A few more of Gulu

This is a view of the houses in Gulu. These particular homes were located right next to the runway across the street from the airfield. In addition to all the kids that came out to greet us, the place was just bustling with activity, with lots of people moving up and down the road to and from the market. You would see the local women coming back from shopping balancing these impossible loads up on their heads. I guess that is what you do in Uganda when you don't have the luxury of SUV's and a cart. I am hoping that on our return trip to Gulu I will be able to get some pictures of the kids playing with their new soccer balls that you all donated.

More Pictures of the kids in Gulu

As promised, here are the pictures of the kids at Gulu, Uganda. They were really having a great time, smiling and laughing and just being kids. This of course proves my theory that kids in general can tune out the reality of their everyday situation and just concentrate…..on having fun. What a concept, the world woud be a better place if adults could learn to do that more often. Especially politicians and third world dictators.

Here I am handing out sodas. May their parents please forgive me! Although, my guess is that these little guys do not need to be told to “Put up the ^%$# video games and go play outside!”

Gulu Pictures

Above: Village at Gulu Above: The Kids at Gulu hamming it up!

These photos were taken at Gulu, and are of the village just across from the air strip.

I have more pictures, but I am having trouble uploading them. More to follow.

The Sunset View over the Mozambique Channel

I snapped this picture while at 23,000 feet on our way to Madacascar. Looks like I am getting the hang of this picture taking thing!

Gulu and Entebbe Uganda

Earlier in December, Hardy and I had a three day trip down to Uganda. It was a fascinating trip, as we got to stay in a hotel right next to Lake Victoria, which is the second largest lake in all of Africa, and is also the head waters for the mighty Nile River.

Our first stop on this trip was airport at Entebbe. Entebbe, if you remember your history, was the location of the famous Israeli raid to free a hijacked airliner from terrorists working for the Ugandan dictator at the time, Idi Amin. This raid took place in the summer of 1977-and was remarkable for the speed and accuracy with which the Israeli commandos accomplished their mission. The commandos flew non-stop from Israel in C-130’s and executed an assault on the airfield that resulted in none of the hostages at the airfield being killed. The Israeli’s managed to kill all the terrorists (always a good thing in my book) while they themselves sustained only one casualty, the man who lead the raid. Sadly, (and in true to their cowardly nature) the terrorists murdered the only hostage that was not at the airport at the time. This man was in a Ugandan Hospital and Idi Amin ordered him killed after the success of the raid.

The old control tower is still there, and you can still see the bullet holes left by the Israeli heavy weapons during the assault. The Ugandans have erected a plaque there to honor those killed in the raid, and to condemn the rule of Idi Amin.

Later in the same trip, we got to play the part of true African Bush Pilots. We had to drop some passengers to a remote airfield to the north of Entebbe called Gulu. It’s a nice, long runway, and it’s even paved (although the surface is somewhat questionable) but it’s truly out in the bush. No runway lights, no instrument approaches, no control tower. The airfield information said to beware of animals on the runway. So when we made approach into Gulu, we left the gear up and did a low level pass over the runway at about 300 feet above ground level. We didn’t see any animals, but we sure did scare the heck out of a local who was riding down the runway on a moped for some reason. As it turns out, this fellow was just doing his job ensuring that the runway was clear of animals for our arrival. We sure got his attention with the low pass though.

Gulu is what I always imagined that the African Bush would look like. It is a lush green place, located on a high flat plain, surrounded by tall grass and trees. To the east of the runway, right outside the fence was a thatched hut village. Upon landing we got a very friendly welcome from the folks there, and had a lot of fun passing sodas to the kids just outside the fence line. They congregated quickly after our arrival, hamming it up for the camera and generally having a great time just like kids anywhere else. I am guessing that they probably had not ever seen a Metroliner before.

All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?

Hey folks….I do not know if this has garnered much attention back home, but I wanted to let you all know about the current situation ongoing in Kenya as you are reading this. Kenya is currently experiencing some pretty bad violence associated with their presidential election. As of this writing, (according to the AP) approximately 135 people have been killed in post election fighting between rival supporters of the two candidates. The cause of the initial violence was the disputed victory of the incumbent president. Apparently he had been trailing in all the Election Day polls, but when the official results were declared, he had retaken the lead, and the government declared him the winner. However, the opposition refused to accept this outcome, and declared their candidate the winner.

