CJTF-HOA

Building Bridges to the Future

A combined engineering team, consisting of U.S. and UPDF military personnel, are replacing a washed out culvert with an improved low-water crossing.

A combined engineering team, consisting of U.S. and UPDF military personnel, are replacing a washed out culvert with an improved low-water crossing.  The team is removing the existing culvert, conducting site preparation to ensure the area is ready for the new structure, casting the new concrete box culverts, and then preparing the surface for future traffic.  The team has also prepared a temporary logistics site adjacent to the culvert site.  This is to accommodate U.S. and UPDF personnel and equipment needed for project. 

U.S military engineers and Ugandan Ministry of Works personnel decided that a low-water crossing would be the best course of action for this project due to the availability of materials and time. The structure will be quite solid and will require significantly less maintenance than the pre-existing earth covered culvert pipes. 

This effort is the result of months of close coordination between the Ugandan Ministry of Works and the US Government (Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa), Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) Engineers, the Lira District Engineering Office, and the Aromo Sub-County officials.

Actual culvert construction began around the 1st or 2nd week of December. The completion date will depend on a number of things…especially the weather.  The goal is to complete it sometime between mid-February and early-April 2009. The team will ensure quality and safety come first.  If more time is needed to ensure quality, the team will extend the project timeline. 

There will be many benefits to the local community.  First, this bridge will offer easy access to Aromo Trading Center for those people in the area of the culvert.  Additionally, they will have better access to the health center, shops, and the local officials.  That, in turn, will increase traffic in the trading center which can assist with revenue there.  It will save travelers time as they will no longer be required to traverse all the way to the other bridge.  And lastly, it will provide a safe crossing for both vehicles and pedestrians.  It will minimize any possible danger from makeshift pedestrian (aka log) bridges in the area.   

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CJTF-HOA Dedicates Ugandan Pediatric Clinic and Library
by Senior Master Sgt. John Jones CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

GARISSA, Kenya -- Members of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa joined Ugandan Ministry of Health personnel, municipality leaders and the people of the village of Kitgum to celebrate the dedication of a new pediatric clinic and a public library on September 23.
A ceremony marked the completion of a cooperative effort to bring a pediatric ward to the people of Kitgum.  Local elders spoke of the many benefits the new clinic will provide to the people of Kitgum and the surrounding region, increasing the medical capacity in the region. 

Mr. Alfred Onony-Okara, Kitgum’s District Commissioner said, “The government of Uganda is aware that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation; ill health is a cause of poverty and conflict.  I would therefore like to appreciate that the U.S. Army has risen above addressing armed conflict, by also addressing health…which I stated is a cause for conflict.  Thank you again for this beautiful gift that will promote life and sharing among human kind.” 

The $390,000 project included the construction of a three-wing building containing a maternity ward, delivery room, and a pediatric ward; previously the residents of Kitgum faced a 2-hour drive down an unimproved road (subject to severe flooding) to reach a medical facility.  With the opening of the new facilities Kitgum residents can now receive treatment from a local facility for their children.  In addition, the new Reading Room will serve as a professional development center, helping to increase the knowledge for the medical staff.
In a speech to the villagers of Kitgum, U.S. Navy Dr. Capt. Paul Kane, Command Surgeon for CJTF-HOA, stated this type of cooperation is exactly the goal of CJTF-HOA.

“Today we celebrate the completion of the Kitgum Hospital Pediatric Ward…it’s been our privilege and honor to work with the proud people of Kitgum and Uganda.  The cooperation between our two countries has yielded similar projects, like this one, all over Uganda,” said Kane.  “These new hospital additions will help your doctors treat and save thousands of lives…we look forward to continuing the partnership between our two governments and working with the proud people of Uganda.”

In addition to the clinic, members CJTF-HOA also dedicated a new $260,000 Public Library for the village of Kitgum.  Mr. John Hoover, Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Uganda, was on hand to preside over the dedication ceremony.
 
