Volunteers from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Randy Neihart, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa operations specialist, and U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Glenn Hart, CJTF-HOA senior watch officer, shove brush into a controlled fire at the Discover and Aid Nature Animal Refuge in Djibouti, Djibouti Feb. 19, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Andrew Caya

The soldier wiped perspiration off his face after battling spindly plants and dodging large fires, all while under the predatory gaze of lions pacing only a few yards away.

It may seem U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Vaughn, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa deputy director of civil military operations, was lost in East Africa or enduring survival training, but he was volunteering his time at the DECAN Animal Refuge in Djibouti, Djibouti, January 19, 2012. The name DECAN stands for “Découvrir et Aider la Nature,” which is French for “Discover and Aid Nature.”
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U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Grace Enriquez, a communications specialist with Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, received the Navy Expeditionary Warfare Badge at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Sept. 28. Photo by Senior Airman Kaitlyn Johnson

Beyond the pride one carries by simply being a member in today’s all-volunteer U.S. military, there is no greater honor for a service member than accomplishing a challenge in an expeditionary environment, especially when that achievement is normally accomplished by a different branch than the one you serve.

This statement holds especially true when attached in support of Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, a forward-deployed base comprised of airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines, all sharing in the responsibility of strengthening defense capabilities and stability in the region.

On Sept. 28, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Grace Enriquez, a native of Baguio City in the Philippines, became the first non-Navy service member assigned to CJTF-HOA to receive the Navy Expeditionary Warfare Badge. The award of the warfare device, first introduced Navy-wide in 2006, attests to a sailor’s proficiency of combat tactics, expeditionary fundamentals and core Navy knowledge. At CJTF-HOA only 79 sailors have received this pin since it was re-introduced in April of 2011. The distinction and honor of wearing the device is now shared by an airman here.

“Being in a diverse unit and a joint environment showcases many interesting bits of tradition from the Air Force, Navy, Army and the Marine Corps,” said Enriquez. “I felt this was a fascinating part of Navy culture and I really wanted to be a part of it.”

The EXW badge is not an easy device to achieve. To begin this process, a service member must make a special request through their chain of command. After being approved and committing to complete the necessary training and qualifications, prospects must complete Personal Qualifications Standards of core Navy knowledge, unit-specific corps training and practical knowledge of communication radios. After passing a written exam and practical exercise with a M16A2 semi-automatic rifle and Portable Radio Communication series field radios, there are two oral boards among peers to test all EXW knowledge.

Enriquez’s decision to achieve the EXW device did not go unnoticed among her co-workers.

“Here at CJTF-HOA, we are faced with a unique mission and an opportunity to work closely with all services, militaries, coalition partners and civilians,” said U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Josh Hildreth, Enriquez’s senior enlisted leader. “By Enriquez embracing that jointness and stepping up to the challenge of completing a Navy-centric warfare qualification, I believe that she has set a new standard here. With that, perhaps she has inspired others to follow in her path to have a better understanding of our mission as a whole and how each service is part of that mission.”

Enriquez was not alone in the pursuit of the warfare device. Her shop supervisor, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Haupt, an electronics technician, studied and tested alongside Enriquez and was awarded the badge at the same time.

“I’m ecstatic for her,” said Haupt. “There was no doubt, even early on, that she had the necessary study habits down. She definitely made the Air Force – and all of us – proud.”

Enriquez’s impact at CJTF-HOA goes beyond the EXW device. Day to day, she shares responsibility for ensuring vital communications equipment is functional and ready for any mission. When the workday is over, she doesn’t simply go home for the day; she volunteers at multiple locations in the Djibouti City area.

“We are guests of Djibouti and it’s important that we give back to our hosts,” said Enriquez. “I find it to be a very rewarding experience. The most important part of volunteering is loving what you do for others.”

Enriquez spends time weekly caring for orphaned babies at a church in Djibouti City, and she also teaches English three days a week to Djiboutian students, policemen, and members of the Japanese military.

She began teaching English at her home station at Misawa Air Base, Japan, where she is a communications specialist with the 35th Communications Squadron. She began working with the Japanese two years ago, when she decided she wanted to learn Japanese. Members of the Japan’s military offered to teach her Japanese in exchange for English lessons.

By day, Enriquez ensures smooth communications, and when the workday is through, she selflessly donates her time to help others. Now, she holds to her name the first non-sailor to achieve an Expeditionary Warfare Device, setting the bar for others at CJTF-HOA to step up and go the extra mile.

Story by Senior Airman Kaitlyn Johnson
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U.S. Army Reserve Cpl. Kwami Koto, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Civil Affairs team 4902 information manager, is a native of the Republic of Togo, Africa, and uses his experiences to engage with the people of Djibouti. Photo by Senior Airman Jarad Denton

It was during a recent civil affairs mission through Djibouti, Africa, that U.S. Army Reserve Corporal Kwami Koto was able to truly articulate his connection to this continent and its people.

“You see those kids playing soccer, barefoot,” the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Civil Affairs team 4902 information manager said to his team chief as their vehicle passed by children running around on a dirt field. “That used to be me.”