I have been told the actual policy differences between the two politicians is quite minor, but there supporters are split down ethnic and tribal lines. Tribal and ethnic affiliations play a large role in African affairs, and it is difficult for me as a westerner to understand why this election has sparked so much unrest.

At any event I feel for Kenya…especially the innocent victims of the clashing tribes. Kenya is a fantastic nation, and a strong ally of the United States. They have probably the fastest growing economy in Africa, with a nation rich in natural resources and rich in human resources as well. Kenya is a spectacularly beautiful place-a vast hilly green land, with everything from tropical savannahs to desert in the north.

Please keep Kenya in your prayers and thoughts as her people struggle to come to grips with this election. The people of Kenya have always treated us well, and I can only hope that those folks have managed to avoid the current trouble down there. On a positive note, I have heard from people in the know (sorry I cannot reveal more about who told me this) that despite the violence there is a sense among the people there that this will pass relatively quickly and things will return back to normal. One can only hope so.
All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?

More Whale Shark Pictures!!!

Kim and I on the boat ride out to see the Sharks!

Whale Shark Pictures

Whale Shark getting ready for a snack!

WHALE SHARKS

The late fall and early winter time mean one thing in the coastal waters of Djibouti: WHALE SHARK time. Every winter, these truly magnificent fish swim west bound up the bay in Djiboutian coastal waters (well, actually, I am told this is the time of year that they migrate all around the eastern coast of Africa…at least in the waters just to the north and south of the equator.) I must confess that I am ignorant as to exactly why they are migrating but they do. And in doing so, the swim relatively close to shore in the coastal waters around here, feeding on plankton as they go.
The fortunate thing for those of us out here in CJTF-HOA is that the good folks at MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) managed to lay on some charter boats to allow us the opportunity to swim with the Whale Sharks. So, naturally, there wasn’t any way I was going to pass up a chance to actually see these guys in the wild.
We had to depart Camp Lemonier early in the morning, So Rob, Kim and I caught the charter bus with the sunrise out to the docks in the Port Of Djibouti. Once there, we loaded up and were headed out along the coast for our big adventure. The Chartered boat was a large traditional Djiboutian fishing boat that had been converted for charter and dive operations, and we were joined by approximately 20 other folks from the camp.
The trip out was awesome….calm waters, slight cool breeze blowing and not a cloud in the sky. It took us about an hour and half to get to the initial point, where we anchored at got a chance to dive on a shallow reef while awaiting the arrival of the sharks. The reef was probably the most pristine I have seen since coming on this trip. I saw all sorts of fish, a moray eel, and blue spotted ray and a sea turtle. It was incredible.
We soon got the call that whale sharks had been spotted, so we loaded up in the boat and headed up the coast line to find them. About ten minutes later….one of the guides saw the tale tell signs of the tall dorsal fins protruding just above the water while the sharks swim slowly along, feeding. It was time to swim with the sharks.
We loaded up into smaller, faster boats with outboard motors and quickly took off after the sharks. While waiting for the boats to get to the sharks, we all put on our snorkeling gear, to be ready to jump overboard as quickly as possible. As soon as a guide would spot the sharks, the little boats would speed up ahead of them, cut the power to the motor and we would jump of the boat into the path of the sharks. (Yeah, I know, it sounds a bit strange to be jumping out of a perfectly good boat into the path of oncoming sharks…).
SPLASH! You would hit the water…wait for all the bubbles to clear, and then,…..looming out of the dark, deep blue color of the sea, this HUGE creature would be swimming right towards you. It was amazing-these animals are so big, and so beautiful, and they just don’t care that you are there. They are busy eating the plankton…and you just have to get out of the way.
The first shark I saw had to be at least 18 feet long. She was just swimming along, seeming effortless, with her big tail swinging gracefully back and forth. I quickly changed direction and began to swim parallel with her, less than a foot from pectoral fins and gills. I could see her looking at me with her eye…simply amazing. I had to really swim pretty quickly to keep up, even though this shark looked like she was just swimming along with no effort. Every now and then, she would find a dense pocket of plankton, and she would open her mouth wide, arch her back and filter a tremendous amount of sea water through her gills, getting a nice mouthful of the tiny creatures. One could think of this as a sort of whale shark floating buffet, I guess.
All in all it was a fantastic day. I love the water as it is, and having to opportunity to swim with these animals is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Rob and Kim had a blast as well….getting the same chance as I did to swim up close and personal with a whale shark.
It is times like these that make me thankful that I signed my name on the dotted line. Sometimes, the military opens up doors that would otherwise never been open to you…and it makes you realize that in the big scheme of things, this is a pretty good job!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!! I cannot believe that the busy holiday season has come and gone. I wanted to take a moment to wish everybody out there in blog land a long overdue MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR. I hope that everyone back home had a truly happy holiday season. I am hoping that somebody out there even got a white Christmas. Having a white Christmas is something that we don’t really have to worry about here in Djibouti. I think the daytime high on Christmas Day here was a chilly 88 degrees F. You might even say that we have been having a Djiboutian cold snap.

