What can you tell me about going to Djibouti as a guardsman?

2019-09-10T13:24:13-04:00

So rumor has it that my unit could end up in Djibouti in the near future. What can everybody tell me that they wish they'd known before they went? I'm a truck driver. Is there anything I should prepare as my wife will be at home and I want to make sure everything goes well. Basically anything you folks can tell me about what I should expect would be great. Also is it a combat deployment? Thanks!

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2019 1:27 PM

2019-09-10T13:27:25-04:00

Easiest combat deployment ever. It’s hot. Then in the summer it gets even hotter! It’s like the sun personally hates you!
I don’t know many truck drivers that just do truck driving.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Sep 10 at 2019 1:44 PM

2019-09-10T13:44:26-04:00

Yes, the IRS still sees Djibouti as a combat zone.
What I will tell you as far as preparing yourself and your wife is to sit down with her. Both of you talk about the monthly bills, make sure she has a username of any online payment site you might use. Make sure you two are tracking which bills are due when. Also, make sure you make a plan on how to save the extra money you'll be making.

What can you expect while in country...HEAT. Lots and lots of heat. If it's anything like Iraq, then expect it to cross into triple-digit temps by 10 am.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2019 1:47 PM

2019-09-10T13:47:23-04:00

Bring the tactical dust goggles, I wish I had!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2019 2:02 PM

2019-09-10T14:02:39-04:00

But on review, the task force has a large number of slots to fill here and forward deployed as well. Those are more remote and although they have better temperatures they have fewer amenities so it is a crazy matching roulette wheel no matter what.

Once you know where you will be, you can fill the void of time and help speed up your perception of time by of course staying busy.

CLU (CHU, connex etc) life is expected unless you get in the E4/E5 barracks or if you are eligible for the E6 barracks...this place is arguably the best. Naturally there are other living arrangements that are geographically better but still worse suited for water and small other benefits from being indoors while you go to your room...strange topic I know.

Gym life and volunteering can help keep you engaged and make your time perceptively chug along if your work life is permitting enough.

From on base volunteering through the USO, Red Cross and MWR events plus the location specific and awesome group Friends of Africa Volunteers (FAV) with opportunities to build relationships with coalition partners (French, Japanese, German, Italian and Spanish) to community relations events playing soccer with Djiboutian kids, helping teach English through simple conversations to kids and adults as well as physically assisting such programs as the DECAN Wildlife Refuge, FAV is an amazing organization that really improves morale while improving relationships with local nationals and coalition partners.

Weather is mostly hot, hotter and really dry or pretty darn humid. A few dust storms with electrical storms attached and very seldom rain make it kind of predictable weather wise.

MWR holds many events every month, don’t miss the Bingo and their 5K’s, both are well attended. Also, if you’re into running 5K’s, every Tuesday is the Jack Quinn Running Club where 5 runs gets you a free patch and 10 runs (in total) gets you a t-shirt. Oh and if free t-shirts interest you, log you runs and track them at the MWR who gives out a t-shirt for multiple achievements in running as well as powerlifting and the like.

There is a small pool and occasionally a coalition partner will put on a foreign badge event such as: French Foreign Legion Desert Survival Badge, French Airborne wings, German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge and if there is an international jump (paratroopers only of course), those wings as well.

Good luck and just remember to expect it to get and stay hot.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 18 at 2019 7:42 AM

2019-09-18T07:42:46-04:00

Hope you love humidity and walking.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 19 at 2019 10:52 PM

2019-09-19T22:52:11-04:00

I assume Oregon NG? Bring snacks and an Xbox. Portable speaker, and things to trade with the locals. Have fun being bored.

Response by CPT Brad Wilson made Sep 20 at 2019 11:54 AM

2019-09-20T11:54:30-04:00

The biggest thing is both of you go to all the family support group briefings and ask questions. Make sure your wife participates with the family support group. In my experience the families that participated in family support group activities handled the stress of deployment much better than those that didn’t

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2019 3:04 AM

2019-09-29T03:04:49-04:00

Yes, we are prolly in the same unit though i'm Infantry. We are getting deployment patches, ours will be the 45th ID one though since my unit is a guard unit attached to the 45th.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2019 5:32 PM

2019-11-09T17:32:14-05:00

Nothing happened the whole time we were there. Even when we did have something happen it ended up being a language barrier issue. The French EOD blew up some old explosives along the beach and we thought we were being mortared because they couldn't speak english and didn't bother telling us, the Djiboutian Presidents personal security detachment arrived unannounced on the other side of the flightline in technicals and scared the hell out of us, so we drew down on them, the last week there while pulling security at a random flightline in the middle of nowhere some weighted down truck drove right through the perimeter fence during the middle of a shift change and my Sgt and I had to draw down on them, check the vehicle for explosives, and send them on their merry way. They thought the seabees were lighting the route for them and they were carrying dirt, even though I kept thinking it was a VBIED going to go off. While in Ethiopia we watched a short exchange of rounds between Somali's an Ethiopian police. This was in '12-13.

The biggest difference between that base and a typical Army base is the joint culture. It is laden with service men and women from all branches, in both AD capacity and NG/Reserve capacity. It would do you a solid to look over the rank structure of both the AF and the Navy as they have some bizarre stuff on their uniforms denoting rank. And there is also a good chance you will be paired with them, especially if forward deployed. Our comms people were both from the AF and the Navy when we were in Ethiopia. And we stayed on "base" in Ethiopia with a Seabee detachment, and a Reserve CA detachment even though there it was less of a concern because that whole post had a no hat no salute rule in place. We had one ethernet cable that was used for the TOC during operation hours and you had no chance of connecting with anybody at home during daylight hours when it was in use. I'd stay up till after midnight to send messages home through email because otherwise you wouldnt be able otherwise. At camp lemonnier you can pay for better internet, but someplaces you end up, you probably will not be able to.

The guys with us were fine, but the second CA team we stayed with in Ethiopia didn't want us involved in anything they did, nor did the first Seabee team. So also be prepared for some branch rivalry.

Another thing that was unique was that our deployment was MOS immaterial, so everybody, the MI guys, to the 13p/13ds, to the people who had the most combat related mos 13b and 13fs were trained in the exact same manner. At one time at the end of my deployment my SL was a 68w my TL was a 13m, I was a 13p, another guy was a 25u, and the last guy was a 35f.

When we were there the Air Force constantly warned us about Al-Shabaab recruiting in both Djibouti and Ethiopia. Which I guess there is evidence of. Think the below happend after we left and 1stID took over.

This kind of thing is why you get your combat patch. Just keep your head on a swivel, if something seems suspicious it probably is and do your best to avoid it when you were in town. At one time in DJC I thought we were being led in a direction we probably should be some locals and we went back to the cab and back to base before we ended up in a bad situation. Even though I suspected we were about to be jumped by some locals instead of anything Al Shabaab related.

You will be a giant to the Djiboutian people, but when it is one vs 100 in a crowd, its better not to take any chances. Especially when the only guns you will have in civilian attire are the only ones you always pack with you.

I'd be curious as to how much built up it is now as opposed to 12-13 when I went.

EDIT: forgot this link earlier: https://warontherocks.com/2014/06/al-shabaab-strikes-in-djibouti/

Al-Shabaab Strikes in Djibouti - War on the Rocks

On Saturday evening, May 24, a Somali man and his female companion took their seats in La Chaumière, a restaurant in Djibouti’s capital popular with