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Key Leaders Tour Obock Project Sites

By Army Sgt. Michelle Halpin

Distinguished visitors toured several project sites in Obock to get a first-hand glimpse of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's operations, during a key leadership engagement, Nov. 12.

High ranking officials from CJTF-HOA, the U.S. Embassy, Djiboutian government and other agencies first met with the Obock Commissar, Obock region head government official, to discuss his ideas and vision for Obock before heading out to tour the area, where the leaders visited a pier renovation project.

"The pier of Obock is one of the projects the United States government is working on with Djibouti, so that it can be used by the Djiboutian military to better patrol the waters off the coast," said U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti, W. Stuart Symington IV.

"Obock is strategically located across from the city of Djibouti on the Gulf of Tadjoura," said Rear Adm. James M. Hart, CJTF-HOA commander. "(The pier) will also have a fishing capability as well, so it'll be commercial and naval. We'll have patrol boats from the Djiboutian navy that'll operate out into the Gulf of Aden."

"The people from the (Djiboutian) navy were really happy with this new pier that is coming next March. The chief of the navy was there, and he was very happy to see that his patrol boats would be able to be stationed there," said French navy Cmdr. Alban Lapointe, CJTF-HOA director of plans, who served as one of the primary translators for the engagement.

Following the visit to the pier, the group visited a local hospital which CJTF-HOA has been working with for several years.

"We've been helping (the hospital) since about 2003 and we've got a new operating room, new radiology and pharmacy as examples of things we've done here," said Rear Adm. Hart.

Following the hospital engagement, guests convoyed over to an Obock primary school where they were greeted by dozens of children, singing and dancing as they entered the compound. Following the welcome to the school, everyone was treated to a skit put on by the children.

"I was real surprised at how outgoing the children of Obock were at the school and their willingness to put on a skit in front of a large foreign delegation and so eager to show us the sights of the school," said Rear Adm. Hart.

The last visit of the day was to the Obock military base where the Guam National Guard is conducting military-to-military training with the Djiboutians. Visitors to the site were able to watch the Djiboutians practice some of the defensive maneuvers that are part of their ten-week counter-terrorism training curriculum.

"I think this engagement falls into the strategic communications piece of what we do: Get our message out, show people what we're doing here, promote stability and better governance in the Horn of Africa," said Hart.

Also in attendance for the key leadership engagement were the French ambassador and commander of French forces in Djibouti, as well as representatives from United Nations Development Programme, The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United States Agency for International Development.

CJTF-HOA is a unit of United States Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,500 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen.official, to discuss his ideas and vision for Obock before heading out to tour the area, where the leaders visited a pier renovation project.