Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Garst | Camp Lemonnier commanding officer Kevin Bertelsen (left) and deputy to the commander...... read more read more
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CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - More than 300 active duty, retired service members, Department of Defense civilians, and guests attended the Camp Lemonnier Navy Birthday Ball celebrating the Navy’s 237th birthday onboard Camp Lemonnier, Oct. 20.
The Navy Ball is the annual event which celebrates the heritage, history, and the very day congress created the United States Navy, Oct. 13, 1775, by authorizing the procurement, fitting out, manning and dispatch of two armed vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British army in America.
Deputy to the commander for military operations, U.S. Africa Command Vice Adm. Charles J. “Joe” Leidig Jr. served as the guest speaker as well as guest of honor, who traveled from Stuttgart, Germany, to attend the event.
Throughout the evening, Vice Adm. Leidig praised the work being performed at Camp Lemonnier and Combined Task Force, Horn of Africa and thanked “all service members on the front edge doing things to make us proud back at U.S. Africa Command and back in our nation.”
Following Leidig’s remarks, Senior Chief Information Systems Technician Philip Rockwell recognized the prisoners of war and missing in action personnel while the FY13 newly-pinned chief petty officers set a solitary table for one.
Rockwell read, “We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor near the head table. It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POW's and MIA's. We call them comrades.”
Rich in history, symbolism, and tradition, the U.S. Navy honored its birthday with formal toasts, dinner, and the ringing of eight bells which marks the end of the current birthday year, followed by ceremonial strike of one bell which signifies the beginning of the new birthday year.
The evening ended with the official cake-cutting ceremony in which the oldest and youngest sailors in attendance cut the birthday cake. Capt. Gerald F. Hutchinson and Petty Officer 3rd Class Martheed Daghar were honored with the duties of the cutting of the Navy birthday cake which was provided by Jerry Fontanos Camp Lemonnier’s galley staff cake decorator.
Commanding officer of Camp Lemonnier Capt. Kevin L. Bertelsen said, “The U.S. Navy is the Nations away team. We have never waited to be called upon to deploy, we have always been on station, forward deployed, patrolling the waters and the skies all around the globe, anticipating the needs of the nation rather than reacting to them.”
The Navy Ball included several distinguished guests to include Commander, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, Deputy Commander, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, French Air Base Commander, Commanding Officer Japanese Base, U.S. Embassy Ambassador and Deputy Commander of the Djiboutian navy.
Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa and is the only U.S. military base located in Africa, providing a platform for operations by U.S. and coalition forces. The camp is the primary base of operations for U.S. Africa Command in the Horn of Africa and supports 27 tenant commands.
Bertelsen added, “We are here tonight aboard the newest addition to the Navy’s inventory of forward deployed war fighting platforms. It’s not quite as austere as a capital ship, but it’s just as lean and mean and equally ready to ensure peace and stability in the region, support our friends and coalition partners and ensure that those that would do us harm, have nowhere to safely operate from.
Your work here allows your family and friends back home to sleep soundly at night, knowing that the nation’s finest are on station and standing the watch, just as our shipmates have done before us every hour, of every day for the past 237 years and just as our shipmates will do for us when we stand relieved.”
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2012 07:40 |
| Story ID: | 97042 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Web Views: | 492 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Camp Lemonnier celebrates Navy’s 237th Birthday, by PO1 Eric Garst, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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