HURSO, Ethiopia (Army News Service, Feb. 2, 2004) -- Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as “The Old Guard,” established and began operating out of a temporary training facility in rural Ethiopia in January.

The base, named “Camp United” by Soldiers of the Old Guard’s Bravo Company, will be used as a launching ground for local missions, predominately training with the Ethiopian military, said Sgt. 1st Class Fred L. Silhol IV, platoon sergeant of Bravo’s 1st platoon.

The camp and the missions are part of the unit’s continued involvement in the Global War on Terrorism as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Camp United, located on a dusty swath of austere land encompassed by the Ethiopian Military Academy in Hurso, is a testament of determination and teamwork, Silhol said.

Before Soldiers arrived, the camp area was nothing but six slabs of concrete and piles of dirt, Silhol said.

“There has been a 180-degree turnaround,” Silhol said. “In 18 years in the Army, this was the sparsest place I’ve ever lived. It was a barren ground, and they turned it into a functioning forward base for the Old Guard.”

In addition to large living tents, the base now has a functioning operations center, medical center, showers, toilets, exercise and weight room, field sanitation system, and a morale and welfare tent.

“No one here is a skilled carpenter, but they all came together and figured out a way to build this base and to make it their home,” Silhol said.

A few days after establishing Camp United, company soldiers began training with the Ethiopian military. The training will include infantry fundamentals such as marksmanship, physical fitness and movement techniques.

Spc. Brandon A. Thorpe, a Bravo Co. soldier who helped establish Camp United, anticipated the training.

“I’ve looked forward to the training a lot,” said Spc. Brandon A. Thorpe of Bravo Company. “It will leave a little part of me back here, and the training will continue to help their soldiers long after I’m gone.”

Thorpe said he now feels at home on Camp United and has a sense of accomplishment for the sweat and teamwork he contributed to it.

“I feel very proud of this place because I know we put this together with our hands. We made this happen,” Thorpe said.

Silhol said in addition to training with the Ethiopian military, mission objectives include strengthening long-term relations with the Ethiopian Army and establishing working relations with locals.

Pleased with the progress made toward these objectives, Silhol offered praise for the locals he has encountered.

“The people we’ve come into contact with in Ethiopia have bent over backward,” Silhol said.

Silhol also said he is impressed with the Ethiopian Army’s strict discipline in a setting of few comforts, an environment he hopes will leave an impression on Old Guard Soldiers.

“There is no Morale Welfare & Recreation in the Ethiopian military, and I think our Soldiers seeing that the Ethiopian Army works just as hard without these things will have a lasting impact,” Silhol said.

The Soldiers will continue to operate CJTF-HOA missions out Camp United for the next several months, officials said.