Ja-Booty

"One year boots on ground." One year. One year. He's been gone for 17 months. The training time doesn't count toward the official time gone.

This deployment is different from any other. In deployments past I could go for months without even knowing where he was. Now I can communicate with him just about every day depending on his status. E-mail has revolutionized the military deployment.

He's in a crazy, dusty place called, "Djibouti," pronounced "Ja-Booty." I have had to explain many times not only where that is, but also why he is there. The mission of the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF HOA) is part military and part humanitarian. They seek to empower the people of the region by creating economic stability. They also thwart the al-Qaeda training camps.

For only the second time in a year I recently looked at the HOA website. It features one of my least favorite military phrases: "winning the hearts and minds." What an impossible mission. Shoot and hug.

AFRICOM is scheduled to stand up later in FY08. HOA currently resides under the auspices of CENTCOM.