We have been busy flying all around the horn. Since I last updated you folks, we have had numerous missions –flying to places like Aden, Yemen, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Gulu and Entebbe Uganda, and back down to the Comoros. I even managed to get in an overnight in Madagascar. (And no, sorry to disappoint but there were no animated animals running around) It’s been busy-but that’s ok, we are doing what we came here to do. Not to mention the view from 20000 feet gets pretty spectacular.

Everyone in the office got lots of support from the folks back home. Packages, cards, and almost daily reminders from you all at home helped us keep our spirits up over the holiday season. Thank you all very much!

Soccer Ball Drive UPDATE:

Hey folks, just a quick note to let you know the first shipment of soccer balls have been uploaded to the Civil Affairs. They are leaving here soon to do a mission downrange. I don’t want to disclose the where and when’s just yet, but it will be a remote location out in the ‘bush’ as we call it here in Africa. The CA team will be conducting a VETCAP as well as other missions. The CA folks have promised me pictures and possibly a guest blogging, so I will keep you posted.

Today Jeff and John departed for a mission with a fuel stop in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania. Jeff Webb’s church has put together a soccer drive as well, and they have collected approximately 200 balls. We loaded some of these balls, the shin guards you guys sent, and some pumps in the aircraft. Our Handler (a handler is somebody who takes care of filing our flight plans, coordinating for fuel, parking, customs, basically anything that we might need as a crew) at Dar is woman named Susan. She is on the cutting edge of women in business in Africa- She has a remarkable story. She was born in Tanzania, but educated in the US. She gained experience as an aircraft maintainer for Comair. (Comair is ASA’s sister Delta Connection Carrier, based in Cincinnati Ohio.) She worked on numerous airframes for a number of years before returning to Tanzania to found her business, Tanzanite Jet. Now her company provides Handling Services for every major air port in Tanzania. This is a remarkable accomplishment for anyone, let alone a woman starting a business in a male dominant society located in Africa that is approximately fifty per cent Muslim. She is going to take Jeff’s soccer balls to a local orphanage there in Dar to be distributed to the children. Again she promised pictures so I will keep you all posted.

School Construction

School Construction Assessment with the Sea Bees in Comoros. The two civilians are from the State Department.

Faces of the the Soccer Ball Drive

Children of Djibouti

Chaplain’s Assistant at School dedication, shaking hands with the future grads

Outside the Wire

The Navy Chaplain having story time with the kids.

Well Dedication ceremony, Djibouti.

REALITY CHECK

I have had more than a few comments on how this particular deployment resembles more a vacation or a documentary one might see on the Travel Channel. Ok. You got me with that one. I won’t spend one minute denying that we in the C26 Detachment have it pretty good here. Primarily any deployment where the locals aren’t shooting at you or detonating car bombs in your immediate vicinity, then one cannot complain. In fact, as much as I hate to admit it, the US Navy has put a tremendous effort in taking care of us. They have really done an outstanding job. Our job is easy…but not everybody has it as good as we do.

I cannot begin to describe the poverty I have seen here. It is a overwhelming, crushing type of poverty that robs people of the will to live. Lack of water, lack of basic infrastructure, lack of food, medicine…the list goes on and on. We live in a completely different world. In fact, we might as well be on another planet all together. There is untold violence here, such as the ethnic cleansing in Sudan, and diseases and parasites we in the West have never seen before. It is not a pretty picture. Outside the major cities there are no malls, drive through restruants, a general lack of paved roads, electricity, sewage service.

