Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon D. Barnwell | CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – Service members and base personnel play in a soccer match...... read more read more
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CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – Peacekeeping among nations can take many forms. Countries have practiced economic, public and regional diplomacy to help develop relationships.
Camp Lemonnier practiced a special kind of relationship building with local Djiboutian law enforcement – Soccer diplomacy.
Service members and base personnel forward-deployed here took part in a first-ever soccer match with members of a local Djibouti police department at the base turf field, Dec. 4, 2018.
Sixteen members of the Gendarmerie, the Djiboutian equivalent of a county police department, arrived on base at 7 p.m. to take part in the game, which was initiated by base leadership.
Soccer is the national sport of Djibouti. Soccer fields, both constructed and makeshift, can be found all over the small East African country.
Camp Lemonnier Executive Officer, Cdr. Jeff A. Winslow, said the soccer clubs on base routinely play other coalition forces teams and the Gendarmerie expressed interest in participating in one of the games. He said the command was very happy to extend the invitation.
“One of our missions here is to reinforce U.S.-Djiboutian relations so when the opportunity presented itself, we started coordinating with their unit and made the game happen,” Winslow said. “We already have a good working relationship with the Gendarmerie and this game only increases that cooperation level.”
Winslow said more games are planned and there has been talk of the Gendarmerie hosting a game for the U.S. team.
Army 1st Lt. Trey Hernandez, assigned to Gulf Co. 536 FSC BSB, organized the 14-person U.S. team, which was comprised of players from the Navy and the Army, mainly from Navy Construction Battalion 1.
“We’re just looking to have a good time, play with them and keep everything fun,” Hernandez said. Hopefully this expands our relationship and we continue to keep these events going.”
Hernandez said he plans to set up matches with the Djiboutian coast guard and other police departments in the future.
The captain of the Djiboutian team, Gendarmerie Capt. Abdouraouf Bourhan Mohamed, who is also a medical doctor for the unit, said the game is a good way to build a relationship with the U.S. military.
“When we have this kind of opportunity to play together, it helps to [strengthen] the cooperation between [us].” Mohamed said. “The way we have been welcomed and treated here is very, very good. We would like for the U.S. military to come play [soccer] at our facility.”
One of the organizers of the event, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Supervisory Special Agent Randy Dulay, said the Gendarmerie works closely with local U.S. law enforcement to help support force protection for Camp Lemonnier. He said during his many meetings with the Djiboutian police the request to play a soccer match was always on the agenda.
Dulay accompanied the Djiboutian team on base and said members of the team were very excited be playing the game.
“This is something they have been waiting for a long time and I’m glad we could make it happen,” Dulay said.
The U.S. team won the match 3-0. The players shook hands after the match and enjoyed pizza together.
Camp Lemonnier is an operationally-focused shore installation that enables U.S., allied and partner nation forces to be where and when they are needed to ensure security and stability in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia.
The mission of Camp Lemonnier is to enable joint warfighters operating forward and to reinforce the relationship between the United States and Djibouti by conducting five key shore missions – air operations, port operations, security, safety and quality of life – and providing core mission enablers such as fuel, water and power for tenant commands, transient U.S. assets and individual service members.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2018 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 302161 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Web Views: | 313 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Camp Lemonnier practices soccer diplomacy with Djibouti Gendarmerie, by CPO Joseph Rullo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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