CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (American Forces Press Service, Feb. 8, 2007) - Soldiers, Sailors and Marines from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) recently graduated from a grueling five-day French commando's course at the Commando Training Center in Arta, Djibouti.

The servicemembers trained on everything from hand-to-hand combat to short range marksmanship and beach assault. Their training began at 7:30 a.m. each day, and ended at 10 p.m.

"For me, I enjoyed executing the night beach insertion and helicopter take-down. The event started when I led our recon team ashore from a small zodiac boat," said Capt. Gary Humphries, 5th Provisional Security Company executive officer.

According to Humphries, his team secured the landing site at the beach and radioed back to "headquarters," giving them their GPS coordinates and a safe landing site for the next zodiac boats.

"Once we made our link-up, we consolidated the squad and made a 1.2-kilometer tactical movement," he said. "Once at the prescribed location, we maneuvered to envelop a parked helicopter, where we had to neutralize the guard, capture the pilot and render the bird inoperable with notional explosives."

The servicemembers from CJTF-HOA were treated to more than just the training from the French Foreign Legion commandos. They also learned tactics, techniques and procedures from the other Soldiers, Sailors and Marines attending the course.

"It afforded us a great opportunity to learn more about the other services and its members, not only on a personal level, but also from a professional standpoint," said 1st Lt. Steven Pomella, platoon leader. "There was also a bit of healthy rivalry between the different services when it came to individual events that really helped motivate all of us."

The course culminated with a confidence course known as the "way of the unconscious." The course included traversing the side of a mountain 100 feet off the ground onto a rock, crossing over a rope bridge approximately 300 feet above ground and sliding down 150 feet on a steel pipe. While many of the courses were geared toward team building, this one was an individual effort.

"I felt very proud of myself after I finished the 'way of the unconscious,'" said Spc. Wesley Tusing, "It's something that most people would not have been able to complete; and I never thought in a million years that I would be able to do it."

The actual course is usually three weeks long, but due to mission constraints the French trainers shortened the course to five days, allowing the troops to participate.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Vann, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eight, said he would recommend this course to everyone, especially people who like a good challenge.

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,500 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.