News from Josh out of Africa [installments 1-4 Happy Holidays!]

[Karl Rudnick]

for those of you who ride with Josh (mostly Sundays), here's the first news from his current deployment in Africa

1stLt Goldman J.D. USMC
H&S Detachment Commander
3d LAAD Battalion (Fwd)
DSN: /4125
Camp Lemonier Security Force
APO AE
Djibouti, Africa



Bonjour,
    I hope everybody is doing well back home and life is good.
Everything is not bad here, and I'll give you a brief synopsis of what
happened since I left the country. The journey to Africa took us through
Maine, Ireland, and Cyprus before touching down in Djibouti (DJ). It was
a whirlwind trip with only a layover of a few ours in each country.
Shannon, Ireland was actually pretty nice and the airport was packed
with military personnel transiting in and out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Africa. In Cyprus, they didn't allow us off the plane and the landscape
was non-descript...pretty much looked like any other airport you have
ever seen. Humidity and 120 degree temps welcomed us to DJ. We arrived
at 4:00am and proceeded to base on busses in order to move into
Containerized Living Units (CLUs). Each CLU is essentially is a two room
metal container separated by a small bathroom. They are brand new and
much better than the accommodations Iraq. Each CLU contains a small
desk, bed, and locker to store your gear. Work is about a 10 minute walk
from the CLUs and you always show up drenched due to the lovely weather.
The base is located adjacent to the Gulf of Tadjoura and the Red Sea
isn't too far away. There are a few French installations in the
immediate area and I have seen foreign military members from Guam, Great
Britain, S. Korea, Ethiopia, and Uganda to name a few.
    The threat level in DJ is significantly lower than Iraq, but we
still have to be cautious and maintain an aggressive defensive posture
(if that makes sense). I have been out in town and few times and there
is poverty all around us. Locally, there is a port (built with money
from Dubai) and some nice hotels (built with Saudi money), but
everything else is primarily dilapidated buildings the French built
about 30 years ago....most structures look like nothing has been done
since the initial construction. The local population lives in small
shacks constructed from tarps, scrap wood, old cloth, and basically
anything else they can find. I cant imagine living life in the
conditions they do...over 80% of the water here is contaminated.
    Additionally, we work closely with the Djiboutian military, and
recently, I met with one of their officers for a coordination meeting.
We used translators (they speak primarily French and Somali) and it was
a great experience. The Djiboutians are happy to have us here and are
whole-heartedly interested in continuing good relations. It felt like I
was a diplomat working for the State Department because the majority of
the conversation was expressing interest on both sides of great hopes
for future friendship and worthwhile missions to benefit our mission
here. Speaking of the State Dept....a large part of what we do is
coordination and security for the Embassy. They are totally focused on
the diplomatic missions and working with the local population as you
would expect, but there is lot more to what they do and the breadth of
the Diplomatic Security Service than I ever imagined. The Embassy Public
Affairs Officer (Christi) runs English discussion groups, which go
nightly and are targeted at Djiboutians in their mid-20's to increase
their language skills and understanding of the U.S. It's a great program
and I will try to participate whenever possible. Our days have varied
between 12-16 hours, so we haven't had time for much else besides work.
Everything should settle down soon and allow for more personal time to
participate in the local programs. On that note, I have to run and take
care of a few things. Please feel free to email me at this address
(joshua.d.goldman@hoa.centcom.mil
<mailto:joshua.d.goldman@hoa.centcom.mil>), as hotmail is hard to access
here.
    Take Care and Stay in Touch!
    Josh


Regarding his staying in bike shape:
... The spin trainer in the gym is
about all I've got in the way of a bike and I can only stomach about an
hour on it.  Hope all is well!

Josh

[Lee S]

Josh had mentioned that he really misses healthy snacks such as dried fruit, nuts and Kashi bars.  The USPS has a flat rate box.  They will ship the contents in this box (that you can pick up at the Post Office) priority mail, no matter how much it weighs, for $8.95.  Josh's address is included in the original post.  If anyone feels like helping a soldier I suggest you send him a care package.

