| Camp Lemonnier | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambouli,Djibouti City in Djibouti | |||||||
 AUS Marine CorpsAV-8B Harrier landing at Camp Lemonnier in 2014 | |||||||
 | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | US military base | ||||||
| Owner | Government of Djibouti (leased to the US) | ||||||
| Operator | United States Navy | ||||||
| Controlled by | Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Camp Lemonnier Location in Djibouti | |||||||
| Coordinates | 11°32′37″N43°08′55″E / 11.54361°N 43.14861°E /11.54361; 43.14861 | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 2002 (2002) | ||||||
| In use | 2002 – present | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Captain S.J.M. Krauss | ||||||
| Garrison | Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: JIB,ICAO: HDAM | ||||||
| Elevation | 15 metres (49 ft)AMSL | ||||||
| |||||||
| Airfield shared withDjibouti–Ambouli International Airport | |||||||
Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base,[1] situated next toDjibouti–Ambouli International Airport inDjibouti City, and home to theCombined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) of theU.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM).[2] It is the only permanentU.S. military base in Africa.[3][4] The camp is operated by U.S. Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia; CJTF-HOA is the most notable tenant command located at the facility as of 2008.
CampLemonnier was originally established as garrison for theFrench Foreign Legion. The base was leased by Djibouti to the United States in 2002, along with the right to use the neighboring airport and port facilities. The base supportsOperation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA) and is the centerpiece of a network of around six U.S. drone and surveillance bases stretching across the continent.[4][5] The latter air bases are smaller and operate from remote hangars situated within local military bases or civilian airports. Due to its strategic location, Camp Lemonnier also serves as a hub for aerial operations in thePersian Gulf region.[4]
Djibouti is strategically located by theBab-el-Mandeb Strait, which separates theGulf of Aden from theRed Sea and controls the approaches to theSuez Canal. As a result, the country hosts many other foreign military bases, including aChinese naval base, a French airbase, an Italian Support Base anda Japanese base. The United States Pentagon has accused the Chinese of targeting U.S. military aircraft with a high-powered laser near its Chinese military base in Djibouti.[6]
Unlike French troops, who are allowed to enter Djibouti city and interact with the locals, US troops may only leave Camp Lemonnier by special permission, and most ofDjibouti City is off limits.[7][8] However, in 2015 a US military investigation concluded that nineteen members of the U.S. National Guard, 775th Engineering Division, had sex with prostitutes at an off-base residence in Djibouti. Sex trafficking in, and around, Djibouti has been a persistent problem.[9]
Camp Lemonnier is located in the town ofAmbouli on the southern side of theDjibouti–Ambouli International Airport, between the runway overflow areas and a French military munitions storage facility. After use by theFrench Foreign Legion, the facility was operated by theDjibouti Armed Forces.
Lemonnier originally belonged to the French military, and was named after GeneralÉmile-René Lemonnier. Commander of the 3rd Brigade of theTonkin Division, led with fierce energy the resistance to theJapanese coup d'état in French Indochina. In 2009, after years of misspelling, the U.S. Navy officially changed the camp's name to properly reflect the spelling of General Lemonnier's name.[10]
Following theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. decided to increase counter-terrorism efforts. At first, this was limited to focused attacks, but in 2002 the U.S. government realized that to reduce extremism would require long term engagement with the local governments and populations. As a result, it established theCombined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa to conduct stability operations in the area. In November 2002, the CJTF-HOA staff, a Marine-based organization, arrived off the coast of Djibouti aboardUSS Mount Whitney, a naval command ship. Djiboutian workers were instrumental in preparing the newly renovated 88-acre (360,000 m2) camp for movement of the CJTF headquarters ashore. More than 1,200 local and third-country national construction and support personnel currently work at the camp.KBR administers the contract for facilities and support operations for the camp.
