A rainy night in Ethiopia brings out the best in a civil affairs team

Ms. Marie Besancon is the director, Socio-Cultural Research and Assessment

Team supporting Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa

After posting the weekly report and the Shinile VETCAP draft report, I
realized that I did not write about how great CPT Barnard’s CA Team is and
how well they handled the emergency situation when we were flooded out in
the Shinile Zone and couldn’t get back to the Dire Dawa base camp. All the
men (Captain Barnard, Second Lieutenant Benjamin Backsmeier, Specialist
Kyle Simmons, Specialist Aaron Williams and Sergeant Nathan Vanderslice)
rallied to make camp, take turns with the watch, and keep us safe.

The force pro (force protection team) were exceptionally wise to stay
out of sight with their weapons at the ready, when a large vehicle arrived in
the pitch black at round 2345 causing us all a little apprehension –
particularly since this area is a known smugglers route and pretty much only
those who are up to no good are out in this area at that time of night. CPT
Barnard had assured the infantry that exercising restraint was the best
approach to an uncertain situation. (One of the camp drivers had the
experience of returning to a camp site with the Chinese for whom he was
working at the time, only to find that the rebel group had killed everyone.
He said that if alarmed, the smugglers, or rebels are capable of extremely
violent behavior.)

Once we assured those in the vehicle that we were not threatening

they chose to park away from us, cooked a meal and slept. We guessed that
they were likely smugglers, though they had several women with them. The
next day I heard the Community Health Care Worker talking with one of the
women in their group about contraband and he confirmed this later to me.

Everyone knew their job and did it well. Technical Sergeant Fritz came
through with a ‘commo’ (communication) plan and kept the JOC (task force
operations center) informed. When we established the camp, we
immediately had a medivac plan in place and coordinated with the Seabees
a plan for extraction the following day if the waters had not receded. We
were well covered!

It was great to be out with ‘our guys’ and feel protected. When Chief
Craig from Ensign Culbertson’s Seabee team arrived with their monster
vehicles to haul us through the river the next day, I have to admit, my heart
did swell with a certain amount of pride for the Americans!

This CA Team and the Seabees have a particularly good ésprits de

corps and we should all be proud of them!