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.