Initial occupation of Camp Lemonier was cemented by Naval Special Warfare SEAL Team One Bravo, along with two Air Force Combat Controllers and two Air Force Pararescuemen from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron. A Marine CorpsFAST team was the secondary force to occupy Camp Lemonier in June 2002, providing security while Army Special Forces Logistics specialists (SOT-A) planned the development to receive more forces. Initial Command and Control was established under SOCCENT by a US Air Force Special Operations command element. The[11] initial US combat forces started with Air Force MC-130s and MH-53s who redeployed from Jacobabab, Pakistan, followed shortly by 7th SFG soldiers and an Army Tank Support Battalion for base support. While the intent was to move ashore, the Camp Lemonnier facilities which had not been in use for several years were in a state of disrepair. Some buildings were concrete shells and had been stripped of interior fixtures, pipes and wiring, while the roofs of several structures had collapsed. Goats roamed the property and birds had taken roost in several of the abandoned structures. The former swimming pool had been used as a trash dump. Some buildings that were closer to the Djiboutian Air Force controlled side of the airport were in better shape and required minimal renovation. As a result, the CJTF-HOA staff remained aboard the USSMount Whitney as the U.S. Army (Bravo Company,46th Engineer Battalion (CBT)(HVY)) began renovations. (Camp Physical Security was first established by Marines from 2D Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST Co) and was handed over to the 551st Military Police Company, 101st Airborne Division.) This involved building new concrete pads, maintenance facilities and living areas. In May 2003, Camp Lemonnier was livable and CJTF-HOA transitioned from theMount Whitney to the camp. The pool was cleaned, refurbished, and opened in spring of 2003.
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) began moving all headquarters personnel and equipment from its flagship,USSMount Whitney, in theGulf of Aden, into facilities at Camp Lemonnier on 6 May 2003.
In early July 2006, the U.S. and Djiboutian governments also announced that a lease agreement had been signed to expand Camp Lemonnier from 88 acres (360,000 m2) to nearly 500 acres (2 km2). The term of the lease was for five years, with options to renew. As part of the lease and expansion, physical improvements to the camp included fencing, additional billeting to replace existing tents, and compliance with various U.S. force protection standoff requirements.
On 1 July 2006, theU.S. Marine Corps turned over responsibility for Camp Lemonnier to theU.S. Navy in a brief change of command ceremony. U.S. NavyCaptain Robert Fahey assumed command of Camp Lemonnier from U.S. Marine CorpsColonel Gerard Fischer.[12]
In January 2007, it was announced Camp Lemonnier would be expanded from 97 acres (0.39 km2) to nearly 500 acres (2.0 km2).[13] As part of the process of moving Lemonnier from an "expeditionary" base to a long term facility, the camp built a billeting area with rows ofContainerized Living Units (CLUs) with concrete sidewalks and gravel roads.[14] As the CLU area expanded, the camp population moved from tents into the more durable berthing facilities.[15]
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On 1 October 2008, responsibility for the task force was transferred from theUnited States Central Command (USCENTCOM) toUnited States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) as the latter assumed authority over the African theater of operations.[2]
By 2009, the base began expansion again. According to OSGEOINT, the base received a parallel taxi-way and a new auxiliary support apron. In the following year (2011), open source satellite imagery showed Camp Lemmonier with a new drone apron supporting the RQ/MQ-1 Predator.[16] Furthermore, Camp Lemmonier has been described byThe Economist as "the most important base for drone operations outside the war zone of Afghanistan", with drones conducting missions in adjacentYemen and Somalia.[17]
Neville wrote that "..in a separate secure compound within the camp, much like the SOF enclave in Bagram, are an estimated 300 JSOC personnel. There personnel comprise special operators, imagery and intelligence analysts, and a dedicated UAV cell. The UAV cell is commanded by a JSOC Major and tasks a flight of eight MQ-1 Predators conducting operations over Somalia, Mali, and Yemen. The Predators [have] been carrying out strike and surveillance missions from Camp Lemonnier since late 2010."[18]
In October 2011, a squadron of USAFMcDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles arrived at the base. They flew numerous combat missions into Yemen in support of both Yemeni government forces and unilateral strikes directed by JSOC and the CIA targeting cells. Along with the UAVs and F-15Es, surveillance flights were conducted by U.S.Air Force Special Operations CommandU-28As, that were outfitted with sophisticated signals intercept equipment and optical sensors, which can provide real-time intelligence for ground operators.[19] Prior to that, both CIA and JSOC had used the base as a temporary forward location for Predator and Reaper sorties.
