JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Admittedly, when I first heard I would be deploying to Djibouti as the protocol officer, I nodded, smiled and then ran to my desk to Google exactly where on Earth I was going. To my surprise, not only was I on my way to Africa, I was going to be working primarily for the Navy (convenient given our transition to Joint Base Charleston) in a Combined Joint Task Force made up of military members from several different countries and services. I did a little homework to brush up on my Navy and Army lingo and started packing my bags for what would turn out to be an "exceptional experience."
Upon arriving in Djibouti all you see is dirt, metal buildings and more dirt. Since one of the key points in protocol is presentation, I had a moment's worry regarding how I was going to pull that off, but obviously they'd managed in the past and I would do my best planning for the future. I was shuttled to my room, given a minute to haul all my things inside and taken up to an office to meet my new co-workers. I was introduced to the commander, a Navy Admiral, the deputy commander, an Army General Officer, the front office staff, an amalgam of marine, navy and army personnel, and the protocol staff, which consisted of two navy yeomen and an army sergeant. I was now deep in the joint atmosphere and there was nothing for it but to learn fast and move forward.
Serving as officer in charge in wing protocol at Joint Base Charleston has never been an easy task, every day brings new situations and sometimes it seems like all the distinguished visitors choose the same time frame to spend at here. However, it was this high intensity atmosphere that prepared me to handle serving as deployed protocol. If Charleston protocol stretched my limits, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa protocol redefined them. Most of CJTF-HOA's visitors included chiefs of defense from neighboring African countries, U.S. Congressional Delegations, and 3-4 star visitors from every service in several countries' militaries, inherently raising the level of expectations of both visitors and hosts alike. In order to manage all of these disparate groups, my office had to juggle different time zones, different cultural norms and courtesies and the various ranking structures for each group.
There was no way I was going to be able to manage all these visitors on my own and luckily enough, I didn't have to. In order to succeed, my office had to work as a unit and communicate and collaborate on every aspect of each visit. Even though I assigned specific individuals, myself included, as the protocol lead for each visit, the entire office provided input as itineraries were coordinated.
Every day we had several impromptu meetings where we discussed the various issues regarding uniform, logistics, meals, transportation, scheduling, lodging and cultural factors involved in each visit. These meetings provided us a chance to cross check each other and catch a lot of potential errors before they became an issue.
Unfortunately, as everyone knows, something is always going to go wrong no matter how well you plan to prevent it; the trick is making sure that no one but you, the protocol officer, ever realizes that. To re-work a plan for a high-level visitor without disrupting the flow of events is an art, requiring finesse, quick-thinking, a lot of people skills and a phenomenal team to back you up. As luck would have it, my protocol staff turned out to be one of the most intelligent, conscientious and motivated group of individuals I've ever had the pleasure of working with, and they made my job a challenge I was happy to face.
Deploying to Djibouti was probably one of the more significant events in my life, tempering me in many ways. Before this deployment I'd never truly been the final quality check on a project, there was always a supervisor above me responsible for cross-checking my work. I'd never realized how much I relied on that safety blanket before, and it was a little daunting at first. The only person checking my work was the admiral and his evaluation always happened on game day. Now it was my responsibility to look out for my folks, catch the mistakes and live up to the trust that had been placed in me, and I actually came to enjoy the challenge. Knowing that my team and I had done our absolute best on each event was an awesome feeling. Now I know that I can stand on my own and succeed no matter what situation I'm presented with and I will always be grateful for my time at CJTF-HOA for giving me that confidence.