Incoming American Legion commander served in the Horn of Africa

Donna Ramsey went from being in the service to providing it.

She spent 27 years in the U.S. Army, both in reserve and active duty, and is now the incoming commander for American Legion Post 43.

She’ll be the first woman to serve in that position in Lenoir County.

“I actually was one who went in as a reservist — Army Reserve. In Operation Enduring Freedom, I went over to Djibouti (in) Africa,” Ramsey said. “The key thing is I joined because of my brother who was killed in Vietnam. That inspired me.”

Ramsey’s brother, a member of the Special Forces, received the Silver Star after dying in a friendly fire incident resulting from calling in a bombing strike.

She was called up for active duty twice, the first being for Operation Desert Storm, working out of Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.

“We were told we would be gone one to two years,” Ramsey said. “As soon as we arrived, at 1 o’clock in the morning, we are processing people in the inactive reserve because they got called back to active duty. So, our job was to get them over there as quickly as we could.

“Well, you know, it ended so fast, we ended up sending everybody home.”

The second time was in Djibouti, where she was responsible for cultivating and maintaining good relations with the people of the small nation, located in the Horn of Africa. Bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, it sits at the convergence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and directly across from the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

The strategic location is why the United States worked with France and Djibouti to renovate an old French military base for military intelligence in the Middle East following the Sept. 11 attacks, and to provide regional security.

The Washington Post reported in October 2012 that American officials confirmed F-15 missions over Yemen — from Camp Lamonnier in Djibouti — to combat al-Qaida efforts. The base is also the home of an extensive Predator drone operation.

“Some of the unmanned aircraft are bound for Somalia, the collapsed state whose border lies just 10 miles to the southeast,” Craig Whitlock wrote. “Most of the armed drones, however, veer north across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, another unstable country where they are being used in an increasingly deadly war with an al-Qaida franchise that has targeted the United States.”

Ramsey said she and her interpreter were keenly aware of the Somali border when they were away from the base, but the vast majority of her work involved coordinating efforts between base operations and the local government and people.

“I was the country desk NCO, so I got to go out every single day to all the villages, go to the embassies, and get to meet the people,” Ramsey said. “In fact, I ended up sponsoring the niece of a family that I met, and I ended up adopting her legally. She’s my daughter now, and she’s living in Seattle.”

Ramsey said being the first female commander of the American Legion post will be a challenge, but she appeared ready to push forward the Legion’s mission, which it states is, “mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.”

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.