On 25 January 2012, US officials confirmed thatUS Navy SEALs had rescued twoforeign hostages in Somalia,an American woman and Danish man, taking them to Camp Lemonnier.[20]Demining workers, the captives had been abducted on 25 October 2011 in the north-centralGalkayo area, allegedly by gunmen operating on behalf of a private source who threatened to sell them toAl-Shabaab if their demands were not met.[21][page needed][22][23]
As of May 2013, the US had prepared plans for a $1.4 billion expansion of the base and to increase its special forces there to more than 1,000.[24]
In 2013, the Predators and Reapers operating from Camp Lemonnier were moved to "a remote desert airstrip" later identified asChabelley Airport. The move increased operational security and allayed local fears after a UAV and itsAGM-114 Hellfire missile crashed in a Djibouti suburb.[19]
In May 2014, U.S. President Obama and Djiboutian President Guelleh agreed on a 20-year extension of the American lease, at $63 million a year in rent – about double its previous rate. The US is in the process of expanding the base and plans to spend $1.4 billion upgrading the facility over the next two decades.[25][26]
In 2017, China opened a base nearby, theChinese People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti.[27] In May 2018, theUnited States Air Force said military grade lasers had been aimed at the eyes of its pilots and the incidents had originated on the Chinese base.[28][29] China denied that they were the source of the lasers, stating that they abide by international law.[30]
Camp Lemonnier became the hub for black and whiteSOF operations into nations such as Somalia and Yemen. Also based there is the SOCCE-HOA (Special Operations Command and Control Element-Horn of Africa) – which commands all SOCOM units assigned to training or operational missions in the region including elements of JSOTF-TS (Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans Sahara) and Naval Special Warfare Unit 10.[18] It also supervises a rotational detachment of US Army Special Forces which conducts foreign Internal Defence training in counterinsurgency in Djibouti.
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Ground forces
Camp Lemonnier is operated by Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, which is responsible for its expansion, upkeep, and logistics support. Tenant units include the U.S. Marine Security Forces which provides the camp's external security, theCJTF-HOA commander and staff, a U.S. NavySeabee battalion which conducts water-well drilling operations,U.S. Army units which provide additional security, military training, andCivil-military operations support, and several aircraft detachments.
Past tenant units have included the U.S. Marine 8th and 9th Provisional Security Force (PSC), U.S. Army2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Regiment, U.S. Army1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Air Force First Red Horse Group, U.S. Army 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, and U.S. Army 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Regiment.
Aviation units
The449th Air Expeditionary Group is U.S. Air Force component to CJTF-HOA and is assigned to Camp Lemonnier. The 449th AEG is currently composed ofHC-130P Hercules COMBAT KING orHC-130J COMBAT KING II aircraft assigned to the 81st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron andpararescuemen assigned to the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron.[31] While deployed the group performed both combat and civil search and rescue missions.[32]
Aircraft detachments include a U.S. Marine heavy-lift helicopter (CH-53) detachment, a U.S. Marine assault-support MV-22 Osprey detachment, a U.S. Marine Aerial Refueler Transport KC-130J detachment, a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon detachment (technically a part of the US Navy's 6th Fleet – Commander Task Force 67[33]), USAF aircraft includeHC-130P COMBAT KING orHC-130J COMBAT KING II,HH-60G Pave Hawk,C-130J Hercules and, at times, aC-17 Globemaster III detachment.
Other
Customs inspections forexotic organisms is the responsibility of the Navy Logistics team.[34]
Two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Somalia three months ago have been freed in a rare US military raid.
