Navy Reserve Seabees work with Aussies in Afghanistan

Photo By Staff Sgt. Edward Garibay | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jennifer L. Bacon, a utilitiesman temporarily attached to Combat Outpost Construction Team 2, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26, and Australian Army Sapper Nathan Lester, electrician for 21st Construction Squadron run electrical wire along the walls of a Hesco barriers March 22, at Patrol Base Qareb, Afghanistan.  

URUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

03.27.2011

Story by Spc. Edward Garibay 

16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

TANGI VALLEY, Afghanistan – Navy Reserve Seabees from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Harrison, Mich., are working with Australian Defence Forces to build patrol bases throughout southern Afghanistan.

Combat Outpost Construction Team 2, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26, travels with their ADF counterparts to areas of the country in need of more security and builds new patrol bases from the ground up.

“It’s been a great experience,” said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer David B. Asbury, utilitiesman and team chief for COP Construction Team 2, NMCB 26. “It’s a unique opportunity, working with the Australian Forces.”

COP Construction Team 2 has two Australians attached to their unit who specialize in plumbing and electrical wiring.

Asbury said since many of the bases they build are for foreign forces, their Australian co-workers are a great benefit to the team. They are familiar with the different types of wiring and plumbing used by other nations, said the West Lafayette, Ohio, native.

“Right now we’re working on an Australian electrical system,” said Australian Army Sapper Nathan L. Lester, electrician for 21st Construction Squadron. “It’s a little different from what the Americans have seen, but other than that it was interesting to see that we do pretty much the same things. We both have the same work ethic.”

Lester, a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, native, said he was surprised at the high level of communication between the two forces.

“The accent takes a little bit to get used to, but once you get talking to them, you find out they talk about the same kind of stuff as we do,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jennifer L. Bacon, a utilitiesman temporarily attached to COP Construction Team 2, NMCB 26. “We get along really well and we get the job done.”

Asbury said the best part of the partnership is the ability to work together towards a common goal. The international atmosphere allows for a win-win situation where each party can learn something from the other.

For many of the sailors on COP Construction Team 2, this experience was not only part of their first deployment, but their first interaction with Australian Forces.

“Working with the Australians has been an experience in itself,” said Bacon, a Lincoln, Neb., native. "It’s been great – I wouldn’t change a thing.”

• Date Taken: 03.27.2011
• Date Posted: 03.30.2011 04:10
• Story ID: 67961
• Location: URUZGAN PROVINCE, AF