Yet, despite all the hardship the people here (particularly the Djiboutians) are friendly and maintain an upbeat attitude. It’s like that in many of the countries I have been too-they just keep working against overwhelming obstacles to get the same thing we want back in the U.S.-having a family, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a truly humbling thing to view the world through this perspective.

You folks out there in Blog land actually reading this should know of the efforts of the other personnel on here at CJTF-HOA. These folks are here doing the real work. This is truly a combined effort here, with military personnel as diverse as combat engineers, civil affairs teams, The Sea Bee’s (the US Navy’s combat engineers…although, don’t tell them they are in the Navy. They consider themselves to be their own entity, and let me tell you…they are some of the hardest working people I have ever met) Combat Camera (and Air Force media unit) Military Vets, Doctors and the Chaplin Corp. We also have some US Army Infantry units from Guam and some Marine Infantry working with the Task Force. (These folks not only provide us with force protection and security, but they also train with the forces of the nations we are working with here in Africa). All of these soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen are actually out in the ‘bush’ as we call it-working hand in hand with local populations. It is tough, hard work that is rarely if ever mentioned in the mass media. While these folks are not chasing down terrorists, what they are doing is a vital relevant mission.

Most of these service people spend very limited time here in Camp Lemonier. The vast majority of their time is spent outside the wire, enduring the same harsh conditions as the locals (no hotel rooms for them…most of them live in tents or locally aqquired housing) eating MRE’s if they are lucky. They have little or no access to the luxuries we take for granted here at Camp Lemonier. But, despite the conditions, I rarely if ever hear them complain.

The missions are almost too numerous to mention. Some of the major ones include drilling wells, building schools and infrastructure projects, medical missions and vet missions call MEDCAPS or VETCAPS (performing simple medical procedures on people and animals that you and I take for granted but are almost unheard of here in Africa). It is hard, thankless work. But, to a man (or woman) they all LOVE the mission they are doing. Many of these people tell me it is quite rewarding to be hands on involved in helping the people from the host nations attain a better life. It is an amazing display of the American Spirit….and it is an important tool in the fight against extremism. You should all be very proud of what the military is doing here. Watching these young service people at work here really does put a dent in the media portrayal of the youth of America as wholly lost and stuck on watching MTV all the time.

It is my intent to document more of this, and get some more of the gritty stuff so you all can see a little better picture of reality here on the ground in Africa instead of documenting all the different hotel overnights of we C26 Guys.

Soccer Ball Drive Update

Well folks, A quick update on the Soccer Ball drive: Two days ago(on the 12th of December ) we received our first two boxes of soccer balls from you folks back home. We received one box from Super Stacey and another from Janet Abbazzia. So that gives us a total of 18 balls received so far. So we are well on the way to the start of a great Soccer Ball Drive!

A quick admin note: The Navy has informed me of an address change. Our new address is:

CW2 Alton G Chapman

C26 DET
FPO, AE 09363-9998

It goes into effect in approximately sixty days, so you should be good if you use the old address until then. However, I think that using the new address will be fine. After 60 days you will have to use the new address. Thanks for all your support! It is going to be a great drive!

Another Djibouti Poem by the Stump (AKA Mr. Hovis)

So what the hell, I think its swell, that you're full of Christmas Cheer.
But you're there in Djibouti, doing your duty, and I know you'd rather be here.

The guys in Iraq are given no slack, and the same can be said of you.
You can still go jog or work on your blog, and still be serving too.

No matter the task, they have only to ask, and the Guard will be ready to go.
Your lives on the line, for your country and mine, ready to fight any foe.

Our Christmas, I fear, will lose some of its cheer, knowing that you won't be at the table,We're proud of you all, for standing so tall, you've been ready, willing, and able.

So MERRY CHRISTMAS to you, THANKS for all that you do,
Don't cut those bad guys no slack. Have fun in Djibouti; you're doing your duty,
Be careful! We want you all back!

Twas the Night Before Christmas - Djibouti Style

Twas the night before Christmas - Santa wanted to hide,
He had just taken and failed his yearly check-ride.
The examiner said, trying not to sound sappy,
Your takeoff was fine, but your landing was crappy.

“The children!” said Santa, “will have nothing to savor,
What's the chance, just this once, of getting a waiver?”
“No way!” Said the FAA-man; you must make other plans,
To deliver your toys to all of the lands.

While down in Djibouti, all snug in their beds,
With visions of home going round in their heads,
Was a unit from Georgia of the Army National Guard,
No mission too small, No mission too hard.

