RELEASE 040302-01 / Civil affairs Soldiers make a difference in Djibouti's Dikhil district

RELEASE NUMBER: 040302-01
DATE POSTED: MARCH 2, 2004

Civil affairs Soldiers make a difference in Djibouti's Dikhil district

By Marine Cpl. G. Lane Miley
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa

DIKHIL, Djibouti (CJTF-HOA News Center, March 2, 2004) — Members of the Army’s 412th Civil Affairs Battalion headed out across the rugged landscape here from Camp Lemonier to speak with the commissioner of the Dikhil district Feb. 23.

The Soldiers left the camp to conduct a pre-deployment site survey, confident that Commissaire Moussa Djama Gueddi would accept their offer for an upcoming Medical Civil Action Program and a Veterinarian Civil Action Program in Mouloud.

“They were really receptive and very appreciative of us and our efforts,” said Capt. Mark A. Canada of the commissioner and the village chief from nearby Mouloud. “They were more than happy for us to set up shop for them.”

Canada said when the Soldiers set up, the MEDCAP and VETCAP will be co-located. This gives people the ability to have their animals and themselves treated instead of having to choose, he said. Canada, a Crystal City, Mo., native, said Gueddi even offered a local veterinary technician to assist with the VETCAP.

“We appreciate the offer of a host nation vet and look forward to working with him,” said Canada, a critical care nurse and civic action team leader.

Gueddi also pledged some of his local policemen and local doctors.

The 412th’s civic action teams provide the locals with VETCAPs and MEDCAPS, but the civil affairs teams are the ones who actually meet with local leaders and assess the needs of their people.

Capt. Andrew R. Raczkowski, a civil affairs team leader assigned to the Dikhil district, said he has dealt with Gueddi before and enjoys working with him.

“I have met with him three or four times, and he is a very straightforward person,” said Raczkowski. “He tells you what he needs and what his district needs. He’s the kind of person we want to deal with.”

Gueddi told Raczkowski of a problem he was facing on an engineering project that the civil affairs team contracted. The team leader said he would do his part to appease the problem.

Raczkowski said the team accomplished a lot in a very short time. The Farmington Hills, Mich., native said this is important because Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa has recently extended it boundaries into other regions here.

“We are dealing with an increased operational tempo because we are starting to spread out in the Horn of Africa, not just in Djibouti,” Raczkowski said. “We need to spend a lot more time outside the wire [and] help the CJTF do what it needs to do fighting the war on terrorism.”

While other civil affairs teams are spreading out in other regions of the Horn of Africa, it is still important for the teams to provide for the villages in Djibouti. Aside from Raczkowski’s previous meetings with the district’s commissioner, Canada said little or no U.S. presence has been through Dikhil. He said this was his first time meeting with Gueddi.

During the MEDCAPs and VETCAPs, Canada said the civic action team would provide the local population wound care and parasite prevention. Meanwhile, team vets would treat the herds.

“We will deworm the herds, treat the sick animals, offer advice on husbandry – increase the health of the herd and offspring output,” said 1st Lt. Amy K. Peterson-Colwell, staff veterinarian for the civic action team.

Canada said the evolutions show local populations that these are medicines and supplies provided by the U.S. government and that the teams want to establish a relationship with them.

“These partnerships will further strengthen the relationships between us, the Djiboutian government and the Djiboutian people,” Canada said.

Raczkowski said it is important to spread the American influence across the Horn of Africa, not only to the government leaders, but the also the people, who have a choice of supporting the war on terrorism.

“We want to help those who have the ability to support or not support the [coalition],” Raczkowski said. “We want to show them we are a beacon of hope and not a dim light of evil.”

Capt. Andrew R. Raczkowski, a civil affairs team leader from the 412th Civil Afairs Battalion assigned to Djibouti's Dikhil District, peers into a well in the city of Mouloud. He assesses its depth and if there is anything his team can do to better the well’s output or otherwise help the village. (Marine Corps photo by Cpl. G. Lane Miley, CJTF-Horn of Africa)

Members of the Army’s 412th Civil Affairs Battalion meet with Commissaire Moussa Djama Gueddi, commissioner for the Dikhil District in Djibouti, on Feb. 23. The Soldiers conducted the pre-deployment site survey to offer Gueddi a Medical Civic Action Program and a Veterinarian Civic Action Program in nearby Mouloud on Feb. 27 and 28. (Marine Corps photo by Cpl. G. Lane Miley, CJTF-Horn of Africa)