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U.S. Press Releases

U.S., Foreign Dignitaries Visit USS Enterprise

USS ENTERPRISE AT SEA -- The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) hosted several U.S. and foreign dignitaries Aug. 5 off the coast of Djibouti as part of a Passenger Exercise, which gave them an up close and personal look at the U.S. Navy’s sea-going presence in the Horn of Africa.

U.S. Ambassador to the African Union, Cindy Courville and ambassadors from other countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Romania, flew out to the USS Enterprise on a C-2 Greyhound to view how the Navy combines surface and air capabilities to execute missions successfully.

For Ethiopia Ambassador to the African Union, Zewdie Sahle-Work, visiting the ship was a unique experience for someone who’s never stepped foot on a military vessel.

“This was my first time on an aircraft carrier. I am amazed,” Sahle-Work said. “This is an experience that can happen once in a lifetime. I’m very impressed by the capabilities of the American forces and what they are doing in the region. To see how professional and proficient the Sailors are and how they accomplish their task in such a short distance is something unbelievable. This was a very enriching and thrilling experience.”

The first stop for the guests was the admiral’s flag bridge where they viewed air operations from a “bird’s eye” view while having lunch with Rear Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12. Next stop on the tour was to see the action up close as the air traffic controllers launched and recovered aircraft on the flight deck. From there, the distinguished visitors stopped by the bridge to observe day-to-day activities such as Sailors driving the ship.

After viewing aircraft in the hangar bay and seeing the combat direction center where guests received a brief overview of the Sailors’ duties, they visited the flight deck to observe flight operations.

“The experience on the USS Enterprise was outstanding,” said Courville. “It was an opportunity to see how America’s finest works on the sea. It gave our partners from Africa, United Kingdom, France and Romania a way to see one of the United States’ finest acts of cooperation and partnership.”

For her, being on an aircraft carrier was a personal goal but seeing the Sailors hard at work protecting America’s interests at sea is something she’ll never forget.

“Personally it was a dream come true to land on a U.S. aircraft carrier, but to see the age of the young people on the ship, men and women, 18-22, handle the complexity and technical capability of the ship, this made me very proud to be an American,” Courville said.

Ambassador Courville said showing America’s strength on land, air and at sea demonstrates the United States’ commitment to peace and stability in the region. She also said the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa mission shows that commitment and diversity with its personnel and the different branches of service while working with Coalition partners.

“The visit to Djibouti was to bring together the United States, members of the African Union Peace and Security Commission and the ambassador for Romania to understand better how the U.S. operates in the Horn of Africa,” Courville said. “It is not only about security – security is important – but it’s about humanitarian assistance, it’s about education. It has our Soldiers volunteering to do things in the region, to work with women’s organizations and schools. It truly is all part of our national security interests. It’s peacekeeping at its finest.”

Uganda Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, Edith Ssempala, said keeping the lines of communication open between the U.S. and countries in the Horn of Africa is crucial to the peacekeeping efforts in the region.

“I think the HOA mission is very important because there are changes within the Horn of Africa,” Ssempala said. “To keep peace and stability, we should do more communicating and share our knowledge because cooperation with the different countries of the region is very important.”

Sahle-Work added, “It’s very important to come here and understand the different dimensions of the operations here. It’s not only military, but diplomacy and development as well, which is very important, and I think that has to be known,” she said. “The best way to do that is to integrate within the host country and get to know them more because this is something that we have to do in partnership. Building partnerships is a big challenge, but I’m sure that we will able to succeed. What is being done here is very impressive. We’re on the right track and we are partnering together to make it happen.”

During their visit to Camp Lemonier, the ambassadors toured camp facilities and received a briefing on the units assigned to CJTF-HOA and the missions they perform throughout the region.

“The mission of HOA is a comprehensive one. It represents diversity in terms of personnel, diversity in terms of branches of the military,” Courville said. “Most certainly it is defending the U.S. national security but equally as important is the partnership with the countries in the region.”

CJTF-HOA is part of U.S. Central Command. The organization’s mission is to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interest in order to prevail against extremism. More than 1,700 people from each branch of service, civilian employees, coalition forces and partner nations make up the organization. CJTF-HOA’s area of responsibility includes the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, Tanzania and Madagascar.