While Santa was thinking, this is a heck of a fix,
When he suddenly thought of the C26
I'll bet that this unit is looking for action,
And I with their help, I'll get satisfaction.

Santa reached for the hot line, and his eyes got all steely,
And he said to himself, I'll just call John Ely.
There are children all over from Djibouti to Fargo,
Looking to you guys to carry my cargo.

Then Chief John told the group, we will do what we can,
To deliver their toys to kids all over the land.
Then Jeff told Hardy, I'm feeling down cast,
Cause to cover the world, we can't fly that fast.

Then Kimberly said, don't be an old Grinch,
I'll tweak up the engine with elf dust and this wrench.
You can depend on me to do my duty,
I'll have this thing ready to fly from Djibouti.

Big Al and Dupree got their maps in a pile,
And both of them said, "This might take a while"
Then Al had a thought that was very pleasant,
I have a GPS I was giving as a present.

We will do what we can, and do our darn best,
We will start in Djibouti and then deliver the rest
Al said, “I will run, swim or fly
Whatever it takes, I will give it a TRI

They pushed up the throttle, and started their roll,
It looked like the guys had it under control.
The plane started airborne and away it flew,
With a plane full of toys and St. Nicolas too.

While Santa, in back was checking his list,
Thank God for the Guard, no child will be missed.
Then I heard him exclaim as they flew out of sight,
“Merry Christmas from Djibouti…Ya'll have a good night!”

Keep Those Soccer Balls Coming!

Friends,

The outpouring of support has been great! The Soccer Ball Drive has gotten off to a very successful start. We have received support from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Region 2, the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Atlanta Chapter, the folks at Heery International, Foster & Company, Barton Malow, Albany Brick Co. and so many more - thank you! We have also been collecting toothbrush kits, individual toothbrushes and toothpaste as well as sunglasses as requested by the Chaplain.

If you don't mind, if you are sending soccer balls, please let Stacey know - she is keeping a log of how many are coming our way. Thank you Anna for sending some pumps and needles! Those are great and necessary and we will probably need more. Sports Authority online will ship directly to Djibouti and have balls for as little as $8.00. The address to send to is:

CW2 Alton G. Chapman

C-26 CJTF-HOA

APO AE 09363

Many Thanks to everyone! Happy Holidays!

And you thought I was Suffering...Let the Good Times Roll (But not really!)

Camp Life & Our Veterans (Better late than NEVER!)

I have a had a few requests for the nature of Camp Life over here, ( and a few other thoughts) so here goes:

Camp Lemonier is actually pretty impressive, considering that the whole place was constructed on an old, deteriorated French base. For a remote area outside the main city-things are pretty good for us. The runway at the airfield is first rate, and its over 10,000 feet long, and the surface rivals any runway you would find in the states. It isn’t as well lit as runways in the States, but all in all not bad. (It makes flying in here at night one of those “black hole” approaches that the pilots out there will be familiar with).

The Camp itself is pretty nice, we get decent food and we have a few luxury items to keep us entertained on our off days. There is a gym, a little movie theater, and a coffee shop. They even have a little NEX (Navy Exchange). The gym is good enough that I have no excuse in not being in tip-top condition for the St. Anthony’s Triathlon when I get home. (well, that and Stacey has been riding her cute rear end off, so I better keep at it, or she might drop me on the bike like a bad habit).

We actually stay pretty busy, and most weeks both aircraft are flying all over the horn. On our off days we try and catch up on admin duties, go to the gym, and keep ourselves entertained. We usually get up around 630 or so (some later than others!) hot breakfast and go the office…which is actually a tent with wooden floors. There we do mission planning, admin stuff or whatever. Poor John and Hardy get to go to a lot of official meetings-the Navy apparently loves meetings as much as the Army does.

Most nights we watch movies or surf the internet, and occasionally hit the Cantina for our officially sanctioned three (3 only!) beers. So all in all, life is good. Other than being over here in the first place I have no complaints at all. I just miss Stacey and everybody at home.
Having said that, please, keep in your thoughts and prayers those soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors who are actually in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. These kids are the true heros…they are making an enormous sacrifice, one that you cannot possibly imagine unless you have actually been in that situation. Talk to any Viet Nam veteran, and you will get a sense of what I am talking about.

