Camp Lemonnier
Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base, situated next to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti City, and home to the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa of the U.S. Africa Command. It is the largest U.S. military base in Africa. The camp is operated by U.S. Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central. The regional JSOC high-value-targets task force and CJTF-HOA were the most notable tenants as of 2012.
Camp Lemonnier was originally established for the French Foreign Legion. The base was leased by Djibouti to the United States in 2002, along with the right to use the neighbouring airport and port facilities. The base supports CIA and DOD anti-terrorist operations in Yemen and Somalia, at the centre of the network of U.S. drone and surveillance bases stretching across Africa. The latter air bases are smaller and operate from remote hangars situated within local military bases or civilian airports.
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 of Djibouti City is off limits. However, in 2015 a US military investigation concluded that nineteen members of the 775th Engineer Detachment, had sex with prostitutes at an off-base residence in Djibouti. Sex trafficking in, and around, Djibouti has been a persistent problem.
History
Camp Lemonnier is located in the town of Ambouli on the southern side of the Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport, between the runway overflow areas and a French military munitions storage facility. After use by the French Foreign Legion, the facility was operated by the Djibouti Armed Forces.Lemonnier originally belonged to the French Armed Forces, and was named after General Émile-René Lemonnier. Commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Tonkin Division, led with fierce energy the resistance to the Japanese 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.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa was established to hunt down terrorists in the region. As targets were few, the task force was reoriented towards defence/diplomacy/development type activities. In November 2002, the CJTF-HOA staff, drawn from Headquarters 2nd Marine Division, arrived off the coast of Djibouti aboard the command ship. Djiboutian workers were instrumental in preparing the newly renovated 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, Roger Purseley and Bill Adams, and two Air Force Pararescuemen, Richard Oberstar and Ronald Ellis, from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron. A Marine Corps FAST team was the secondary force to occupy Camp Lemonier in June 2002, providing security while Army Special Forces Logistics specialists 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 initial US combat forces started with Air Force MC-130s and MH-53s redeploying from Jacobabad, Pakistan, followed shortly by 7th SFG soldiers and an Army Tank Support Battalion for base support.
The combined joint special operations task force which set up operations in mid-2002 was supported by the 87th Combat Support Battalion from Fort Stewart, who ran base operations, and the 80th Transportation Detachment from Fort Hood, augmented by soldiers from the 11th Transportation Battalion from Fort Story, who set up and operated the aerial and sea ports of debarkation. Once the camp had been suitably established for operations and life support, the base was transferred to the newly-established CJTF-HOA.
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 USS Mount Whitney as the U.S. Army ) began renovations. This involved building new concrete pads, maintenance facilities and living areas.
On November 3, 2002, a CIA General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drone flying from Djibouti launched a missile which killed six Al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen. The most notable was Al-Qaeda leader Qa’id Salim Sinan al Harithi, also known as Abu Mi, one of the alleged masterminds of the USS Cole bombing.
In May 2003, Camp Lemonnier was liveable. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa began moving all headquarters personnel and equipment from its flagship, USS Mount Whitney, in the Gulf of Aden, into facilities at Camp Lemonnier on 6 May 2003. The pool was cleaned, refurbished, and opened in spring of 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 to nearly 500 acres. 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, the U.S. Marine Corps turned over responsibility for Camp Lemonnier to the U.S. Navy in a brief change of command ceremony. U.S. Navy Captain Robert Fahey assumed command of Camp Lemonnier from U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Gerard Fischer.
In January 2007, it was announced Camp Lemonnier would be expanded from to nearly. 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 of Containerized Living Units with concrete sidewalks and gravel roads. As the CLU area expanded, the camp population moved from tents into the more durable berthing facilities.
Transfer to Africa Command
On 1 October 2008, responsibility for the task force was transferred from the United States Central Command to United States Africa Command. That day AFRICOM assumed authority over DOD operations in Africa, excluding Egypt.By 2009, the base began expansion again. "The United States.. sought to counter Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula through a campaign of airstrikes that began in late 2009." Drone attacks were flown from bases outside Yemen by Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA. Many of these attacks were launched from Djibouti - Camp Lemonnier/Djibouti International Airport.
According to OSGEOINT, Camp Lemonnier received a parallel taxi-way and a new auxiliary support apron. In the following year, open source satellite imagery showed Camp Lemmonier with a new drone apron supporting the RQ/MQ-1 Predator.
The Economist wrote in December 2012 that Lemonnier was "the most important base for drone operations outside the war zone of Afghanistan", with drones conducting missions in adjacent Yemen and Somalia.
Neville wrote that "..in a separate secure compound within the camp, much like the SOF enclave in Bagram, are an estimated 300 JSOC personnel. The 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."
In March and May 2011, three MQ-1 Predator mid-flight mechanical problems took place, leading to two crashes and a drone overshooting the runway, crashing into a fence. In mid-May 2011 a UAV and its live AGM-114 Hellfire missile crashed in a Djibouti suburb. The story in The Washington Post that reported the crashes in December 2012 said there had been two more mid-flight mechanical problems with drones in Djibouti, for a total of five.
In October 2011, a squadron of USAF McDonnell 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 CIA targeting cells. Along with the UAVs and F-15Es, surveillance flights were conducted by U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command Pilatus U-28As, that were outfitted with sophisticated signals intercept equipment and optical sensors, which can provide real-time intelligence for ground operators.
On 25 January 2012, US officials confirmed that US Navy SEALs had rescued two foreign hostages in Somalia, an American woman and Danish man, taking them to Camp Lemonnier. Demining workers, the captives had been abducted on 25 October 2011 in the north-central Galkayo area, allegedly by gunmen operating on behalf of a private source who threatened to sell them to Al-Shabaab if their demands were not met.
The drones at the base flew missions as part of three named operations:
- Copper Dune - counter-terrorism operations in Yemen;
- Jupiter Garret - counter-terrorism operations in Somalia;
- Octave Shield - CJTF-HOA activities
In September 2013, the Predators and Reapers operating from Camp Lemonnier were moved to "a remote desert airstrip" later identified as Chabelley Airport.
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 was expanding the base and planned to spend $1.4 billion upgrading the facility over the next two decades.
In 2017, China opened a base nearby, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti. In May 2018, the United 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. China denied that they were the source of the lasers, stating that they abide by international law.