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Go
Navy! Beat Army!
Okay, I'm partisan. Actually, I didn't get into the spirit of the thing until the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Gordon England, came by Camp Lemonier, Djibouti last Friday, November 28th (Did you catch the "came by Camp Lemonier, Djibouti" remark in the last sentence? I've wanted to write something like that ever since I came here. No one "comes by" Djibouti. It's not on the way to anywhere. No rational person would say while traveling, "I think I'll swing by Djibouti." Well, I find humor in it, and it's my article!). The SecNav (Secretary of the Navy) is very personable and did a tour of the base before addressing all the Navy/Marine personnel on what passes for our parade deck. My boss, Colonel Mike Pannell, invited me to stop by the medical unit at a certain time in order to meet Mr. England. I thought, "Why not?" So, I wandered in that direction, getting there a bit early. It was fortuitous that I did because I met a young naval officer, Lieutenant Chris Robinson (a recent Djibouti arrival), who just happens to have graduated from the Naval Academy (that's in Annapolis, Maryland for the landlubbers among you!) in 1998 with my nephew, Josh.
As Chris and I were chatting, I asked him if he knew Josh. He said he certainly did. They had been on the rifle team together at the Academy. That was great to hear, so I suggested we have our picture taken together so we could send it to Josh. Ironically, Josh had been here in Djibouti for a couple of months back in June and July attached to a battle group with his Cobra helicopter squadron. The battle group left on July 18. I, on the other hand, arrived in Djibouti on July 20! Anyway, being the creative folks that they are, the Navy medical personnel at the clinic had made a plywood sign in honor of the SecNav. It had a large map of the African continent in the middle, specifically noting Djibouti. Then in large letters across the top and bottom of the sign, it read, "From Africa: Go Navy!" The SecNav had not shown up yet, so I suggested to Chris that we have our picture taken standing behind the sign.
When the SecNav showed up, he was escorted through our medical clinic, then brought back out front for a group photo with the Navy personnel surrounding the sign. It was great! Mr. England stood right behind the middle of the sign (moments before, he'd autographed the sign with a black marker) flanked by the senior naval medical officer, Captain Bill Kinney, and the commanding general of CJTF-HOA, Brigadier General Mastin Robeson. The rest of us gathered around while our own public relations photographers and a news team traveling with the SecNav took pictures and then filmed a short clip of us shouting, "Go Navy! Beat Army!" We're all betting that this bit of film history will be shown on the large screen in the stadium when these two perennial rivals square off on the gridiron. So, if you happen to be watching the Army/Navy game this Saturday, keep an eye out for the brief film clip from Djibouti, Africa. I'm in the back row, far left. Don't miss me!
The game on the field is mostly for bragging rights for the next year until they meet again. But the Army/Navy relationship in the real world, especially when we go into harm's way, is solid as a rock. The respect, camaraderie, and cooperation between the two is a credit to our military, and a reflection on our country and what it stands for. When Saturday roles around this week, RP1 Brett Baldree will be raising the Navy flag on the Chapel flagpole for the day, symbolizing our support for the Midshipman of the Naval Academy. The slogan for our joint services command here in Djibouti is: "One Team. One Fight." That sums it up pretty well. And as Americans, we can all say, "Go Navy! Go Army! Go Air Force! Go Marines! Go Coast Guard!" Better still, "Go America!" |
