Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joseph Rullo | CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Containerized living units also known as CLUs provide...... read more read more
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Camp Lemonnier (CLDJ) is located in the East African country of Djibouti. Its mission is to enable joint warfighters operating forward and to reinforce the U.S. Djibouti relationship. The base supports some of the most challenging missions in the area of operations.
CLDJ’s Command Officer, Navy Capt. Charles J. DeGilio’s vision for the base is to provide exceptional services and facilities for tenant commands, transient U.S. assets and service members. One of those exceptional services is base housing.
Most service members and base personnel live in shipping containers called CLUs; short for containerized living units. CLUs are 140 square feet and are occupied by two people in some cases. Each CLU has a bed, lockers and a small desk. They have been in use in forward-deployed areas for several years and are an easy way to set up housing for a base which holds nearly 5,000 people.
The Camp Lemonnier Billeting Department is currently upgrading 400 CLUs with new furniture. Billeting staff along with a team of 10 Djiboutian workers, are removing the old furniture and replacing it with new items. The residents are notified about which day their furniture will be replaced and asked to strip their beds and remove everything from their desks. The team, working in 100 degree weather some days, works quickly to ensure all rooms scheduled to be completed are finished prior to 5 p.m., when the residents return from work.
Navy Lt. Tammy Farmer, CLDJ billeting, said the process to replace aged furniture in a portion of the CLUs happens every year.
“This time we’re replacing the bed, mattress, desk and chair,” Farmer said. “Our plan is to have all the rooms completed in 30 days.”
The $1.8 million project is funded through the Chief of Naval Installation Command’s Naval Regional Housing office in Naples, Italy.
Farmer said many CLUs hold two people, so nearly 800 base personnel are being affected by the change. “This is all about improving the quality of life for the folks who are deployed here,” said Farmer.
One of the recipients of the new furniture is the CLDJ’s Explosive Safety Officer Navy Lt. Mary Strade. She said she was not at all surprised to see everyone from the Billeting department working from sun up to sun down to improve CLDJ personnel's quality of life.
“With a sunburn and smile on her face, LT Farmer was excited for personnel returning to their CLUs to see the new desks, chairs, beds and much more comfortable mattresses,” Strade said. “As people arrived she and her team ensured that everyone was happy with their new set up and received new bedding as well.”
A happy recipient placed a comment in the commanding officer’s suggestion box thanking the billeting team for upgrading the CLUs. Also said the new furniture made them want to extend to enjoy their CLU’s new amenities.
“I’m proud of my team, the local workers and the contractors for all of their hard work throughout this process,” Farmer said. “When we complete this project, making a deployment just a little more comfortable for a service member is the reward.”
Camp Lemonnier is one of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, installations that conducts six lines of operations to support air operations, port operations, safety, security, quality of life, and what is called the core: the fuels, water and power that keep the bases operating.
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2018 01:10 |
| Story ID: | 300379 |
| Location: | DJ |
| Web Views: | 2,219 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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