“The library here in Kitgum will stand as a symbol of our (U.S. and Uganda) enduring friendship, cooperation and partnership.” he said “This library will make an important contribution to your community, by helping all citizens of Kitgum to develop their minds; this new community resource will contribute to the economic and social development of Kitgum.”

Navy Lt. Trey Sicks, a native of Searcy, Ark., served as lead engineer for both construction projects.  Based at the Strategic Systems Programs center in Crystal City, Va., Lt. Sicks is currently assigned to the CJTF-HOA, J-34 Engineers in Djibouti. 
He stated “These state-of-the-art facilities are vital to the relationship building efforts of CJTF-HOA and will go a long way towards changing negative perceptions about Americans in the region.”

During the ceremony, village elders and local leaders thanked the members of CJTF-HOA for all the work they have done in bringing healthcare and knowledge to the people, and said they hope that the friendships forged between the United States and Uganda continue.
The mission of CJTF-HOA is to conduct unified action with local military forces and government representatives in the eastern Africa to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and build regional security capacity.

U.S. Forces in Uganda are commanded by CJTF-HOA and are deployed from Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. The vision of CJTF-HOA is to build friendships, forge relationships and create partnerships while integrating diplomacy, development and defense efforts essential to ensuring success. With effective partnerships, the hope is that partner nations will see increased security, improved stability and strengthened sovereignty across the Horn of Africa.

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Ugandan vets look beyond animals, see hope for country’s future
Story by:   Tech. Sgt. Kati Garcia CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

GULU DICTRICT, UGANDA – One small drop of antibiotic in each of the chicken’s eyes. Such a simple action…and one people here hope will improve the overall economic health of this war torn region.

The Gulu District, in northern Uganda, suffered as a result of a civil war which began in the late 1980s. There was insurgency and fighting in the area and many of the villages were damaged or destroyed.

Twenty three years later, there are still more than 2 million internally displaced people here. As a result, there are much fewer livestock in this area than the local vets would like to see.

But, soldiers and sailors with the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade deployed from Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, have teamed up with local veterinarians here in an effort to change that. They’re taking part in a veterinary civil action project, called a VetCAP.

“Some villages where we treat, we will see hundreds and hundreds of chickens each day,” said Gulu District vet Wanume Mutiibwa. “In this district, we see maybe 30 a day. But if we can help get the animals healthy, we can help [them] to improve the amount of livestock here.”

Dr. Obbo Boneifance traveled from southern Uganda to assist the Gulu District Council department of veterinary services and animal industry during the VetCAP. He explained that a poultry disease common to Uganda and the tropics, referred to as “New Castle Disease,” has a mortality rate of between 90 and 100 percent.

“We are treating the poultry with eye drops to prevent New Castle Disease,” he said. “One attack of New Castle Disease can cause a heavy death in the poultry population,” which he said would be devastating for a sub-district with so few chickens and turkeys to begin with.

“This is phase two of a four phase operation that began in January,” said Army Maj. Nina DiPinto, a veterinarian on loan to the 354th CAB from the 422nd Medical Detachment Veterinary Services, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. “We’re hoping to improve the overall health of the village animals while training the vets here.”

During phase two, DiPinto said vets have been treating and vaccinating cattle, livestock, poultry and canines. The medications administered range from the treatment and prevention of trypanosomiasis and rabies to the eradication of intestinal parasites such as worms and liver flukes. She explained that the overarching goal of this VetCAP is to establish a program for care that can be carried on in the region without long-term assistance from the United States.

Obbo also explained that keeping the animals healthy has health benefits for the people of the villages as well. “We are killing the Tsetse fly. The diseases caused by the Tsetse flies can be transmitted from cattle to humans, so while we are treating the cattle, we are also preventing sleeping sickness in humans,” he explained.

Doctors Obbo and Mutiibwa say they remain hopeful their work will have a lasting impact on not only the physical health of the region but the economic health as well.

“There is a potential for a heavy beef industry here,” said Mutiibwa. “You can see the pastures, you can see the wealth of land. What we have lacked is the key to turn on the resources that can rejuvenate our economy, but our potential is so great.”

