Air Force chief of chaplains visits troops in Horn of Africa

  • Published
  • By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy
  • Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs
DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti (AFPN) --  The Air Force chief of chaplains visited the Religious Ministries Department of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Dec. 3 and 4 to meet with chaplain members and  Airmen deployed to the task force to see some of the Djibouti humanitarian assistance projects.

Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Charles C. Baldwin, who leads an Air Force chaplain service of approximately 2,200 members, participated in the English Discussion Group at the Horsed Private School of English. 

This type of engagement is an opportunity for CJTF-HOA members to talk with students about a variety of topics. The dialogue between both groups helps the students speak English better. After the discussion, Chaplain Baldwin helped hand out school supplies that were donated by the CJTF-HOA Spouses Group.

"This was a great opportunity to see the people of Djibouti and how interested they are in learning English," Chaplain Baldwin said. "It was interesting to see how young they were and how well they spoke English. They were able to give very good answers to very challenging social questions."

Hassan Mahamed, the Horsed Private School of English director, said he was grateful to have the chaplain stop by to talk with the students and hand out school supplies.

"We're very happy to have such an honorable guest from the U.S. Air Force visit us and donate much-needed school supplies," Mr. Mahamed said. "We appreciate everything the U.S. military does for us because the students always use what they are given because they can't afford to buy these items themselves."

Chaplain Baldwin said that through dialogue and kind gestures, the U.S. military is winning the hearts and minds of the future leaders of Djibouti.

"It helps build bridges and strengthens our relationship with this partner nation," Chaplain Baldwin said.

The Religious Ministries team is also reaching out through donations of medical supplies to places like Djibouti Adventist Health Center, which focuses on dentistry and optometry.

"Their generous donation is a big help to us because of our limited resources here," said Cornelio Aba, a Djibouti Adventist Health Center dentist. "These items will help boost our assistance to the Djibouti people because we can do more with the help from other sources. The need for materials is great because a lot of the time I run out of supplies, so any assistance is greatly appreciated."

The Religious Ministries Department is part of the CJTF-HOA mission to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interest in order to prevail against extremism.

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