Camp Lemonnier Service Members Dwell Together During Sukkot

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jacob Sippel | CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti (Aug. 24, 2021) U.S. Army Spc. Dylan Lewis, from Union City, Pa., attached to 377th Engineer Vertical Construction Company with Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (CLDJ), constructs a Sukkah, or temporary “hut,” for the Jewish holiday Sukkot. Sukkot commemorates the years that the ancient Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God protected them under difficult desert conditions. Along their journey, Jewish followers would build Sukkahs in the desert where they’d eat and sleep. CLDJ serves as an expeditionary base for U.S. military forces providing support to ships, aircraft and personnel that ensure security throughout Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia. The base enables maritime and combat operations in the Horn of Africa while fostering positive U.S.-Africa relations. Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa is a dynamic operational headquarters, effectively countering violent extremist organizations in East Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jacob Sippel)  

CAMP LEMONNIER, DJIBOUTI

09.20.2021

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Jacob Sippel 

Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti

CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – If you walk around Camp Lemonnier you’ll find service members from all walks of life, all on their own journey through the desert-like conditions in Djibouti, Africa. A few service members here are working together to bring a Jewish holiday to light, a holiday known as Sukkot.

Sukkot commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God protected them under difficult desert conditions. They’d build Sukkahs in the desert along their journey where they would eat and sleep. The word sukkah means “huts” or “booths,” and building one is the most obvious way in which Jews celebrate the festival.

“Sukkot is at the peak of the Jewish holiday season. First, you have Rosh Hashanah, which is the first day of the seventh month in the Bible. Then Yom Kippur, celebrated on the10th day of the seventh month. And then on the 15th day of the month, you have Sukkot, which runs for a week,” explains U.S. Navy Cmdr. Phillip Lieberman, Camp Lemonnier command chaplain, endorsed by the Jewish Welfare Board. “So you have a protracted holiday period in the fall. What would happen in ancient Israel is people would go from wherever they were in the land and make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, probably from the beginning of the month, during Rosh Hashanah, and would stay through Sukkot. They would go to the temple during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and make sacrifices. They would look during that period to return to a place of wholeness with God, to ask forgiveness of their fellow people and themselves, and then right after that is the celebration of Sukkot which begins with the full moon.”

The two service members involved in constructing the Sukkah are U.S. Navy Builder 1st Class Hugh Borchers and U.S. Army Spc. Dylan Lewis.

Borchers is assigned to Camp Lemonnier, and Lewis is assigned to the 377th Engineer Vertical Construction Company with Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa. Two patriotic service members from different branches, different backgrounds, and neither of which identify as Jewish, but still wanted to help bring people together.

“The idea all started when the Rabbi and I were in NIACT (Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training) at Camp McCrady, South Carolina. That’s where I learned what a Sukkah is and what it is used for,” explains Borchers, a native of Kittery, Maine, and a 13-year Navy veteran currently on his 5th deployment. “I knew there was an Army engineer compound at Camp Lemonnier that was doing a couple of projects and usually they have extra materials left over. It just so happened I met one of the Army engineers the day before and I reached out to him to see if we could make this happen. Then I started designing it.”

After discussing the project with various service members around base, the project began.

Taking the lead, Lewis volunteered his off time to build the Sukkah, about 40-50 off-duty hours using all scrap or leftover materials that he measured, cut, and constructed to build the Sukkah beams.

Borchers joined Lewis in putting the Sukkah together when Lewis was done constructing the wood beams.

“It was a great experience to learn about the Jewish religion and know that they will have something nice to celebrate during Sukkot,” says Lewis, a native of Union City, Pa. “It was also fun to put my time into making this project and learning new cuts to make it assemble without any screws, for easy tear down and set back up the following year. “

“This is a fabulous example of how folks from different departments and even different services, who have no prior connection to one another, who aren’t Jewish and never have seen a Sukkah, can come together and build something truly special,” said Lieberman. “This reflects the vast diversity and willingness to do good on this base, it’s truly special.”

By it’s design, the Sukkah can easily be constructed year-after-year. Future Camp Lemonnier service members will be able to dwell together during Sukkot and enjoy fellowship and camaraderie while they feast.

• Date Taken: 09.20.2021
• Date Posted: 09.20.2021 09:26
• Story ID: 405596
• Location: CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