Operation Bull Shark Hones Djiboutian Coast Guard’s Personnel Recovery Skills

ADF STAFF

The Djiboutian Coast Guard, the Spanish Navy and the United States Navy in April participated in a biannual personnel recovery exercise at Camp Lemonnier.

Operation Bull Shark was designed by the two forces to test communications, interoperability, and personnel recovery during maritime emergencies.

The exercise was timely as the Djiboutian Coast Guard has in recent months intensified patrols due to the ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea.

Djibouti’s economy has grown over the past decade and authorities view the Red Sea crisis as a threat. The country is separated from Yemen only by the narrow Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

“That is why we increase our capabilities, we increase how to secure the area more than before, according to the situation currently going on,” Col. Wais Omar Bogoreh of the Djiboutian Coast Guard told Africanews. “We are working closely, we collaborate and coordinate all the missions related to the security.”

Djiboutian Coast Guardsmen began preparing for Operation Bull Shark in mid-March, when the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron conducted weapons familiarization training with them at Camp Lemonnier.

It marked the second year Camp Lemonnier’s Marine Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) unit has trained with Djiboutian Navy and Coast Guard members to prepare for the exercise.

“We are glad to have our partners from the Djiboutian Coast Guard here to do weapons training,” Cmdr. David Pascoe, commanding officer of Camp Lemonnier’s MSRON detachment, said in a news release. “We look forward to the next opportunity to work together.”

During the training, Djiboutian Coast Guard members worked on different shooting positions, techniques, procedures and tactics.

“I loved the opportunity to join the Navy and share information during the training,” Djiboutian Coast Guardsman Mohamed Rirache Eleyeh said. “We learned a lot of technical skills.”

Djibouti and the U.S. maintain strong military ties. The Djiboutian Coast Guard in early November 2023 learned forensic water sampling and fingerprint collection skills that will assist criminal investigations involving water contamination and drug trafficking.

Djibouti is routinely targeted by criminal groups seeking to ship drugs. Nearly 2,000 cargo vessels enter the Port of Djibouti annually.

The training was provided by experts from U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), responsible for investigating felony crimes and preventing terrorism, and the Joint Theater Forensic Analysis Center (JTFAC), a forensic laboratory that aids global military operations by tracking adversaries, eradicating their supply chains, and providing evidence for prosecution.

Both the NCIS and JTFAC are housed at Camp Lemonnier.

In February 2023, the Djiboutian Navy, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and U.S. Navy participated in trilateral training to combat sea crimes at Camp Lemonnier. The joint exercise focused on visit, board, search and seizure tactics to combat terrorism, piracy and smuggling.

The following month, Djibouti helped host Cutlass Express, a maritime security exercise sponsored by U.S. Africa Command. Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania participated.

Throughout the exercise, participants trained in tactical combat casualty care, marksmanship, at-sea maneuvers, mine countermeasures and close-combat techniques, as well as legal instruction.