Generic "Dear Veteran" Letters

We get these letters from school children occasionally.  Here's the one that was dropped on my desk.

"Dear Veteran,
Thank you for protecting our country. We are very glad. We thank you for fighting for freedom. I hope you can come home on the holiday. If you can't our thoughts will be with you. And kick the bad guys butt.
Yours Truly, Josh B."

I want Josh on my staff some day.

The White House

The White House is the small complex that contains the Admiral's and the General's quarters, as well as several rooms and CLUs that are reserved for O-6 and above and Distinguished Visitors.  It's centrally located between the JOC and the exchange and it has a lounge area and a nice screened patio.  This is not a place where you can just wander in and hang out, it's invitation only.  Last night there was a Marine Corps officer's call out on the patio.  Dinner was served and the alcohol policy was relaxed and I had my first glass of wine since coming here.  Nice comfy chairs, a relatively cool breeze, cigars, and classic rock on the sound system rounded out the evening.

This place has its moments.

11 Degrees North

11 Degrees North is the bar slash pool hall slash general hang out area.  It's a basic metal building with a 50 x 100 ft open area.  There's wi-fi and a few pool tables and lots of little square tables and chairs.  There's also a stage and a big screen for occasional movies.  Alcohol is served after 1900 and they track your daily allowance by scanning your ID card.  It's sort of in between CLUville and the rest of the base, which means that wherever you are you have a little walk to get here.

Right now the place is decorated for Thanksgiving.  It's nice and all and I appreciate the thought and effort, but c'mon, it's not like this is a real holiday with homes full of family and love and the scents of dinner roasting away in a steamy kitchen and scenes of the Dallas Cowboys losing to whoever they may be playing this year.  That's what awaits us when we get back.  Today is really just another Sunday for us.  It's a day off and civilian clothes are authorized.  And that's how life is a little different out here.

The Inside of CLUville

This is the inside of my CLU.  Two beds, two lockers, one desk.  It's more space than San Quentin, but not much.

CLUville

This is taken from C block, right in the middle of CLUville, looking back up towards the rest of base.

Combat Cafe

The chow hall is a bit of a walk from the JOC compound where I work. Not too far, but in 90 degree weather it becomes a slight deterrent. When it gets to 110 I'm sure it will be worse. Luckily, there's an alternate facility very nearby. The head shed and the Joint Operations Center are right next to each other and around the corner from them is the Combat Cafe. It has everything that the main chow hall has, just a little less of it. Next to that is the Old Cantina which used to serve alcohol in the evenings but has been closed due to staffing issues. Typically we grab our lunch in a to go container, stuff some cookies and a Gatorade into our cargo pockets, and head back up into our workspace since the seating area is so limited. It makes for a handy dinner as well.

More About Containers

A quick note here about my workspace and the workspaces of most of the staff. We have what are called Containerized Working Units, CWU (pronounced 'chew' for some inexplicable reason, probably because 'swoo' would just sound stupid). These CWU's are usually two containers put together to form more of a square with the middle walls removed. The insides pretty much look like regular office areas; linoleum floors, fluorescent lights, desks, computers, and maps all over the walls. There's also the occasional Dilbert cartoon, which I'm told is so accurate to the functions here that it's actually not funny. I'm sure those comments will come later.

A Bit About the Base

Camp Lemonnier is an interesting creature. It's sprawled along the south side of the international airport and it's a collection of inherited buildings, newly erected buildings, and shipping containers masquerading as buildings. Pull it up on Google Maps and you'll see a huge area of neatly arranged, gleaming white containers. These are Containerized Living Units (CLU, pronounced 'clue') and most of them are shared by two people and have a shower/toilet CLU in the middle of the block. My rank gets me my own CLU with its own bathroom but the waiting list is a few months long.

The thing to get used to is that you have to walk everywhere to do anything. When you're in CLUville, that's a long walk. It takes some logistical planning to figure out what you're going to have in your hands at any given time as you make your way across base. The importance of this is that there's no bags of any kind allowed in the exchange and you can't leave bags unattended anywhere on base.

The chow hall is not quite big enough. A new facility is being built and should be open next summer but for now it's best to try to eat during the off peak times. The food is decent and you can eat as much as you want as often as you want. That can be dangerous. They also have a variety of snacks like cookies, granola bars, chips, etc. and you can grab a couple of those as you leave. There's been a problem with people filling backpacks so the snack items are now controlled a bit stricter but you can still get whatever you want.

Right now I'm still trying to figure out my daily routines but life is generally okey dokey.

Arriving

I'm here in Djibouti and what with checking-in and turnover with the Marine I'm replacing it's a bit like drinking from a fire hose. Let's start with something simple. When you get to the airport you will find it looks just like a dilapidated third world airport, which it is. You come down the stairs from the plane and walk over to the terminal and gaggle together to get through customs. No carpet, no A/C, lots of grime and exposed wiring. Then you herd your way into the baggage claim area and gather up your stuff. If you've been paying attention you realize that you will have lots of stuff. I had four checked bags (200 total pounds) and two carry-ons. There are no carts. There are however, several blue clad gentlemen who quickly try to grab bags out of your hand and "help" you exit the room. They're going to ask for money, five bucks U.S. currency per bag will do even if they ask for more. Stand firm when pressed. (Try to carry as many of your own bags as possible.) Oh, and if someone is meeting you and you think they are going to help... no. No one is allowed into the baggage claim area so there's no other way to get out of the airport without using the "helpers." After that you get to walk through the dirt parking lot and drive to base. That's when you start to see how poor this place really is. More on that later.

