R during Xmas, which means I will get to see my family during the holidays. 

I hope everyone has had an opportunity to take a look at the pictures I posted on Photobucket. You get a good glimpse into my trip to Ethiopia in May and some of the interesting things I have gotten to do while I have been in Africa.  Some people have asked me to post pictures of me at work on Camp Lemonier.  I have been meaning to do that, and I promise I will try to do that soon.

I wish I had more to say, but to be honest, most of my days are spent working.  We generally put in 12 hours here, and that leaves little time to get out and do things other than an occasional night out in town for dinner.  I hope to eventually get a bit of normalcy, and a day off, but right now I am working to try to improve the current contracts I have been handed. From a procurement perspective, this really is the wild west, and there are a number of things that have been done in the past I just cannot stomach as a Contracting Officer.  As I have mentioned previously in the blog, there is a good group of people here right now, and I believe we are making some real progress in improving the contracting process. Until then, I will just have to keep plugging away.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Me slaving away at the office

June 2 to June 15

Well, its been another few weeks in Djibouti. Its hard to believe, but I have already been here for a month and a half. The past few weeks brought both some good and bad news. First the good news. A few weeks ago they opened up a new Cantina on Camp. Its indoors, unlike the others, and it has air conditioning! I never thought air conditioning would be my primary reason for liking a drinking establishment, but then I have never been anywhere as hot as Djibouti. Its just another one of the ongoing improvements on Camp. Based on the work they are doing at Camp Lemonier, I can tell you that we are planning to stay in the Horn of Africa for the long term. I imagine that there are a number of other improvements in store before I leave.

Also, on a bright note, I have finally got some of my pictures up online. Origianally, I was going to use Flickr. However, I decided to switch to Photobucket. You can see my pictures by going to:

www.photobucket.com/mikeinhoa

Now the bad news. In the past few weeks, it has become clear that Ethiopia is destabalizing. A number news outlets, including CNN and the BBC, have recently published stories on their websites about the drought, which is now on the verge of turning into famine. Ethiopia was one of the first African countries I remember learning about when I was young because of the famine that ocurred in the 80’s. It saddens me to see such a great country confronting the same thing just a little over 20 years later. I was hoping to get back there in July, but I may not be back for awhile under the current conditions.

Also, this past week a shooting war broke out between Djibouti and its northern neighbor, Eritrea. Tensions have been mounting for the past few months over a piece of land both countries claim is theirs, but it came to a head this week. The fighting took place about two hours north of Djibouti City, and the Djiboutian military took a number of casualties. For a few days it looked like things were spiraling out of control. What did it mean for me? Well, the decision was made by the leadership here to suspend liberty and lock the base down. Things have cooled down, and liberty has been restored. In fact, I got outside the wire today to get lunch at the Kempinski Hotel. Here is hoping that tensions do not escalate any further.

May 27 - June 1

For the first time since I have gotten to Djibouti, I am starting to feel normal again. I am actually starting to develop a routine: work at 0800, lunch at 1130, back to work at 1230, dinner at 1730, back to work at 1830, back to the CLU to watch a DVD by 2100. I spent most the week going through contract files and trying to get my arms around the process here. The Translator contracts are going to prove to be my biggest challenge. I still have a lot to learn, but I am feeling a lot better now than I was a few weeks ago.

I have to say there are some real bright folks in my office. A Marine Captain came in at the same time I did, and he is real knowledgeable. It is nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. One of the Air Force Captains is a riot. Every Sunday she brings an inappropriate movie to the office that we watch. This week it was American Psycho. On most nights, she, the XO the Marine Captain and I will hit the Cantina for a beer or two (in case you did not know, in Djibouti we are allowed to have three beers per day - a great way to cool down in the extreme Djiboutian heat).

The highlight of the week was an office field trip into Djibouti City for dinner. The Air Force Captain was a 1st Lieutenant until today, so we went out to celebrate her promotion.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Contracting Office trip out in Djibouti City.

