Zachary Levi blogs from USO tour in Djibouti

17 May 2009
Djibouti

From oppressive heat to malaria, BLACK HAWK DOWN to the Somali Pirates, the Horn of Africa is a dangerous place. Put another way, it is the perfect place for the United States Military. After a great time in the middle east, and an interminable layover in Ethiopia, our team landed in Djibouti to check in on the soldiers, sailors, pilots, and marines of AfriCom.
The first thing a person notices when they arrive, other than the fact that the soldiers at the gate are wearing 80lbs of armor and ammo and seem to be sweating less than you, is the level of security. A virtual maze of concrete walls and barriers, check-points and wire guard the entrance to this facility, and the sentries at the gate and in the towers overhead are all business. Once inside, though, the folks we met were nothing short of welcoming. We grabbed a quick meal at the sandwich bar and got settled into our CLUs (Containerized Living Units), literally large shipping containers partitioned off into two bedroom, air-conditioned apartments, and got some much needed rest before starting our tour of the base.

Morning comes and we realize we had only thought it was hot the night before. By 11AM, it is 115 degrees with something like 90 percent humidity. Since confessions seem to be the theme of these blogs, I will admit that Joel overslept. Fine, I did too, but I blame him! When we finally did wake up (it was only like ten minutes…), we jumped onto a bus packed with troops who were all being rewarded for various reasons and left the camp for a nearby Cheetah Reserve. The drive was heartbreaking. The sheer magnitude of the poverty around us… I honestly wasn’t prepared for it. The men and women of Camp Lemonier weren’t either, which is why they are doing so much about it, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

After an incredible morning at the reserve, where we actually got to pet a living cheetah and surprisingly weren’t eaten, it was back to camp to grab some lunch in what we had heard as far away as Bahrain was the best galley in the military. They weren’t kidding. Much of the day-to-day chores of running the base, like cooking, fall to a civilian firm called PAE, and they do great work. After lunch, we got to meet the CO and the Command Master Chief, who warmly welcomed us to their little oasis, and then were given a proper tour of the base. Amazing. Almost 2000 people call Camp Lemonier home, all living in CLUs. What do they do? Well, a lot of that is top-secret. In fact, there are parts of the base we weren’t even allowed to see, but given its proximity to so many important places, including the trade routes through the Red Sea, it seems clear that these troops are busily engaged in making the world a better place. They didn’t come to Djibouti for the weather…

But there are things we do know, because we saw them first hand. First, we made a trip off base, guarded by an Army Force Protection team, to meet a local Djiboutian chief and the villagers that live around him. Through an interpreter, he informed us that he has been a chief for over 30 years, and that the last seven (since the Americans landed at Lemonier) have been unsurpassed. He pointed to a gymnasium that the Marines had built for the children of his camp out of materials they found just laying around. He pointed to a school, which we later visited, built by Americans, where the Army shows movies for the kids once a week, play soccer with them, and spend time helping to teach. They even raised money to purchase hundreds of books for the students at the school, all of this voluntary, humanitarian effort by the most fierce fighting force the world has ever seen. But that’s not all. The following day, we took a trip to a Catholic Mission in Djibouti City where five nuns care for over 65 abandoned Djiboutian babies. Part of how they are able to succeed in feeding, clothing, and changing the diapers of so many kids is that the amazing troops also volunteer daily at the orphanage. And at the boys orphanage, and at the girls orphanage… In fact, according to one of the camp chaplains we spoke to, so many of America’s best volunteer to help daily that they can’t send them all, not because the camp can’t spare them, but because the orphanages simply can’t use them all.

The rest of our time in Djibouti was spent on the base, meeting and getting to know as many of the fantastic troops stationed there as we could. We did two autograph and photo sessions. We toured everything from a C130 to the Medical Center, the Chapel to the Fire station. Christian actually got to fire the water cannon on one of the fire trucks, which was a lot more fun for him than it was for the six guys in the CLU he bullseyed! They came running out like the place was actually on fire. Pretty funny. Joel tried on the 100lbs worth of fire equipment, and our buddy Dave even volunteered to be attacked by one of the K9s. Awesome. We drank a few beers at 11 Degrees North, played some basketball with guys who are actually used to working hard in the blazing African heat (note to self: never do that again…), and had great conversations over great food for two days. When the time came to leave, it was actually hard. One thing is for sure, none of us will ever forget our time, or the amazing men and women at Camp Lemonier.

We leave tomorrow to head back from this experience that all of us will never forget. It would not have been possible were it not for the wonderful USO. We thank them sincerely for the valuable work that they do. We also want to thank Subway for their support now and always. Additionally, we want to thank to the great people at Flip Video for making it possible for us to document our experiences and to Carson Daly for giving us an outlet to share them.
Zac, Joel, and crew

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