[karlos]

Josh sent pictures this time. Go to "2007 folder" in our Photo Gallery.
Quoting from his e-mail "The Days are Ticking By":

Hello to All!
Time continues to march on and I am happy to say we have spent over a
month on the ground.  The learning curve has leveled out and our
greatest frustration now is trying to get other services and base
contractors to support our needs.....our idea of a priority task and a
quick turn around seems to be vastly different from most people out
here.  Days still average around 12 or 13 hours, but the stress level is
relatively low, which is a big plus.  The weather has cooled to the high
90's, which is a relief and it feels significantly more pleasant in the
evenings.  The beginning of the rainy season is around the corner and we
have already experienced some very heavy and also very short downpours.

My Marines are performing well and there has been a great deal of
participation with projects at the local orphanages and distributing
school supplies and shoes to the local villages.  We've recently begun a
new initiative to exchange soccer balls and other goodies for toy guns.
It seems to be successful from our initial visits and hopefully it will
continue in the future.  The toy guns here look very real and we are
trying to prevent any rules of engagement issues if a Marine cannot tell
if the gun is real or not.  I've included some pictures from the latest
visit.  There were tons of kids who were eager to get flip-flops, soccer
balls, and anything else they could get their hands on.  I think they
were most amused by the digital cameras we brought out.  I might have
taken 30 or 40 pictures of kids just so I could show them their image on
the back of the camera.  Sometimes the kids would overwhelm you, but we
always bring Djiboutian Police to handle any problems, so they keep it
from becoming too chaotic. It is very rewarding for the Marines and it's
nice to see smiles when they come back from a Civil Affairs mission vice
the tired hot faces from combat patrols.

Ramadan has recently come to a close, and with it, less tension and a
happier local populace who can consume water and food during the daytime
once again.  This makes our lives a little easier, but Ethiopia and
Eritrea are having trouble seeing eye-to-eye, as you may have seen in
the news.  It could make for a very interesting Oct/Nov to say the
least. Eritrea, like DJ, only gained its independence within the last
few decades and there are still disputes over land, borders, and
resources.  Our mission here is defensive in nature so there are no
great worries, but fighting in the local area puts strains on the local
population and makes everyone a little more on edge, which would
definitely affect us. 

Recently, there was a large fire and two tents burned down.  It occurred
in the middle of the night and we had to wake up and get accountability
for everybody on base.  Needless to say, the joint environment is a
little more disorganized than a typical Marine base and I wouldn't like
to see the panic that would ensure if we actually got attacked.  It did
provide a little amusement, once I got solid reports all my Marines were
accounted for and maybe a little sleepy.

The emails and packages have been great.  It's been nice to hear what's
going on back home and I hope everybody continues to do well.  That's
all for now.

Josh


V/R,

1st Lt Goldman J.D. USMC
H&S Detachment Commander
3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion
Camp Lemonier Security Force
DSN: 318-824-2262/4125
APO AE 09363-9998
Djibouti, Africa

[karlos]

Here's a link to an article about one of our recent missions:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123073231

V/R,
1st Lt Goldman J.D. USMC (Josh)

[karlos]

Good Morning,

First, I would like to wish everyone well, and from all accounts, it
sounded like a nice Thanksgiving back home. This email comes after a few
weeks in the making.  We've had a bunch going on so it encompasses
everything from early November to this point.

