Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

In an interesting twist to an already interesting situation in Africa, we are now sending both Air Force and Navy active duty personnel to supplement Army Civil Affairs Teams, all through the CENTCOM AOR. That's a decided shift, since the Civil Affairs Teams have been almost exclusively reservists.

I told the officer who works for me who is headed for Africa that if I was still single, it'd be me and not him on that deployment! He gets a chance to be at the leading edge of the transformation.

This is the "story" I love out of Djibouti, the one that's told on your buddy, across and three down the other side of that "table" for twenty. It's more than a true story. So, a bunch of us want to see the setup at this orphanage/school/community these Nuns ride herd on. The kids are about 90% Sudanese, the ones some very solid human beings rushed to beat the bush for after the j'weed visit. Some Somali, Congolese from both sides of the river and one translucent, freckled, red head. Always makes you wonder that kid does. Look see tour and group gathering in the multi purpose building set up for school. Well, _______(fill in rank, title or nick) Rock Stryker down there asks this "classroom" full of kids if he could do or get anything for them, what would it be? Pregnant pause. This one kid sort of shows a hand. Rock nods. Accentless, like he was born in the NW USA or trained at a broadcasting school, the kids says, "Please sir. Learn to read, write and speak English." You could hear the dirt moving on the floor. Then Stryker starts crying! The kids are exchanging looks, saying "Yes!", smiling and shaking their heads in agreement with their classmate. We're all trying not to laugh but grinning like jackasses eating barbed wire. Rocksann is crying, laughing and blowing little bubbles from his right nostril. Your end of the table is now looking at your buddy, roaring laughter and applauding. He's looking at you making sure you remember his promise of dismemeberment the next time you told that story. Good, it's all good, the embodiment of too.

Thanks Keith. Thanks Dr. Barnett.