Seabees Pass Milestone for Deployment

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Nettie Manfull | Port Hueneme, Calif. (July 27, 2023) Equipment Operator Second Class Micheal Tracey, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) Four, guides the concrete bucket during Construction Training Exercise (CTX) Quay Wall Pile Cap Project concrete placement. NMCB 4 is implementing a robust construction skill training plan to prepare for a dynamic mission set throughout the US Indo-Pacific Command in support of Commander, 7th Fleet objectives. (U.S. Navy photo by Utilitesman 2nd Class Nettie Mae Manfull/Released)  

PORT HUENEME, CA, UNITED STATES

08.04.2023

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Rayburn 

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4

PORT HUENEME, Calif. ( 04 Aug, 2023) - Sailors, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4, completed a construction training exercise, demonstrating their ability to expediently erect a quay wall. Completion of the project marks an important milestone in NMCB 4’s pre-deployment cycle. The Sailors were part of NMCB 4’s waterfront construction company (WCC), which was recently organized to facilitate this sort of project.

The ability to quickly construct or repair waterfront infrastructure in remote or austere environments is one of the foundational skills of Sailors belonging to construction battalions, who are called Seabees. The Seabees are tasked with being able to conduct construction operations in both combat and the aftermath of disasters, situations which damage to port facilities are a potential outcome. Constructing a quay wall in such a scenario would allow for responding ships to moor, off-load, and on-load supplies when airlifting them would be impractical or impossible.

“While other units might be working on an airfield to airlift smaller amounts of supplies, the great quantity that would be coming shipboard would need some place to moor so that unloading could take place,” said Equipment Operator 1st Class Joshua Earhart. ““Let’s say you only have the space and allowance to bring a C-130 [Hercules] onto a runway. How many C-130's would it take to match the amount of movement that a ship would have?”

Seabees assigned to NMCB 4 also used this opportunity to train themselves to operate a crane concrete bucket, a large, crane-suspended tool used to place concrete. This was the first time the battalion used that equipment in recent years according to Earhart, who also said it was another tool in their toolbox, now that they were comfortable using it. The scenario was intended to mirror real world conditions as closely as possible, including building the structure several feet higher to simulate working above water, where previously, the structure was lowered to allow easy access.

“Demonstrating proficiency ultimately reflects on our readiness to take on a wider spectrum of tasking in [port damage repair] and port construction in general,” said Steelworker 1st Class Richard Rodriguez. “Increases the capability of the battalion by giving the battalion a new [skill], which is still not entirely fully developed in the whole [Naval Combat Force]. Performing at our level, we are the trailblazers!”

NMCB 4 is implementing a robust construction skill training plan to prepare for a dynamic mission set throughout the US Indo-Pacific Command in support of Commander, 7th Fleet objectives. (US Navy story by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Dakota Rayburn)

• Date Taken: 08.04.2023
• Date Posted: 08.08.2023 18:33
• Story ID: 450724
• Location: PORT HUENEME, CA, US