November 10th marked the birthday of the Marine Corps and a day in which
all Marines take a moment to reflect and take stock in all that has been
accomplished through its history. My Marines took part in much of the
planning and execution of a formal ceremony, color guard, and logistics
of the whole evening.  There was a celebratory dinner which took place
in a hangar of the Marine helicopter squadron on Camp.  They pulled two
of the helicopters to the mouth of the hangar which made for a powerful
display during dinner (picture attached).  The Ambassador to Djibouti,
Admiral Hart (HOA Commander), a brigadier general from the army, the
Commanding Officer of the French Marines stationed in Djibouti, and a
few other foreign military members attended the dinner.  All told about
250 people show up and it was a big success.  The Ambassador gave an
impassioned speech about freedom and the light of liberty, which was
very moving.  It really made you appreciate all the freedoms we have and
how far the U.S. has come as a country....it's not hard to see why he is
the senior diplomat in Djibouti.  All in all the evening proved to be a
nice break for all in attendance. 

Recently, piracy in our general vicinity, especially Somalia has
drastically increased.  I'm not sure how much is covered on the news,
but it is keeping us pretty busy at the port.  One of our missions is to
provide security for American ship when they pull in the Djiboutian
ports.  This month alone has seen a fourfold increase in the number of
ships, which is a heavy burden because it's 24 hr duty as long as they
pull in.  A NATO battle Group was here a few days ago with Turkish,
British, American, and German ships.  It's amazing to see the amount of
cargo the ships move in order to support all the battle groups and
anti-piracy groups in theater.  Each time they stop, it's for no less
than few million gallons of fuel and a few hundred containers.

On a lighter note, the Djiboutians and Ugandans really like my last
name.  They all look at me with wide eyes and ask me if I am very rich
and if I have lots of gold.  It is very funny and the Ugandans
especially seem to get a kick out of it.  Just recently, I went out to
some of the poorer villages to hand out toys sent from one of my good
friends from CU, Dave Hilton.  It was a great time and I attached two
pictures of the trip.  The kids were thrilled and the adults enjoyed it
as well.

Thanksgiving in DJ was much more pleasant than Iraq.  The stress level
was much lower (we didn't have rocket attacks like last year) and
everybody seemed to be in better spirits overall.  The chow hall went
all out with food from normal Thanksgiving Day turkey and dressing to
shrimp cocktail.  All the employees had pilgrim or Indian outfits on
which made for an amusing time.  Work came to an all-stop as most
agencies and units on base worked with skeleton crews.  I worked for
just over half the day before taking off to the DJ Embassy's Assistant
Regional Security Officer's house for dinner.  His house is only a short
distance from base and was actually very nice given the surroundings
(picture of the neighborhood attached).  The house itself is built with
Arabic inspired architecture, nice large rooms, very open stairways, and
a rooftop patio.  There were a few high-ranking French Foreign
Legionnaires and other State Dept Officials present also.  It was
surreal to be in a somewhat normal household setting.  The house had
high fences, barbed wire, and iron bars everywhere, so it wasn't totally
devoid of security measures, but inside, it was a simple family home.

Lastly, here is the link to our Battalion website:
http://www.hoa.centcom.mil/3dlaad//index.htm  It's maintained with the
combined effort of Marines fwd and in the rear.  On the page, you can
find our monthly news letters, which feature articles highlighting
events from each month.  On that note, I hope everybody enjoyed the
holidays and thanks again for all your support!

Josh

V/R,

1st Lt Goldman J.D. USMC
H&S Detachment Commander
3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion
Camp Lemonier Security Force
DSN: /4125
APO AE
Djibouti, Africa

[karlos]

Hello to All!

Life has been very busy lately with not much time to write.  I expect to
have a good email out just after Christmas though.  Despite my time
constraints, I wanted to get out a quick note to wish everybody well and
I hope this holiday season is an enjoyable one.

Two quick notes:
A reporter from Tallahassee recently visit Ted us and posted his
stories/pics/videos on this website:
http://www.tallahassee.com/legacy/ads/africaproject/index.html
The site is very good and all the "military on patrol" pictures are my
battalion.

Also my mailing address recently changed and here it is (the old one
will be active for another 30 days):
1st Lt Goldman J.D.
3D LAAD H&S DETACHMENT HQ                   
UNIT 42028                                       
FPO AP 96426-2028

Take care and Happy Holidays!!!!