Carsten Dombrowski - here is the homepage of his
CAPSARIUS AKADEMIE, which delivers the excellent "Callsign Doc" newsletter - was deployed as a
military observer of the German Bundeswehr in the
Western Sahara. After the training, he was transferred to the deployment area, from Potsdam to Layoun. Here are his experiences:
After the training was completed, there was a final gathering at the Bundeswehr's Deployment Command Office in POTSDAM.
In addition to many administrative matters and the final addition of personal equipment, including a large amount of medical material, as well as other useful items such as mosquito nets, tropical gear, and IT devices, I received the latest situation information from the host country at the time. This information, essentially first-hand, presented by the services of the Foreign Office. This briefing, combined with the very specific IT devices like Sat Com Computer and Iridium phone, made me feel very special for a moment.
However, that feeling quickly dissipated when I flew from MUNICH to LAYOUN via CASABLANCA with a full load, meaning carrying four large Zarges crates, a mountain backpack, and a combat carrying bag. Loaded like a donkey, I heaved all these things through customs. No applause from fellow travelers as one often sees in pictures from the USA. The German soldier rather quietly and unnoticed goes into the field, into the mission.
...
There are crazy people everywhere in the world, but one incident was important for the security officer. So my name became known in the first week. After a last calm and relatively luxurious night in a simple hotel, I flew to SMARA with a Ukrainian ANTONOV. Here I was supposed to serve for the next six months. More on that in the next report.
Military Observer in Western Sahara - to read more:
Part 1: The Selection
Part 2: The Training
Part 3: Helipatrol and Fake Tanks
Part 4: In the Land of the Puszta and Magyars
Questions? Contact the CAPSARIUS ACADEMY at [email protected] with the subject "Morocco."
If you want to receive the exclusive and automatic newsletter from the Capsarius Academy, you must sign up HERE. CALLSIGN DOC will then arrive by email. Old issues are available in the archive.
CAPSARIUS ACADEMY online: www.capsarius-akademie.com