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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jami Shawley tours Chabelley Airfield after assuming command of CJTF-HOA

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons
  • 435th Air Expeditionary Wing

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jami Shawley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, toured Chabelley Airfield on May 16 for the first time since assuming command of the CJTF-HOA earlier in the week.

During the tour, she met with leadership from the 449th Air Expeditionary Group and the 776th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, learning more about the secure, reliable, flexible, power projection platforms provided to combatant commanders by the units.

Shawley is the first female commander in CJTF-HOA's longstanding, 20-year presence in Djibouti and the first female U.S. commanding general on African soil.

“I value the constellation of supporting commands and teams within and alongside AFRICOM that enable us to provide crisis response, to support and protect our troops in Somalia and other locations, to command our forces in Djibouti, and to sustain the relationships that allow us to do so,” said Shawley.

CJTF-HOA ensures a strategic partnership with Djibouti, responds to crises, supports operations, protects U.S. lives and enables the countering of violent extremist organizations throughout East Africa in order to enhance stability and prosperity. CJTF-HOA works with partner nations, coalition forces and interagency and intergovernmental organizations to achieve a unified effort.

The 449th AEG supports operations in East Africa providing personnel recovery task forces, intra-theater airlift, base operating support integrator, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, and aircraft launch and recovery elements in support of U.S. Africa Command operations.