ABOARD USS GUNSTON HALL, At sea -- Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC), along with Sailors onboard amphibious transport dock USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), provided fresh water and painted schools in several Djiboutian villages in support of community relations projects during a recent visit.
Also during the visit, the ship hosted receptions for civilian and military leaders to discuss regional cooperation and security.
“The work we did in Africa was an excellent way to show the community of those three villages that the Marines and Sailors actually care about what’s going on in their lives,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Porter Gould. “Our work showed we can make a difference in people’s lives.”
The projects were conducted over a period of three days where Marines and Sailors worked side-by-side with the Djiboutian locals in helping improve the living conditions in the villages.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the proficiency of our Marines and Sailors. It makes me proud just to serve with them,” said 1st Sgt. Steven Lunsford. “Not only did they obtain their goals, they went beyond anyone’s expectations”.
As a village elder told one of our Marines, “We were very skeptical of what you were about, now we understand and are very grateful for all of your help.” 1st Sgt. Lunsford continued by saying that helping people was the goal; where the impact of what had been successfully accomplished should not be measured in time or materials spent, but in relationships and partnerships forged.
After the successful completion of the community relations projects the Marines and Sailors played soccer and volleyball with the locals and interacted with the children.
Also during Gunston Hall’s visit, several distinguished guests came aboard to discuss the commitment of Coalition forces to providing regional security and stability, including the U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti, the Honorable Stuart Symington and over 56 leaders from Djibouti, France, Kenya, Oman, Pakistan, United Kingdom and Uganda.
Formal receptions were held over two days and were pivotal in strengthening partnership in the region.
“Gunston Hall is proud to have been selected to host this historic joining,” stated Cmdr. Wayne Brown, commanding officer of Gunston Hall. “Neither the crew nor I have ever seen so many leaders congregate in one location for such a peaceful and warm event of friendship.”
Gunston Hall and 22nd MEU (SOC) are currently on a regularly-scheduled deployment supporting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) with the Kearsarge Strike Group.