Koto, a resident of Denton, Texas, was born in the Republic of Togo, located in West Africa. In the wake of a military coup d’etat and cultural turmoil nearly 10 years ago, he and his wife fled their homeland as political refugees to seek asylum in the U.S.

“Human rights in Togo were being systematically violated,” he said. “As a journalist, I started writing about it – denouncing the military regime’s abuses.”

Koto and his family began to receive threats against their lives. He weighed his options carefully: stay in Togo and likely be killed while reporting on the unfolding situation, or flee to America. “I chose the latter.”

After coming to the United States, Koto went to work as a program manager for a marketing company. He attended graduate school in his free time, earning his master’s degree in journalism in the spring of 2005. Four years ago Koto decided to demonstrate his pride for his adoptive country; he became a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve.

“It is a pride not only for myself, but for my family – my parents and my entire hometown back in Togo,” he said. “They are all proud to have a son who serves in the most prestigious, and by far the best, Army in the world.”

The U.S. Army Reserve decided Koto was best suited to build relationships with villages and government leaders throughout the Horn of Africa. To him, the journey has been an astonishing one.

“Thirty-five years ago I was playing here as a kid – kicking an orange because we couldn’t afford a soccer ball,” he said as a proud smile grew on his face. “Now I wear the uniform of a U.S. Army soldier. I never could have imagined it years ago. It’s indescribable, the feeling I get when I travel to African villages and help bring about change.”

As an Army civil affairs soldier, Koto said returning to Africa has been a life-changing event for him.

“I had seen Americans before, when I was in Togo,” he said. “I learned English from a Peace Corps teacher. I never forgot those lessons or the interactions I had with the Americans. I make sure to treat the people I meet now the way I want them to remember me.”

Army civil affairs is responsible for assessing and engaging local leaders at both the village and government level. They build relationships with the people through a spirit of cooperation facilitated by African leaders.

U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Justin Lev, CJTF-HOA CAT 4902 chief, said having Koto on the team in Africa has been invaluable. “From day one, he’s been working with us on understanding the African people,” said Lev. “The reason we are able to work so well with them is because of Koto.”

Lev said Koto brings a unique perspective to their mission, and expresses his perspective on Africa’s potential.

“The African people are very resilient to live the way they live. They are happy with what they have,” said Koto. “However, I constantly wrestle with the way some of the African people accept their situation without trying to improve it. Every living thing has to grow and evolve. Africa, after 50 years of independence, is ready to move to the next stage of its development.”

Koto said African development must first begin with its people. An infrastructure cannot be built if the citizens are living in squalor. He said the first step is to build long-term, positive relationships with the people of Africa. Whether meeting with a village elder, partnering with locals to construct buildings or playing soccer with the children of Djibouti, Koto explained he would love for people in the United States. to see Africa the way he sees it.

“This is a land of opportunity,” he said. “Africa presents people with both an opportunity to help and an opportunity to learn. Just like all the opportunities we have in the United States – the ones here should not be taken for granted.”

Lev said working in civil affairs with Koto and seeing those opportunities presented on a daily basis, has changed the way he views the world.

“When we travel to these villages, we see real examples of people living in extreme poverty,” he said. “All of the standards we have in the United States don’t apply here, but the people are happy. It really shows that happiness is achievable no matter what you have or where you are.”

With another smile, Koto acknowledged what his commander had said. As an American, who earned his citizenship in February 2009, he has strong and passionate feelings for both his home and adopted countries.

“I love Africa,” he said. “I love it in the same way I love the United States – with my whole heart.”

Story by Senior Airman Jarad Denton
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And it’s not Paris during WWII.

Stephanie Williamson, French instructor, and 1st Lt. Zachery Bailey discuss different aspects of the French class that was given to his platoon in order to prepare them for their upcoming deployment to North African nation of Djibouti, Africa. Photo by Sgt. Brian Gisbrecht

A bilingual member of the 205th Infantry Brigade and his daughter used their French speaking abilities to help train 1st Platoon, A Battery, 1-161st Field Artillery Regiment deploying to Africa.

Sgt. 1st Class Bill Williamson, a member of the Arizona National Guard, is an Observer Controller Trainer assigned to the Counter Insurgency Lab, 1-335th Operations Battalion, 205th Infantry Brigade as a COIN and Linguist instructor.

His passion for the French language started back in the 1980’s, “I didn’t have a choice but to speak French because I fell in love with a beautiful Swiss girl and we started a family,” said Williamson.

When Williamson’s daughter turned one-year old, he decided to move his family to Switzerland.

Williamson learned the French language during this time in order to make life easier, work, mingle with the locals, and communicate with his daughter Stephanie so she could grow up bilingual knowing French and English.

Williamson moved back to the United States after eight years of living in Switzerland to start a career with the Army.

Upon his return from a Kosovo deployment in 2010, Williamson signed on to work with the 205th Infantry Brigade as a COIN and language instructor.

When the Horn of Africa mission came up on the 1-335th battalion’s radar, Williamson and his teaching partner SGT Cheikh Ndiaye attended a class given by the Socio-Cultural Resource and Advisory Team who worked indirectly with the military on cultural adversity in Africa.

