Sea Sisters began in summer 2023 when servicewomen from a previous MSRON unit at Camp Lemonnier conducted a maritime personnel recovery exercise with Djibouti Coast Guard servicewomen for the first time.
The Sea Sisters exercise is the result of 10 years of MSRON partnership with Djiboutian maritime forces.
“This was my first time participating in Sea Sisters,” said Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Cheyenne Monroe. “I enjoyed seeing everyone working together, creating partnerships with the Djiboutian Coast Guard servicewomen and having experiences that we will all carry with us throughout our careers.”
Sea Sisters occurs during the preparation for Exercise Bull Shark, a larger personnel recovery exercise that involves maritime forces from the United States, Djibouti, Spain and France. MSRON units work with the Djiboutian Navy and Coast Guard each year to prepare for the regional exercise, practicing maritime skills, signaling, advanced navigation and casualty care for months ahead of the exercise. Exercise Bull Shark is set to take place May 5-6, 2024.
Sea Sisters began on April 29 when Djibouti Coast Guard servicewomen visited Camp Lemonnier’s state-of-the-art virtual range to train on weapons familiarization, navigation and medical intervention.
On April 30, Joint Personnel Recovery Center Airmen taught maritime survival skills and Camp Lemonnier security forces personnel from the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Task Force Paxton taught casualty care techniques during a knowledge exchange at Camp Doraleh, the Djibouti Coast Guard base.
The next day, training commenced at the port of Djibouti. Three teams of U.S. and Djiboutian servicewomen practiced maritime search and rescue scenarios on three MSRON 10 vessels where they simulated man overboard drills and medical intervention.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Djibouti Coast Guard 2nd Lt. Fatouma Ali Ahmed, the first female marine pilot in the port of Djibouti. “The exchanging of expertise between us and the U.S. servicewomen during this exercise is very important to us. We learned about their navigation systems, man overboard procedures and first aid medical skills.”
Following the maritime exercise, Camp Lemonnier Commanding Officer, U.S. Navy Capt. Eilis Cancel presented certificates to participants with Djibouti Coast Guard Deputy Commandant Lt. Col. Mohamed Adawa Mohamed.
“Thank you for sharing this experience with us,” Cancel said during the closing ceremony. “We appreciate the opportunity to learn from you, work with you and share maritime techniques. We look forward to future Sea Sisters events where we can continue to do the same.”
MSRON 10, assigned to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, provides CLDJ’s 38 tenant commands and visiting naval vessels protection through 24/7 port security and escorting operations. CLDJ is an operational installation that enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to be where they are needed to ensure security and protect U.S. interests.
