Photo By Senior Airman Alicia Campbell | U.S. Air Force Army Maj. Gen. Shane Morgan, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa...... read more read more
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CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – U.S. service members deployed to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) welcomed their new command senior enlisted leader (CSEL) during a change of responsibility ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, August 6, 2026.
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Mike Brown, outgoing CJTF-HOA CSEL, transferred responsibility to U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Luke Johnson. The commanding general of CJTF-HOA, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Shane Morgan, presided over the ceremony. “Leadership doesn’t change just because the environment does. Whether you’re leading Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Guardians, Coast Guardsmen, civilians, or our international partners, people respond to the same things: presence, trust, competence, and genuine care,” Brown said.
Brown doesn’t look back on his time by remembering specific briefings, exercises or missions; he’s proud of the culture that has been built at CJTF-HOA. It’s a culture where people understand that readiness and taking care of people aren’t competing priorities, but two sides of the same coin.
“If I was starting again today instead of passing the torch, I would tell myself to spend less time trying to understand the organizational chart and focus more time on understanding the people,” said Brown. “Every country, every service, every Ally and partner we work with here all bring a different experience and perspective; once you understand the people, the mission starts making a lot more sense.”
Speaking to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine during the Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps Symposium, Brown summed up what CJTF-HOA’s mission was simply.
“The mission here isn’t to respond to today’s problems – it’s to prevent tomorrow’s problem. We build partnerships, deter aggression, and prepare for crisis response. Every day we have the opportunity to represent the best of America. That’s the privilege I’ll remember most from my time here,” Brown said.
By passing the CJTF-HOA guidon one last time, Brown’s tenure as CJTF-HOA’s CSEL comes to an end, and by receiving the guidon for the first time, Johnson assumes the responsibility. Johnson joins CJTF-HOA following his role as the Command Sgt. Maj. for U.S. Army’s 2nd Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne). He outlined his guiding principle of leadership as a focus on training, coaching, teaching, and mentoring service members across all ranks.
“We have to empower our NCOs. NCOs ultimately own training for their service members, which is foundational to high functioning, mission ready and focused units. At the end of the day, our NCOs are responsible for good order, discipline, and care of troops. Maintain your readiness and care for your people, then resource them properly and task them realistically. When we take care of our people, they’ll be better positioned to take care of the mission,” Johnson said.
His first focus is understanding the headquarters and units across the area of responsibility to see what roadblocks exist and how he can help remove them. As he assumes the role of CSEL, he has a simple charge for leaders across CJTF-HOA. “When we do the little things correctly, it ensures the big things get done correctly, and the rest will follow,” Johnson said.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2026 12:18 |
| Story ID: | 571747 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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