Photo By Master Sgt. Rebekka Heite | Lance Cpl. Marcel M. Hatter uses a front-end loader to remove a seawall near Torii...... read more read more
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TORII STATION, Japan - Marines with 9th Engineer Support Battalion and soldiers from U.S. Army Garrison Torii Station removed a 120-meter-long seawall near the Torii Beach shoreline Jan. 30 - Feb. 6.
“The mayor of Yomitan, the fishing companies, the local national populace, and the Army base commander all want the seawall to be removed due to the change in current, causing erosion,” said 2nd Lt. David A. Padgett, project officer-in-charge, 9th ESB, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “If the seawall is not removed, the adjacent beach will continue to erode.”
The seawall was put in place eight months ago in an effort to provide erosion control, said Gunnery Sgt. Chitty Phouthapadith, project staff non-commissioned officer-in-charge, 9th ESB. “The reality is; it was an eyesore, and it did not control erosion,” he added.
The best thing to do was to get 9th ESB, Support Company, to expediently and safely remove it, he said.
Before starting operations, a precautionary hazardous material spill boom was put in the water around the seawall in the event of an oil leak, said Padgett. There were no environmental issues during the operation, he added.
After ensuring the boom was properly anchored before each evolution, two heavy-equipment operators moved the large cobblestones, which made up the seawall, to the beach during low tide.
They moved almost 200 buckets of rock from the seawall to the beach on their second night of operations, said Lance Cpl. Marcel M. Hatter, heavy-equipment operator, 9th ESB.
“We got a lot accomplished that night,” said Hatter.
The nighttime low-tide was usually lower than the daytime low-tide, giving 9th ESB additional time to work, he explained.
Working around the tide tables, on sand and in salt water is not an everyday experience for the heavy-equipment operators of 9th ESB.
Removing the seawall has been a great training opportunity for the Marines, said Padgett.
“It beats moving quadcons and pallets on a (heavy equipment or motor transport) lot,” he added.
Training and experience was not the only benefit gained through the project, said Padgett.
“The operation demonstrated the friendship and cooperation between the U.S. military and local population,” Padgett said. “When we agree on a course of action we can achieve anything.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2012 19:23 |
| Story ID: | 83615 |
| Location: | TORII STATION, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 9th ESB removes seawall, by MSgt Rebekka Heite, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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