What should I expect on my first visit to Djibouti?

Mountains, rocks, dirt, donkeys, and a lot of French military. Also the locals love you as long as youre either buying their shit or giving them yours. The second you stop they start yelling "Death to America" and rioting. True story, my platoon had to go condition 3 and hold security while we broke down our PB on the last night there because the locals freaked out when we wouldn't give them our wooden pallets.

If you can get past the ugly ass scenery though its actually a decent place. The climate is nice and there are beaches everywhere. Just don't pay more than five dollars for anything the locals try to sell you, chances are it was stolen from someone else anyway. And if you find a cold steel tanto floating around the markets somewhere grab it for me. Those bastards stole mine.

I just came from there last year. There's a Djibouti survival guide out there that explains almost everything you need to know. You can private message me or look me up on the global if you have more questions.

I was there at Camp Lemonier from 06-07. I was the Supply Sergeant for a SF unit. It was a pretty awesome experience. It was hot as hell, a lot of flies, but overall great deployment. Unless they changed the rules, you may be able to leave the camp and go in certain local areas for souvenir shopping, dining, etc. There were also a lot of other activities at the Cantina like live performances and such.