“Because our brigade has never trained a unit going to Africa, my teaching partner, Ndiaye and I did some research and learned a little about the area where the 1-161st are going”, said Williamson.

Williamson and Ndiaye realized after attending the class, the area in Djibouti consists of primarily French speaking people.

Based on this new knowledge, Williamson approached his chain of command with an idea to teach basic French to members of the 1-161st Field Artillery Regiment in order to give them an advantage with the townspeople during their deployment.

“I put together a PowerPoint presentation of the French language to teach the soldiers of 1st Platoon, Alpha Battery, 1-161st Field Artillery, and asked my daughter to take a look at it since she grew up in Switzerland and is more proficient with the French language than I am”, said Williamson.

When Stephanie spoke with her father over the phone concerning the presentation, he explained why he was giving the class and that it was the first time the COIN lab has ever given a language classes before.

Stephanie was so excited about this opportunity her dad was given to teach a French speaking class that she jumped at the chance to travel to Camp Atterbury and help her father.

This is when the Williamson training support became a family effort as his daughter Stephanie volunteered her mastery of French to assist in training forces going to HOA.

She is a double major in French and Spanish at the Brockport State University of New York, and hopes to obtain a career as a United Nations translator.

The family team effort gave the 1-161st Field Artillery Regiment the foundation and confidence to be able to better communicate with the townspeople of Djibouti.

The 1-335th Operations Battalion, a subordinate of the 205th Infantry Brigade, executes pre-mobilization assistance, post-mobilization training, validation, and de-mobilization assistance of reserve component, and other service forces in accordance with proper training guidance in order to provide trained and ready forces to regional combatant commanders mobilizing overseas.

Story by Capt. Elizabeth Brown and Sgt. Brian Gisbrecht
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Capt. Sylvia Kim demonstrates how to splint a broken leg to members of the Burundian National Defense Force during a Tactical Combat Casualty Care course Nov. 8, 2010, in Burundi, Africa. Captain Kim is fluent in French, an official language for Burundians, making it easier to communicate with the class. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Heather Stanton

An Air Force officer deployed here employs her ability to speak French to communicate with local Djiboutians and with other international partners throughout eastern Africa.

Capt. Sylvia Kim speaks fluent French, one of the official languages of Djibouti and a dominant language throughout the African continent. Realizing her skill could benefit Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, Kim volunteered for her current position as medical planner for the Joint Operations Directorate with CJTF-HOA.

“The knowledge of the language has been essential [while deployed to CJTF-HOA],” Kim said. “French and Arabic are the official languages in Djibouti, French being the operational language. It’s been essential in communicating and networking with the local Djiboutians and the camp staff and also imperative with correspondence with the Djiboutian government.”

Kim accomplishes much of the official correspondence translation for the task force commander as well as translating presentations.

Not only does Kim use her talent at work, she also shares her knowledge as a basic French language course instructor on Camp Lemonnier in her free time.

“Captain Kim is well organized, inspirational and a patient teacher,” said Navy Lt. Kittima Boonsirisermsook, the camp dental officer and one of Captain Kim’s French students. “Most of us [students] had hardly ever spoken a word of French before our first class. We were given a lot of class material, a lot of instruction, repetition and practice.”

During the course, Kim talked of her time in France, which helped motivate the students, Boonsirisermsook said. She also encouraged the students to talk with Djiboutians on base to brighten their day and show interest in local culture.

A Los Angeles native, Kim began speaking French at a young age because it was a school requirement to learn a foreign language. But by choice, she continued to learn the language, eventually double-majoring in philosophy and French while at the University of California Los Angeles and spending her senior year of study abroad at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris.

Kim joined the Air Force in December 2005 after working eight years in the international affairs arena because of her love of travel and the numerous overseas opportunities the military offered.

“Apart from my year in France, I’ve worked in Hungary, Slovakia, Morocco and Yemen and language has been imperative in each foreign country and I’m happy to learn, share my knowledge, and build lasting partnerships and relationships,” she said. “In my previous positions, I found that language was the key to furthering partnerships and getting somewhere with my official duties.”

During her Air Force career, Kim has been stationed in the Washington area at both Bolling and Andrews Air Force bases. She then spent a year at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and is currently home-stationed in Geilenkirchen, Germany.

While in Korea, Kim used another language skill set to do her job as the Tricare operations and patient administration flight commander.

“I probably spoke Korean 80 percent of my day building partnerships with Korean hospitals where we were sending our patients for higher echelons of care,” Kim said.

Kim grew up in a Korean household where her parents did not speak English or French. However, she now considers her French-speaking abilities to be stronger than her Korean.

Kim also has taken basic language courses in Spanish, Mandarin, German and Arabic.

“It bothers me if I’m not able to communicate in the language of the country I am in,” she said. “As soon as I arrived at Camp Lemonnier, our Egyptian liaison officer was offering a basic Arabic course and I enrolled in that right away.”

When Kim completes her deployment to CJTF-HOA she will return to Germany. However, she dreams of future assignments.

“My dream is to move on to U.S. Africa Command and stay within this sphere of amazing work and amazing partnerships that we are creating throughout CJTF-HOA and the continent of Africa,” she said.

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