April 21 to May 27

It has only been a few months, and I have already fallen behind on my blog entries. Here is a short synopsis of what has happened over the past month:

Last week at Fort Jackson:

Fort Jackson turned out to be a pretty good experience. I became a better shooter, learned alot about how the Army works (and gained a greater respect), and got to drive a humvee. However, by the end of my three weeks I was ready to get out of there. The final day, they hauled our entire group (around 200 of us) to the Columbia, SC airport to board a charter flight to Kuwait. At the airport, I made a few final calls to my parents and some good friends. That is where it finally hit me. If you would have asked me 8 years ago if I would ever end up in the Horn of Africa as part of a military deployment, I might have laughed at you.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 1: Myself and my fellow Djibouti bound Supply Officers at the airport in South Carolina prior to departing.


PICTURE OF THE WEEK 2: Boarding the plane. This is where it really hits you.

The longest ride (Journey to Djibouti):

The military sure knows how to drag these trips out. My journey to Djibouti included four stops, including a day layover in Kuwait and a day layover in Qatar. Over a four day period, I probabaly got less than 15 hours of sleep. The final leg of the trip included a six hour ride on a C-130 from Qatar to Djibouti.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 3: On board the C-130 from Qatar to Djibouti.


Arrival in Djibouti (First Week):

The first week pretty much sucked. I could not sleep, my malaria medication was making me sick, and the heat was pretty hard to handle. By day two I was homesick, and I was beginning to wonder how I could make it a year. I kept telling myself to quit the whining and think of my fellow sailors who had been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 4: Containerized Living Unit (CLU) - Better known as my residence for the next year.


Second week in Djibouti:

Yes, it did get better. While, I was still trying to get my hands around the contracting processes and procedures, I found that my office mates were pretty cool. We have a pretty close knit group. My second week, we went out in town for a nice seafood dinner and went to the beach. Office tradition: Every Thursday we take a trip to the Cantina on Camp to enjoy a beer.

Trip to Ethiopia:

From May 15 to May 25, I took a trip to Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, Ethiopia with the LCDR I am replacing. I had an opportunity to see some of the good work we are doing, and the trip helped me better understand my job. I definitely see some challenges ahead, but I loved Ethiopia and cannot wait to go back. The country is beautiful, and the people are fantastic. They have so little, yet they are so resilient. There is so much potential here, and I hope that we can help them reach it.

BTW - Ethiopians are the most pro-American people I have encountered overseas. Yes, they know we are rich and that we normally tip them more than what they make in a day. But their interest in us is more than just monetary. They are truly greatful for the work that we do, and I saw a lot of Ameircan flags flying while I was there. It was refreshing to see that our efforts to win hearts and minds might actually be succeeding parts of the Horn.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 5: Outside Dire Dawa, Ethiopia on the way to the final inspection of the Kelami School Construction Project.

April 13 to April 20

First Week at Fort Jackson:

Around 80 of us from NMPS Norfolk were bussed to Fort Jackson on Saturday, which took about eight hours. When we arrived at around 17:00, we were divided into two companies (Bravo and Charlie), issued our linens and checked into the barracks. Not as bad as I thought. Apparently, the CNO came down not so long ago for a tour of the facility and decided it needed some upgrades. The beds and the lockers are new, and despite the fact I share a room with 40 other sailors, I have been sleeping pretty well.

Training started on Sunday with indoc. The Navy folks gave us a presentation on what to expect while training with the Army and went over the rules. Rule 1: No drinking. Of course, there is a bar right on base directly across from the barracks!

Monday, my company (Charlie) was divided into four Platoons and assigned an Army Drill Sergeant. The Drill Sergeants are pretty good guys, and they have been doing a good job. I am in Third Platoon, which consists of all the folks that are being sent to Djibouti. This is great, and gives me a chance to get to know the people I will be spending the next year of my life with.

Once we were organized into Platoons, they shuttled us to Supply, where we were issued two sea bags of equipment, to include things like Kevlar, cold weather gear (yes, they issue cold weather gear for Djibouti, and no I do not know why), boots and various miscellaneous items. Issuance of the gear basically took the entire day. The rest of the early part of the week included weapons familiarization, first aid training, and basic army values.