Speaking of which, although I am a little late for this (Veteran’s Day) please take time out to thank any and all Viet Nam vets you might come across…they did a remarkable job in the face of a world and a nation that treated them with derision and disdain. They didn’t get the support that we are getting today. We all owe them tremendous thank yous. I firmly believe that their sacrifice was instrumental in eventually winning the Cold War.

To the Soldiers Before Us and After Us....

Thanksgiving Photos at the DFAC

In the Wise Words of Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna take it!

After months (well, a few years, actually) of listening to and enduring the opinions of politicians, editorial writers, news pundits, bloggers, and various and sundry other people express their opinions about the war, I have decided to express MY thoughts for a change. I guess I have earned the right to do so, given the fact I have actually been to some of the places all these so called experts are talking about.

I assume that I will be expressing my views to people that are largely sympathetic to my point of view. So, if you are offended by politically incorrect sentiments, now is your chance to tune this blog out (at least for the day). First off, this is my opinion, and does NOT reflect any official position of the US Army, DOD, or CJTF-HOA. So here we go…..

As all of you might have guessed, I am a supporter of our missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. I truly believe that our cause is a noble and just one, and that this current war represents the biggest struggle our nation has faced since World War II and the Cold War. I have grown sick and tired of politicians on both sides of the aisle bending and twisting the facts of the current world situation to support whatever agenda that they might be pushing. Then of course every somewhat successful actor, reality show star, sports figure or other self appointed expert parrots the arguments they overheard from other equally obtuse anti war pundits. I have a few words of advice for them: SHUT UP. No, really. Please, just SHUT UP. We have heard all the inane, pointless, “America is bad and imperialist…they are only terrorists because of us” argument a thousand times over. I have some advice for you: before you run off at the mouth because you think that your opposition to this war makes you some how super intellectual or makes you feel less guilty about being an American, do a little research (unbiased, please) about the roots of this war before you start talking or writing your opinions.

I have a bit of unsettling news for you politicians out there: This war, will continue on regardless of which group of politicians manages to get their hands on power this upcoming election. And guess what: WE ARE IN IRAQ, SO THE DEBATE ABOUT HOW WE GOT THERE IS COMPLETELY IDIOTIC AND A WASTE OF TIME. The only thing that matters at this point is pulling together and winning this war. Quit sayings it’s unwinnable because you have NO idea what you are talking about. It is such an easy thing to critique this war with a slick, prepared, press release from your PR advisor from the safety of a cushy office in Washington DC as opposed to actually talking with the soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors who are actually downrange. Just because this war is no easy thing isn’t any reason to give up and leave those who support us in Iraq and Afghanistan to whims and mercy of the radical islamists. Make no mistake, our enemy in this war is willing to strap bombs on their women and children to kill us…they make no distinction between civilian and military targets, and THEY WILL NOT STOP if we withdraw from Iraq and go home. This is not a problem we can negotiate away. Our only option is to defeat the enemy. Period.


I also have strong words for our so called “unbiased media” : I don’t CARE what your opinion is, or if you hate the war and your own country. The whole idea of being a reporter is to completely COVER the story without the interference of the lens that is your opinion. At least take the time to actually research things before you put them into print. All I ask is to report both sides of a story, or at least turn a critical eye toward the press releases of the enemy. You know, the terrorists are pretty good at using you media types as a mouth piece for their propaganda. I suppose that reporting facts, even if they don’t support your particular point of view, is something that modern journalists don’t want to be bothered with. I find it ironic that now that the surge is going full swing and the military’s offensive against the terrorists seems to be making gain, all we get to read about is the daily body count, the contractor scandal, the expense of the war, anything but the tactical success on the battlefield. Why is that, I wonder?

To quote General Sanchez, former Commander in Iraq:

"For some it seems that as long as you get a front-page story, there is little or no regard for the collateral damage that will be caused. Personal reputations sometimes have no value. They report with total impunity, and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct. Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance. The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry.

"Once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda-driven biases sometimes contributes to this corrosive environment. All these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America, in some instances. Over the course of this war, tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for our country because of the tremendous power and impact of the media -- and by extension, you individually, the journalists.

"My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these worthy ethical standards and has allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on TV, what they read in our newspapers, and what they see and read on the Web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases, or agendas."

