POSTED: Saturday, November 18, 2006

Civil Affairs Team Involves Parents in Improving Neighborhood Safety

Story by U.S. Army Maj. Gregory A.Tzucanow

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti -- Laughter and shrieking is all that the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 personnel, also known as “Seabees,” from Camp Lemonier, Djibouti heard as they repaired a school in Djibouti City.  All day long, there were children running in the streets, chasing each other, and acting like kids do in other places around the world.

The children watched the men across the street working on their neighborhood school.  The Seabees, deployed to Camp Lemonier from California, showed up early in the morning and worked steadily through the day.  Through days of 100 degree temperatures, the children watched the progress with interest, and continued to run and play in the area. 

With all of the work being done to the school site, plenty of tools and unfinished construction existed as potential hazards to the neighborhood children.  To ensure that the Seabees could continue work on the school while ensuring the safety of the neighborhood children, members of a Camp Lemonier Civil Affairs team met with community elders, police officers and parents.

Sergeant Boris Boisson and Specialist Louis Alerte explained their concerns to the group of parents and elders.  For two days, Civil Affairs team members met with the group, explaining the details of the school renovation and the associated hazards.  Afterwards, the parents agreed that they needed to watch their children.  Furthermore, the local police would assist the parents with closely watching the project site to ensure children stayed clear of any hazards.

“Children are naturally curious and want to watch the Seabees work,” said Boisson. 

Coordinating with the local community is just one of many things Civil Affairs teams do to contribute to the U.S military’s mission in Djibouti. 

“Because we are able to speak directly to the locals, we are more effective in getting a resolution to a problem before it gets out of hand, “explained Alerte.  “These types of missions are our ‘bread and butter’. Typically, we will stop by every other day to ensure that nothing is wrong and that the job can be completed on time.”

As a result of this coordination, work on the school project safely continues.