Reservists face tough mission in Africa

Jace Radke

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

Maj. Don Cullison is one of a group of about 20 Las Vegas-based Army Reservists who are working under the threat of terrorism to complete a mission half a world away.

But unlike the many Nevada soldiers serving in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Cullison's group is supervising humanitarian projects in the Horn of Africa. The region has seen its share of terrorism in the past, including the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

"This is considered a hostile fire area, so you have to keep your eyes open," said Cullison, who is a Metro Police detective with the sexual assault section. "We're here working with the people and the governments of these countries and hopefully they can see what we have to offer and we'll see a reduction in terrorism."

Cullsion and the other Nevadans joined with a group of about 20 reservists from Columbus, Ohio, last fall and have been renovating schools and clinics, digging wells and providing medical and veterinary care in Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia since March.

Cullison is attached to the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, which has also been working in Eritrea, Sudan and in Yemen, where 17 sailors were killed when a terrorist bomb blew a hole in the side of the USS Cole as it refueled in the port city of Aden. Although on the Arabian peninsula, Aden is a short distance across the Red Sea from Djibouti, a tiny nation adjacent to Ethiopia.

"The task force in the horn of Africa has established good working relationships with the countries in the region, assisting with humanitarian efforts, training individual militaries and supporting their efforts in locating and arresting terrorists," said Sgt. Maj. Lewis Matson, a U.S. Central Command spokesman. "The nations (in the Horn of Africa) have all been working to support the Global War on Terror.

"Since 9-11, Yemen has arrested many terrorists including those responsible for the attack on the USS Cole."

Cullison, who has been on active duty away from Las Vegas since September, said that since arriving in the region in March the group of Las Vegas soldiers has been a part of 27 completed construction projects in Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia, including bridges, schools and hospitals. The group is currently working on 20 more construction projects, and is scheduled to return to Las Vegas in September.

"It's an austere environment," Cullison said of the region. "You can fly over these areas and just see nothing for what seems like forever, and then you'll see a group of tin roofs. The people have never seen anything like us before, and we're able to come in and help dig them better water wells, and take care of their animals.

"It's a very positive mission to be a part of, and the people are for the most part appreciative."