A Night Patrol To Remember

"It was still well into the 80's when we left the confines of the camp at just past 2000; humid, sticky and dusty, we arrived at the local dump after taking a wrong turn. The mix of burning trash, rot and waste was overwhelming at first.

Backtracking, we headed back to the road. While stopped at the roadside, I watched the lightning playing "tag" as it leapt back and forth amongst the gathering stormclouds to the south.

We moved onward into the darkness and dust. Stopping in an area inhabited by a family of camels grazing in the darkness of the African evening. Their pungent aroma still fresh when we entered their little alcove. The large male bellowed and snorted in disgust at having his meal interrupted and called out to his family to follow. It was silent once again except for the occasional whine of a mosquito near the ear, a few honest crickets or the rattle of a weapon sling against a rifle.

All in all, it was a patrol that assaulted and overloaded the senses; both visual and nasal, and one that I will not forget anytime soon." - The Lion

Camp Bazaar

Camp Bazaar, April 2006

Swing Shift

"Swing Shift" - Scenes Around Camp during an evening change of shift

Gas! Gas! Gas!

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin

A Dog's Best Friend - An Army Veteranary Team!

OUCH!
The Army Veteranry staff arrives...
The work goes quickly...
Debridement and cleaning of the wound...
A quick boost for the immune system...
The patient will wag his tail again soon!

(pictures courtesey of Sgt. J.A. Mikesell)

Follow-up: I had recently talked to Captain Oversby who provided care and attended to this dog. Appearantly, the local French nuns had seen the dog hanging close to the embassy and the church near town. When the dog had been corraled inside the safety of the church grounds, the call went out the the Veteranry Staff here at the camp to attend to the infected abscess on his face.

A special thanks to Sgt. Mikesell for telling me of the story and providing the pictures.

An extra special thanks to Captain Oversby and Spc. Rodriguez for their assitance in this endeavor. Their selfless actions are a reminder to us all that our humanitarian mission here in Africa also includes our four-legged friends as well.

PS - This is the very same dog which I got a picture of during my trip to the Embassy and is included in the entry titled "Wildlife" - "The Lion"

As Seen Through The Poetic Lens

As seen through the poetic lens - Djibouti, April 2006

"A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet." - Orson Welles

"Your camera is the best critic there is. Critics never see as much as the camera does. It is more perceptive than the human eye." - Douglas Sirk

"High Noon" Patrol (Color)

"High Noon" - 21 April 2006

"High Noon" Patrol (Sepia)

"High Noon" - 21 April 2006

"High Noon" Patrol (B&W)

"High Noon" - 21 April 2006

A Welcome Visitor

"We (The Navy & Marine Corps) have been entrusted with a vital mission. Our security and our way of life are at stake. We are living in a world of unprecedented change, new missions and great struggles. With your help and continued support, we will meet these challenges and prevail in the Long War that now confronts us.

Thank you, all of you, for your service and dedication to duty" - The Honorable David C. Winter, Secretary of The Navy and his remarks to the Office of the General Council Spring Conference, 26 April 2006

Team "We"

Svien...

Habib...

Liu...

and me!

Patrol to Bunker Hill Complex, April 2006

Patrol To Bunker Hill Complex - At The Top

Patrol to Bunker Hill Complex - At The Top