A ribbon-cutting ceremony July 30, 2009 celebrated the establishment of a U.S. military harbor security force at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.

Officials from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), the Djiboutian government, and U.S. and Djiboutian military personnel attended the ceremony at Port de Djibouti.

Commander of U.S. Africa Command General William 'Kip' Ward, CJTF-HOA Commander Rear Admiral Tony Kurta, Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti Eric Wong, and Camp Lemonnier's Commanding Officer Captain William Finn were in attendance to witness the historic step toward enhancing the security operations for the port.

The new harbor security force was established after many months of coordination between the U.S. Navy's Camp Lemonnier leadership and the Djiboutian Navy. The establishment of the harbor security force will enable increased capabilities to protect maritime vessels transiting through the port in addition to providing training and operational opportunities between U.S. and Djiboutian personnel.

The harbor security force will consist of personnel from other U.S. Navy installations throughout the Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia region.

Finn said this diverse group of harbor security professionals will ensure the port is and will stay a secure environment to conduct maritime operations.

"I am honored to recognize and commemorate the efforts made between U.S. and Djiboutian forces in support of our harbor security force," said Finn. "Working together to compliment each other's capabilities, we have increased our ability to protect our ships as well as provide training and operational opportunities between U.S. and Djiboutian personnel. I sincerely appreciate the great support from our Djiboutian hosts."

Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa and is the only U.S. military infrastructure located in Africa to provide a base of operations for support services. The camp has approximately 2,500 U.S., joint and allied military forces, civilian personnel, Department of Defense contractors and 1,200 local and third country nation workers. The camp is the primary base of operations for U.S. Africa Command in the Horn of Africa and supports more than 23 tenant commands, including Commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa; U.S. Army 218th Field Artillery Regiment; and naval mobile construction battalion detachments.