The document summarizes volunteer efforts by members of the Kentucky National Guard's Task Force Longrifles in Djibouti, Africa to expand facilities at a local wound clinic. Four soldiers with construction experience have developed a plan to build an outdoor shower, concrete pad, and new awning at little to no cost by obtaining donations of equipment and materials and teaching construction skills to local Djiboutian workers. The expansion aims to improve treatment of common foot injuries and prevent infections at the clinic.

1. LONGRIFLEs WEEKLY
A publication of the 2/138th FAR February 15, 2013
Volume 1, Issue 17
CPT’s Corner A Much Needed Expansion
We have reached the halfway mark of this
deployment. Regardless of what you have or
Part - 1
Story by Capt. Daniel Van Horn, Staff Sgt. Stephen Tressler, 2-138th PAOs,
haven’t achieved, you must begin thinking Photos by Spc. Christopher Johnson, A-Btry, 2-138th FA
about your future in the Kentucky National
Guard.
Many of you have extended your enlistment,
while others are still contemplating if you should reenlist or
not. To those of you within 270 days of your Expiration of
Term of Service (ETS) and still holding off in order to collect
as much Deployment Extention Stabilization Pay (DESP)
allotments as possible, you must realize that your bonus may
not be available in the months to come. So be sure to choose
wisely and do the math.
To help you make this decision you will need to discuss this
with your family back home, your chain of command, and
the battery retention NCO. Your retention NCO can help you Volunteers from Task Force Longrifles and local Djiboutians are creating a plan for a
know if there will be open slots upon your return to home proposed expansion and shower project at the Caritas Wound Clinic in Djibouti, Africa on
station. January 01, 2013.
If you do not have a chance for promotion due to your MOS DJIBOUTI, Djibouti – What separates the Kentucky
no longer being in the battalion, or there are no vacancies National Guard’s Task Force Longrifles from other active
in your MOS, you may want to look into Officer Candidate duty service men and women stationed here in the Horn of
School or Warrant Officer Candidate School to further your Africa is that they have a wealth of civilian job experience.
career. Some of this experience is currently being tapped to oversee
a much needed expansion at the Caritas Wound Clinic in
~Capt. Christopher Fitzwater Djibouti City.
1SG Thoughts The Caritas Wound Clinic is a Non-Government
Organization (NGO) run by the Sisters of Charity, a non-
I have really enjoyed being a part of Task profit all-volunteer, Catholic organization, founded by Saint
Force Longrifles during this deployment. Theresa. Its mission is to provide free medical care to the
You have proved to be outstanding poor.
ambassadors of not only the Kentucky
National Guard but the Army as a whole. Many Djiboutians do not have proper footwear. They can
As we are more than halfway through be seen walking barefoot or with only flip-flops just about
this deployment, I think we need to remember to watch our everywhere. So it’s no surprise the most common injuries
buddies and not let complacency set in. seen at the clinic are cuts, scrapes, abrasions and sores on
the feet.
I realize from time to time we have had our issues but we need
to stay active in volunteer activities and military professional A proposal was made to build an outdoor shower, concrete
development courses. Continue to follow the rules during our pad, and a new awning. These three projects would, at the
remaining time and not letting complacency set in. This is of very least, help disinfect wounds and keep infections at
the utmost importance! a minimum. The concrete pad would be constructed to
I cannot stress enough the rules of the uniform policy, and double the amount of space the clinic has for treating people.
military customs and courtesies. Let’s keep pressing until the While the new awning would provide much needed shade,
very end and get home to our families safely. especially during the summer months when temperatures
regularly reach 120 degrees or more.
~1st Sgt. Ray Fortier CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 > > >

2. 2-138th SOLDIERS
FROM FRONT PAGE
CONTINUED FROM P. 1 > > >
Soldier to Soldier
However, the clinic needed help figuring out how they going • Any Soldier interested in participating in a shout-
to pay for the expansion. out should stop by the Public Affairs office located
Their prayers were answered when four Task Force Longrifles in building 150, Monday through Friday from 1300-
Soldiers each with a background in construction offered their 1600. POC is Capt. Van Horn, ext. 4807.
services free of charge. Those Soldiers were;
• Any Soldier interested in volunteering for Troops
Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Alan Spurlock from Lexington, KY., a and Teachers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, contact
building maintenance worker at the University of Kentucky 1st Lt. Weiler in building 150 or ext. 5031.
Medical Center; Sgt. Michael Bryant from Louisville, KY.,
a licensed plumber; Spc. Chris Durham from Nicholasville, • The Chaplain’s Office will be collecting donations
KY., a general contractor with his own business; and finally of 550 Cord from now until further notice. Any
Spc. Christopher Johnson from Campbellsburg, KY., who Soldiers interested in making donations can stop by
has worked in construction for a nearly a decade. building 150 between 0900-1600.
The Soldiers conducted an initial assessment and created a
step by step plan of action for the project. Those steps were Quotations to live by...
as follows: • Never let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad
Step 1 – Grade construction area, remove vegetation, and life. - Author unkown
install new drain and water lines
Step 2 – Pour concrete footer for shower stall and concrete • You won’t always be punished FOR your anger but will
pad expansion always be punished BY your anger. - Author unkown
Step 3 – Build shower stall
Step 4 – Pour concrete for drain floor and shower • There are two choices in life: to accept conditions as they
Step 5 – Expand the awning to cover the new area exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
- Dennis Waitley
To offset the expenses associated with
renting equipment, the Soldiers asked
PAE, a government contract company, Chaplain Reflections
if they could borrow a cement mixer. Wow! The Pope resigns, sequestration
The company agreed and even donated talk is in the air, and N. Korea threatens a
some left over cement mix from a third nuclear test.
previous project.
Yet, right in the middle of all this we
To lower the high cost of skilled labor, observed Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s
Sgt. Michael Bryant teaches a
Djiboution work at the Caritas the clinic found young men in the Day.
Wound Clinic how to install neighborhood eager to learn from the
piping for an outdoor shower.
Soldiers. The Djiboutian workers would Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent
complete most of the manual labor while the Soldiers would for Christians) is a gentle reminder that we are dust. We are
advise, teach, and mentor. With this approach the young utterly helpless and hopeless without Divine assistance.
men were able to learn construction techniques making them Valentine’s Day comes as a symbol that God’s love from above
more marketable for future job opportunities in the area. often comes down camouflaged and expressed in those
around us as a smile, an embrace, an act of thoughtfulness,
or in the shared laughter of companionship.
Now, the mind boggling part is that God keeps using
creatures of dust to reveal a divine care and love for the
human race. Indeed, we “dustened” (destined for dust)
people often find meaning for life not by doubting that
faith, hope, and love still reign in the chaos, but by sowing
faith, hope, and love for someone else in-spite of the chaos.
Task Force Longrifles volunteers teach Djiboutians how to lay cement block and mortar for an ~Chaplain Mark East
outdoor shower project at the Caritas Wound Clinic on January 23rd, 2013.
Longrifles Weekly
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