CAMP LEMONIER , Djibouti ( CNN ) -- U.S. Marines at Camp Lemonier -- the only American military base on the African continent -- spend much of their time vaccinating livestock , repairing schools and giving medical training . Defense Secretary Robert Gates , left , and Rear Adm. James Hart , in Camp Lemonier , December 2007 . The camp , just 10 miles north of the Somali border , began as a French Foreign Legion outpost , but the Djibouti government agreed in 2002 to let the U.S. military establish a base for counterterrorism and humanitarian missions in the Horn of Africa . The 1,800 U.S. troops in Djibouti spend just a fraction of their time on military tasks , such as locating and removing land mines . They conduct civil affairs operations in seven East African countries -- seen as an antidote to extremism . `` If you get at the basic needs of any individual , if you address the basic needs of people , then you have the opportunity to change their mindset , then you have the opportunity to show them that there is something better than doing extreme acts , '' said U.S. Army Brig . Gen. Roosevelt Barfield , deputy commander of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa . Many of the Marines in Djibouti , a predominantly Muslim country , previously served in Iraq . `` In Iraq , you can just go out and pretty much roll around and you do what you got to do and your mind set is a lot different , '' said Marine Cpl . Chad Armstrong . `` Here , this country is a sovereign nation . Their government is established and everything , so there is a lot more working with the governments here . '' The military role , though , sometimes upstages the humanitarian mission . Periodic airstrikes of suspected al Qaeda terrorist targets in Somalia , often from U.S. warships , has created animosity among ethnic Somalis in the region . The U.S. military presence in Djibouti underscores the growing importance of Africa to the U.S. military . The United States has created a centralized military command for Africa , U.S. Africa Command , or AFRICOM , which will become fully operational in October . The reluctance of African leaders to host a U.S. military facility , however , has hampered selection of a headquarters location for AFRICOM . Liberia , so far , is the only African country to offer . For now , AFRICOM is based in Stuttgart , Germany .
Camp Lemonier is the only American military base on the African continent . The 1,800 U.S. troops conduct civil relief missions in seven East African countries . Their humanitarian mission is described as an end to extremism .