We have got to understand that despite what we have been told over the past twenty years or so by the politically correct media, that the US, and indeed Western Civilization, is, in fact, worth defending. I know this because I have seen it firsthand. True, we do in fact have problems in the West. But we got a lot right- and I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the United States and our western allies represent a much brighter future than the alternative presented by radical Islam.

HappyThanksgiving from Djibouti

Hello everybody! I just wanted to take a few moments to wish all of you a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Thank you all for your support! Since I cannot be with all of you on this special day, I hope that you all realize how much I miss you and I am thinking of you all everyday. I am truly a lucky man to have the life that I have, and could not do what I do with out the support of my wife, Stacey, (hi Honey!) and my family. I have so much to be thankful for, it would be hard to find the words to express it in a truly heartfelt way with out my words coming out like a bad hallmark card.
Have a Happy, blessed Thanksgiving, everyone of you.

Cheers to you all!!

Al

Happy Thanksgiving!

http://www.cpmsglife.org/tg/2006tdm1.html

Big Al's Soccer Drive For The Kids

Hey everyone! Sorry to dissapoint, it's just Stacey here.

First, I know Al thanked you guys for reaching out to him and sending him mail, but I also wanted to say THANK YOU for being so kind and keeping his spirits high over there. Between his good friends - and my wonderful friends, he has been getting a lot of mail and packages. I joke that he is probably the most popular kid at camp!

So, I mentioned to some of you that Al was going to talk to the Chaplain about sending soccer balls to him for the kids. According to Al, the kids there love soccer, but very few of them have a decent ball to play with. So, he wanted to do something nice. The soccer balls will provide a spark in an environment filled with poverty and deprivation. It's a small act that will bring great joy to many of the kids as they get the opportunity to be "kids." This will mean alot in their continuing effort of creating more friends than enemies over there.

Marie Battaglioli and her friends and colleagues at Foster & Company sent the first soccer ball. They sent it fully inflated and it arrived with no problem. I have went online to see if there were directions for the best way to send them but I couldn't find anything concrete either way. I saw one site said to just mail them (this was for an Iraq Soccer Ball Drive) and then another said to send them deflated - we should also include a few pumps. I will continue to investigate this - if you know anymore than I do, please email me or post to the comments section at the bottom of this particular blog.

Additionaly, the Chaplain said that cheap sunglasses and travel kits of toothbrushes and toothpaste were also big hits!

So...do you want to make a little kid's eyes light up like it's Christmas morning even though the child knows nothing of Christmas? This is not really an effort to get these to them by Christmas but to still give them the joyous feeling that Christmas brings to so many children here in the United States.

Okay, so with that said....if you want to participate in "Big Al's Soccer Drive" - email me at schapman@heery.com. I can provide you the address, if you don't already have it or we can work together to get them shipped out. Check out the YOU TUBE to the left: Soccer African Style.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Stacey (and Al!)

REVISED TO ADD:

If you send soccer balls deflated, you can send several in a FLAT RATE box and save some money! All items mailed will need a customs form. AND Stephanie has taught me that mailing from the post office is cheaper than mailing from a UPS Store.

The Gigantic Bats of Comoros

Our latest mission sent us out over the Ocean once again, this time out to the Island Nation of Comoros. Comoros is a small Island chain of the coast of Southern Kenya and Tanzania. It is located just to the east of Madagascar and is a former French Colony. The Islands are all volcanic, and are quite isolated. It is a majority Muslim nation, and CJTF-HOA is performing humanitarian assistance there in the form of Navy Sea Bee’s (think combat engineers for the Navy and Marines…very hard working people) and Civil Affairs teams. The Sea Bee’s are building wells and helping with school construction and the Civil Affairs teams are working with the local people. The State Department has USAID people here as well.

The mission in Comoros goes to the very heart of what our mission is over here. The mission, contrary to what you might think after reading my blog is not so we C26 guys can just fly around Africa. Our mission is to show that the US is NOT the nation that is shown in extremist Islamic propaganda, or what the people of the nations here in Africa learn about us from Hollywood. We are here to help-which prevents groups from Al-Qaeda and other such nut jobs from gaining toeholds in nations that have so far avoided embracing radical Islam. For what it is worth, I think the mission is worthwhile and is working. I will try to a better job of covering what our sister services are doing here. These folks deserve a lot of recognition for what they are doing.
Comoros has had some issues in the past-this tiny Island nation has had something on the order of 27 coups since gaining its Independence from the French. Needless to say, this instability hasn’t helped out in the ole progress part.