The French Connection

My connecting flight out of Paris left late at night so I had a fifteen hour layover. Let me tell you how not to get to Disneyland Paris if you are ever in the same situation. DO NOT take the Disney shuttle service. It takes forever to wait for and forever to get there and then it stops at all the hotels first. I wasted an hour and a half when I could have gone down to the TGV station at the airport and taken a ten minute train ride to a station right next to the Disney entrance. Added salt in the wound... the train would have been cheaper too.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

The time has come and off I go. The final process goes through the MARFORAF liaison office. They check off all your paperwork, hand you your itinerary and wish you well. Then it's up to me to get across the world in one piece. I loved the last bit of advice here; if something goes wrong with one of the flights, just keep pressing forward, using your government travel card to buy tickets that get you closer to where you're going. Should be fun.

J-Actionville

Jacksonville, NC, is a little on the sleepy side. But, that said, I've had a chance to get around a bit. Here are some recommendations if you've never been here. (Or like me, haven't been here in 23 years.)

If you're looking for a church to attend where you can hear the Word of God preached in a biblically sound way I'd suggest Calvary Chapel Jacksonville. They are very attuned to the workings of the Marine Corps and their deployments and families.

If you're looking for all the latest chain stores and restaurants you'll want to drive up Western Avenue. They're all there.

Speaking of restaurants, the locally owned options are few. The best place for seafood would probably be Tony's Seafood and Oyster Bar. It's a nice place and it's not too expensive. (Like Duck's Grille and Bar was.) A word of caution: Every time I order fish around here I'm asked how I'd like it done. I look quizzically at the server and say, "Uh, medium, I guess." The fish then comes very rare in the middle. I'm from Seattle and there's really only one way fish is 'done' and that's done. I don't know who taught these people to cook out here.

If you like fried chicken then there are two good places. Bojangles' is the best, in my not so humble opinion, and it's right off base. Smithfield's, on Bell Fork Road, is good but tastes a lot like KFC.

If you like Shakespeare and fine wine in the park... you're just SOL.

Tips On the Rental Car Situation

If you're coming to Camp Lejeune and mobilizing through the DPC then you really need a rental car. I had one authorized at government expense for only the first ten days but I decided to keep it on my own dime. I'm here longer than most and I hate being confined to base and I'm getting per diem while here so I can afford it.

With the amount of running around you have to do while checking in and doing the field training the car is essential. (The base hospital is probably four or five miles away from mainside.) After that, it depends. If you're staying at the Lejeune Inn you are a half mile from the DPC and everything else is even closer. If you have a week or so of just waiting around then you can easily walk down to the DPC and check in every morning. If you are staying at the BOQ or the barracks down at French Creek then you need the car because they are miles away. If you cannot get a rental car in your orders and you are going to be here for a while, you can try this: Take a taxi from the airport to the Lejeune Inn and arrange for a rental from Enterprise. They are a couple hundred yards away at the MCX annex on Holcomb. Get your car there, use it for the days you really need it and then turn it back in and wait out your time. Then take a cab back to the airport and turn the taxi receipts in on your travel claim.

Rolling Along

Even though Rule Number One is 'until it happens, it hasn't happened' I'm pretty sure that I'll be flying out in a few days because I have the itinerary in hand and the e-tickets have been paid for. I get to bounce around the states a couple times before flying through France and on to DJ. What's good about this schedule is that I have a 15 hour layover in France that should let me take a train to Disneyland. It definitely beats the other possible ports of call, like Amsterdam or Cairo. This also means that I'll get to collect another stamp in my passport, which is cool.

And Now We Wait

I'm done with Medical and Supply and all my field training is done so now I pretty much stand by until the 11th. I had thought there was going to be more training so I coaxed the creation of my orders into giving me almost a month here. Turns out there's less to do than I anticipated. While I could go to the rifle range all week for a qualification, when I sat down and thought about it I decided against it. I'm already a rifle expert, second award, so there's nothing to gain and everything to lose. Qualification is not required for my rank and billet so therefore I just risk losing my expert score for no good reason. The odds of getting back on a range at this stage of my career are unlikely so I think I'll just keep what I've got.

I'm in contact with the Marine I'm replacing and his advice is to learn as much French as possible so I'll be doing a lot of that. There are several weekly coordination meetings with the Djiboutians, who speak French, and the French Army. (Who also, BTW, speak French.) And of course there's always a plethora of Joint Doctrine pubs that I can read, although I hear tell that CJTF-HOA makes up their own doctrine on the fly so we'll see how valuable that is.