Seychelles, CJTF-HOA build partnership

By Captain Olivia Cobiskey
U.S. Army

CJTF-HOA, May 21, 2019

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. James R. Kriesel, center, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), poses in a group photo with leaders from the Seychelles People’s Defence Force (SPDF) and the U.S. Embassy Mauritius and Seychelles, in Seychelles, March 26, 2019. Kriesel met with leaders from the SPDF and U.S. Embassy Port Lewis to discuss the vital role the Seychelles, a group of 115 islands, has played in the fight against illegal fishing, the trafficking of weapons, narcotics and people, and the ongoing threat of piracy in the western Indian Ocean. (Courtesy Photo)

Download full-resolution

We suggest

Manda Bay, BMA name facilities for fallen service member

A memorial for U.S. Army Spc. Henry “Mitch” Mayfield, Jr. sits inside the Henry Mayfield Jr. Dining Facility at Baledogle Military Airfield (BMA), Somalia, May 1, 2020. The Henry Mayfield Jr. Dining Facility includes a hand-drawn portrait, as well as information about Mayfield’s military career. The facility, which had its grand opening and dedication ceremony May 1, was named in honor of Mayfield, who was killed in action Jan. 5, 2020, during an attack on Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya, by a terrorist organization. Mayfield, a Chicago native, was deployed to Kenya with the 1st Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment, 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group, from Fort Rucker, Alabama. (U.S. Navy photo by Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Toniece Lurch)

May 29, 2020

Two contingency locations within Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa’s combined joint operations area recently named facilities in honor of U.S. Army Spc. Henry J. “Mitch” Mayfield Jr., who was killed in action Jan. 5, 2020, during an attack on Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya, by a terrorist organization. On May 1, Baledogle Military Airfield, Somalia (BMA), held a grand opening ceremony for the Henry Mayfield Jr. Dining Facility. On May 21, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility at Manda Bay was officially renamed as the Henry J. Mayfield Jr. Recreation Center.

Safety Inspections at construction sites ensure successful outcomes

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeffery Puckett (right), safety noncommissioned officer-in-charge and medic, 492nd Engineer Vertical Construction Company (EVCC), Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), monitors a construction site for safety conformity and violations within the Djibouti Base Cluster, Djibouti, May 8, 2020. As the safety NCOIC, Puckett conducts regular safety inspections of construction sites, ensuring personnel are in their appropriate personal protective equipment, as well as surveying the overall site for any potential hazards that could be mitigated. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Gage Daniel)

May 20, 2020

In 2018, 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, including 5,280 deaths. Roughly 21% of workplace fatalities took place at construction sites. The majority of these fatalities were the result of electrocutions, falls, struck-by hazards, and caught-in or -between hazards. As the safety noncommissioned officer-in-charge and medic for the 492nd Engineer Vertical Construction Company (EVCC), Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeffery Puckett is well aware of the innate risks at construction sites.

MEDLOG distributes PPE to outstations as preventive measure in fight against COVID-19

U.S. Army Sgt. Enock Langat, medical logistics noncommissioned officer for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), stands in front of medical supplies at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Apr. 24, 2020. Since the inception of the COVID-19 outbreak, the MEDLOG team has shipped more than 7,000 surgical masks (facemasks), including 5,000 N95 respirators; 2,500 surgical gowns; 150 pairs of reusable goggles; and 20,000 pairs of gloves to outstations throughout East Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ashley Nicole Taylor)

May 4, 2020

The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) medical logistics (MEDLOG) team is distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other materials to multiple outstations in East Africa as part of the fight against COVID-19. Since the inception of the global pandemic, the MEDLOG team has shipped more than 5,000 N95 respirators, 2,000 surgical masks, 2,500 surgical gowns, 150 pairs of reusable goggles, and 20,000 pairs of gloves from Camp Lemonnier to contingency locations in Somalia and Kenya. Each shipment contains a 30-day supply of materials used by down-range medical personnel to prevent the spread of the virus.

It takes a village: military medical from across East African CJOA, elsewhere come together for coordinated response to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. Navy Lt. Gail Evangelista, nurse, assigned to Naval Hospital Rota, Spain, dons a facemask prior to interacting with a patient at the Michaud Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, April 16, 2020. Evangelista is part of a four-member team sent by Naval Forces Africa to augment critical positions within the EMF during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling existing EMF staff to execute their primary mission of treating trauma patients. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Dylan Murakami)

April 17, 2020

Over the past several weeks, medical personnel from multiple units across the combined joint operations area (CJOA) have come together to provide a better coordinated effort to protect the health and welfare of the 4,500 service members, Department of Defense employees and contractors in East Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sgt. Maj. Shadonika Crawford: The road to the one percent

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Shadonika Crawford, equal opportunity advisor for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), photographed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Mar. 16, 2020. Crawford began her career as a signal soldier, transitioned to work in finance, and was selected to work in equal opportunity as a broadening assignment. Crawford is currently the highest ranking senior enlisted female in CJTF-HOA and has 29 years of service in the Army Reserve. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ashley Nicole Taylor)

March 31, 2020

Growing up a military brat, U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Shadonika Crawford, equal opportunity advisor for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), never saw herself as the type to join the military, let alone being a sergeant major in the U.S. Army Reserve 29 years later. Currently the highest ranking enlisted female within CJTF-HOA, Crawford became part of the one percent of military enlisted members in Jan. 2019, but she originally thought the military would be a temporary part of her life.