The Gulu District Council vet went on to say “These animals are good for meat production; they are hearty. The potential for export is very good,” if they can work to improve the health of the animals “and it is possible that we can rejuvenate the industry.”

Mutiibwa is affectionately referred to as “The Dreamer” by the other vets his team because, he said, he’s “not afraid to realize how great our country once was and dream about how great it can be again.”

Army Staff Sgt. Sean Berk, a civil affairs specialist with the team, can see the short term benefits this VetCAP will have for the region. “By doing VetCAPs, we build their capacity to leave the IDP camps and move back to their villages. We’re helping to make that possible.”

This cooperative effort is partially funded by the U.S Agency for International Development, whose mission in Uganda seeks to “increase and diversify commercial agricultural production and increase Uganda’s competitiveness in local and international markets.” This, according to the USAID mission statement, can be accomplished partially by improving agricultural productivity.

According to USAID, more than 9 million people in Uganda live off less than $1 a day. Most of those people belong to households that depend on subsistence agriculture.

The VetCAP mission is a hand up for the region, rather than a hand out. The mission of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa is to help Africans solve African challenges. By working with the Ugandan vets, the villagers are better able to gain a sense of community, knowing that long after the Americans have left, they will still be able to receive care.

“We work side by side with vets from Gulu and from the university in Kampala,” said Berk. “It’s important that they’re involved because it helps build trust and puts a local face on everything.”

“This program is very good for the community,” stressed Obbo. “If you treat all the diseased animals and the growth rate increases, the animals will be sold and in turn help the common man in the village. That is very good that we can make a contribution to that.”

Added Mutiibwa, “we have so much hope for the future now.”

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LIRA, Uganda (June 17, 2007) – Army Spc. Daniel LeGeer, force protection for Bravo Company 489th Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion Team A16 holds one of the babies from the Lira Babies’ Home on Father’s Day. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mary Popejoy (RELEASED)

Uganda Civil Affairs donates time and supplies to Lira Babies’ Home
CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

LIRA, Uganda--They have 10 fingers and 10 toes, but what they don’t have are two full-time parents to tend to their every need. That is where the staff of the Lira Babies’ Home and the Bravo Company 489th Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion A16 comes into play.

The orphanage staff is the primary provider for the children, but on Father’s Day weekend the U.S. military civil affairs team stopped by to donate supplies and lend a helping hand with the 18 babies who call the orphanage home.

“We went to the orphanage on Father’s Day, and since I couldn’t be with my child, I thought it would be nice to visit the babies who don’t have a father in their lives they can celebrate,” said Navy Lt. Vincent Palrose, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa engineer.

For Army Spc. Daniel LeGeer, force protection for Bravo Co. 489th CA BN Team A16, it was also an opportunity to celebrate with children who were not his own.

“My kids are three and four, so being able to bond with the babies on this special day takes away the pain of missing my own kids, even it’s only for a little while,” he said.

On such a special day, the CA team donated blankets, bottles, bibs and other baby supplies that are necessary when raising a child.

“These kids don’t have a lot, so it’s nice to be able to bring them items they’ll be able to use on a daily basis,” said Army Cpl. Nicole Deal, Bravo Co. 489th CA BN Team A16.

According to Sarah Atoo, director of Lira Babies’ Home, the gifts and assistance are greatly appreciated.

“I enjoy when they visit because they help feed the babies and they bring gifts for them, which make the babies really happy,” she said.

And it’s because of their smiles the CA team keeps coming back to the Babies’ Home when the team schedule permits.

“It’s the little things such as a baby’s smile that makes doing good deeds like this completely worth it every time we come out here,” said Deal.

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa began operations at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti on May 13, 2003. The task force’s mission is to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interests in order to prevail against extremism. The mission is accomplished by partnering with nations on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, consequence management, civic action programs to include medical and veterinary care, school and medical clinic construction and water development projects.

Website:
http://www.hoa.centcom.mil/