Photo By Sgt. Brandon McCarty | Commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen. James T. Conway departs Camp Lemonier, Djibouti,...... read more read more
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By Army Sgt. Brandon McCarty
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs
CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti – Four stars is a symbol of excellence when searching for a hotel or a restaurant. It is also the symbol of excellence seen in Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James T. Conway.
Conway made a brief visit to Camp Lemonier Aug. 5, where he toured the Marine facilities, re-enlisted and promoted fellow "leathernecks" and answered questions and concerns from Marines deployed here during an "all hands call."
"It was a great opportunity for the Marine's to look their leader in the eyes and ask him what was on their minds," said Chief Master Sgt. John Harris, Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa command chief. "(Conway) personally interacted with our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen and lit up their faces as he presented commandant coins to several people."
At the "all hands call" in front of several hundred Marine brethren, Conway promoted two "devil dogs" and re-enlisted one. Cpl. Kristopher Boice was promoted to sergeant, 1st Lt. Calleen Kinney was promoted to captain and Sgt. Frank Samuelson re-enlisted for an additional 48 months.
"I re-enlisted to keep up the tradition of honor in the Corps," said Samuelson, J-6 Tactical Communications. "This is the second time I've had a chance to see him, and given his short tenure as commandant, it says a lot about how proactive he is amongst his troops. It was an honor to be re-enlisted by him."
Capt. Kinney, director of safety and standardization, waited five extra days to be promoted by Conway, who was the commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while her father was serving.
"I think it's pretty neat to be pinned by the general my father served under," said Kinney.
During his tour of Camp Lemonier's Marine operations, Conway visited Provisional Security Company along with several maintenance workshops. Conway took time to shake hands with and talked to each person directly.
"When Conway approached me and shook my hand, I felt like he genuinely cared about the Marines here and the Forward Operating Base," said Cpl. Derek Casper, Provisional Security Company intelligence chief.
Sticking to a tight schedule, Conway bid his Marine brothers and sisters farewell, posed for a large group picture and boarded his plane. Although his visit lasted only three hours, Conway took the time to promote and instill his standard of excellence.
On Nov. 13, 2006, Gen. Conway became the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Conway was previously the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Conway previously served as the commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from 2002 through 2004 taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and also Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah, Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2007 21:10 |
| Story ID: | 11846 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Web Views: | 374 |
| Downloads: | 321 |
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