This is a cash only Island, and when we landed at the Airport in Maroni, a small army of people came out of the wood work with various papers and forms for us to fill out so we could be charged appropriately. This took place before we could even get the passengers off loaded. Several women clad in the traditional hijab (with an Island twist though…the garb here was full of color, as opposed to the plain black or other drab colors in other Islamic nations) came up to me looking to collect money for an organization known as (and no, I am not making this up) The Agency For Safe and Secure Navigation in Africa and Madagascar. I think we would up paying over 700 bucks for various charges ranging in navigation fees, airport fees, taxes, and the ever mysterious airway fix usage fee.

After we filled out our paperwork, we headed out across the Island to our Hotel. It was about a 45 minute ride over the ridge to the other side of the island. We learned that out hotel was fortunate enough to have a back-up generator and its own water system, since both utilities are subject to frequent interruption. During dinner, the power did go out….but luckily the hotel’s generator did its job.

Thank You for Your Continued Support.

I was sitting around Camp Lemonier today and thought that before I get too much further along in this blog, I need to take a few minutes and express my sincere thanks to all of you who actually read this blog, and more importantly, all of you that have taken the time to write me, post comments or otherwise support me during this deployment. I cannot articulate with adequate words how great it is to know that you folks take time out of your lives to think of me and my fellow servicemen (and women!) over here at CJTF-HOA. (Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa).

People are constantly thanking me for my service, but you all should know that I am…indeed all of us, are very thankful for the support. Without your support we would not be able to do this mission, or indeed any mission in this war on terror. It just is not possible without your prayers, support, letters and thoughts.

So without further ado (and in no particular order) a huge, heartfelt thanks goes out to the following people:

Stacey Chapman, Steve and Vicky Hovis, my Mom, my Dad, Laura Chapman (Surf’s Up Sis), Pete, Kim and Trent Waldrop, Jeff and Joanna Lether, Angie and Beth, Kim Cameron, Diane Taylor, Janet and Matt, Barb, Sharon Ealy (now Whitfield), Gina G., Diane Dial and Family, Frank and Kathy Conrad, Stephanie and Glenn,(all the guys love their cards Stephanie!) Hansel, Pepper, and Earl, Kevin and Krista Reilly, Janis Francis, Rhonda Kemp (and all her kids at school), Anna and Brent, Greg, Renae and Jake, all my Tri friends at Get Fit Atlanta, (Thanks Dana!), Lynette and Sam Rickman, Todd Ballew, and Q100 for the Write a Soldier Campaign (for Thanksgiving).

In the unfortunate event that I missed someone, please forgive my oversight. You all are great, and I cannot thank you enough. Every one of you gives me innumerable reasons to do this job, and the mission that we do IS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Until next time....

Kilimanjaro II

These two pictures are of Mt. Kilimanjaro as we passed by on departure at 20,000 FT.

Kilimanjaro Pictures As Promised

Top three pictures are actually in Mombassa Kenya. Mombassa is located on the east coast (Indian Ocean) side of Kenya. Bottom photo is of Kilimanjaro during the approach to Kili Airfield.

Containerized Living Units - CLU Going Forward

Here are my living quarters (called CLU's, Containerized Living Units) at Camp Lemonier: Not bad, considering we could be in Tents:

Mombassa Kenya, Kilimanjaro

We fly all over the Horn of Africa: Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Mombassa Kenya and Tanzania. Mombassa is on the coast of Kenya on the Indian Ocean. We stayed in a really nice hotel with a safari style theme. We even had monkeys wandering around our porch. Unfortunately, I didnt get any pictures of the monkeys. Those little guys can be fast. While in Tanzania, we over nighted at an airfield near Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of the nations in Africa that is doing fairly well. The roads are good, and the infastructure is good shape. Dar es Salaam,the capitol city (Meaning the place of Heaven in Arabic) is a modern place with a thriving economy. The Tanzanians are about 30% muslim and speak a mixture of english, and swahili. Despite the tribal history of this nation, Tanzania has for the most part put her tribal past behind and managed to forge a progressive modern nation. Also, there is no apparent tension between the muslim population and the other religous groups.

Pictures coming soon....

Camp Life at JABOOTI JABOOTI

These are of Rob and I, and our office. Note the GA State Flag hanging on the wall.

Sharm el Sheik, Egypt