Wednesday is when things started to get fun. First, they gave us humvee driving lessons. Then we were put in a machine that simulates a humvee roll over. The simulator is an actual humvee, and once we were placed at 180 degrees, we had to escape and secure the site. On Wednesday, we had our first casualty. A female Petty Officer in my Platoon fell when exiting the bus and broke her leg. To put it in perspective, she fell with her Kevlar vest and equipment on, which weighs about 50 - 60 pounds.

Thursday through Saturday were basically dedicated to shooting. Thursday and Friday were dedicated to the M16. I am getting better, but I still have some work to do. When I am in the kneeling position, you best stay away from me. On Saturday, we did the qualification on the pistol, and I am happy to say I qualified Expert for the first time.

During most of the week, training started close to 05:30 and ended around 17:30. By Saturday, I was tired of the barracks and the chow hall, so a few of us took advantage of the 24 hours liberty we were granted and got a hotel in Downtown Columbia. I had a fat steak for dinner and got to sleep in a huge King Sized Bed. Best of all, I had some privacy!

On a serious note, there are a lot of guys here with me who are headed into the thick of the fight. One of the guys I graduated from Supply School with is part of an EOD group and will be routinely outside the wire in Baghdad. For me, I go knowing Djibouti is relatively safe and this training is fun. For some, this training may be life saving. I have a new respect for what the Army does, and I have even more respect for some of these sailors who are doing jobs they never thought they would be doing when they joined the Navy.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Training at Fort Jackson - Charlie Company, Third Platoon (I am in the center)

April 6 to April 12

Day One of 430...........

On Sunday, April 6, I said goodbye to Washington DC for a year and boarded a flight to Norfolk, VA. Destination: Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS), Naval Station Norfolk. NMPS is the place the Navy sends you to make sure you are actually ready to be mobilized. They take care of all the issues the Reserve Center missed; mostly medical. NMPS is also the place you get your first sea bag of uniforms for the desert, or DCU's.

I did not have a rental car authorized on my orders, but I decided to splurge and get one. For anyone who has been to the Naval Station Norfolk, it is a large base and the thought of being stuck there for a week was not something I could stomach.

NMPS was pretty laid back. Most days, I was done by noon, so I had some time to hit the gym and go out in town to run errands. They told us the schedule, or lack there of, was intentional so everyone had enough time to take care of all their pre-deployment issues. I was generally squared away, so it turned out to be a pretty easy week. I even had time on Tuesday to catch up with a buddy I used to work with in DC who now lives in Virginia Beach.

On Saturday, they bussed us from Norfolk to Fort Jackson, SC (near Columbia) - eight hours of joy! Fort Jackson is where an Individual Augmentee (IA) like myself goes for Navy Individual Augmentation Combat Training (NIACT). To put it plainly, it is where a Navy Sailor goes to learn how to be an Army Soldier. It is geared for those IA's heading to Iraq and Afghanistan to support the Army, but since HOA is considered a contingency operation, I get to go through it as well.

Will write more about Fort Jackson once I get started, but it promises to be an interesting time.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Loading up the bus at NMPS prior to departing for Fort Jackson.

INTRODUCTION

Hello! The purpose of this website is to keep those interested up to date on my adventures during my year in the Horn of Africa without me clogging your email inbox.

Of course, feel free to send me emails and let me know how you are doing. Oh yeah - care packages will be gladly accepted as well! Here is where you can ship them (effective 5 May):

LTJG Mike Vicory
PSC 831, CCO
FPO AE 09363-9998

Also, in case you wanted to know about where I was going, the folks at the Central Intelligence Agency (while not good at actual intelligence) have prepared a dandy fact sheet on Djibouti. To sum it up, it is hot, small, and borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea in Eastern Africa. It is at the gulf of the Red Sea and directly across from the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc.). Hence its importance!

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/dj.html