Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Monica Cervantes | 200915-N-DJ838-1005 SANTA RITA, Guam (Sept. 15, 2020) Seabees assigned to U.S. Naval...... read more read more
By Equipment Operator 2nd Class Monica Cervantes
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, Detail Guam Public Affairs
SANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) – Seabees assigned to U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3’s Detail Guam are conducting asphalt batch plant operations to test an asphalt mix design and it’s compaction capabilities in order to complete future paving projects on board Naval Base Guam (NBG).
Operating the asphalt batch plant will allow the Seabees to produce and pave with their own organic product. The plant was stood up in Guam in 2019 to test the plant and show production capabilities prior to future use throughout the region.
“The capacity for Seabees to make asphalt organically increases our capabilities,” said Lt. Moncayo, NMCB-3’s Detail Guam officer-in-charge. “We are learning more each day and our Seabees are hungry to get this mission to 100-percent completion.”
Producing their own asphalt material has given the Seabees an opportunity to accrue more knowledge and skills ahead of road-paving projects the detail has planned. The final proof of concept project is the 34,736 square-foot South Tipalao Road on NBG. That project will provide the Seabees an opportunity to demonstrate the entire process from asphalt creation to final paving. Once complete, the Seabees are scheduled to repave NBG’s 68,222 square-foot KD Range Road. These projects will improve the installation’s infrastructure while simultaneously providing Seabees with critical training and readiness development on a skillset that directly supports major combat operations.
“Being able to do something like this on our own is huge,” said Chief Equipment Operator Manuel Figueroa, NMCB-3 Detail Guam’s operations chief. “On one hand, we’re not waiting for an external contractor, and on the other hand, we are able to communicate with our own batch plant, talk about the production, and use our own materials to execute the mission.”
Before asphalt can be produced, Seabees monitor the batch plant for a period of time to ensure its heat remains consistent. Before the mix design begins, the crew processes rock material termed “hot rock” to ensure all moving parts are working properly before the asphalt cement is introduced. The mix design consists of different sized aggregate, sand, and asphalt cement, each being measured through the plant’s control panel before being loaded into 15-ton dump trucks. Once loaded into the trucks, the asphalt is ready for transportation and loading into a paver for its intended purpose.
“Were bringing back a skill we haven’t exercised in a long time,” said Moncayo. “Having the capabilities again to pave roads, parking lots and runways the same way our predecessors did in the 1940’s. We have dedicated Seabees ready to continue showcasing our capabilities for future Naval Construction Force (NCF) missions.”
According to Equipment Operator 1st Class Nathan Scholl, the asphalt batch plant project supervisor, operating the batch plant has come with some trial and error, but it has been a rewarding experience.
“We are still working through some issues, ordering more parts, finding the small things to keep it running since it was stored for a while,” said Scholl. “However, we are working on the mix design and getting it where it needs to be. You can look at the asphalt as you’re producing it and think it looks good, but it’s when we are actually able to put what we are producing into the paver and compact it with a roller is when you get to see the real results of the mix design we are looking for. It’s good that we are getting our Seabees back to their roots and learning this skillset and paving on our own again.”
The detail’s batch plant and paving crew spent months training for these operations during the battalion’s homeport period in Port Hueneme, Calif., as part of preparations for deployment. The Seabees are taking the knowledge they gained in homeport and adapting it to a different environment in Guam. Many factors affect asphalt mix makeup including the type of aggregate rock available in the region and daily weather factors including rain and humidity.
The crew is one step closer to taking on the road projects and say that they hope showcasing their capabilities will lead to an increase in effectiveness, and open more opportunities for the NCF in the future.
“It’s an awesome thing finally seeing our Seabees moving and producing a quality product, and at the end being able to save the Navy money in the long run, as well as keeping the skillset with the Seabees and improving it for years to come,” said Figueroa.
NMCB-3 is deployed across the Indo-Pacific region conducting high-quality construction to support U.S. and partner nations to strengthen partnerships, deter aggression, and enable expeditionary logistics and naval power projection. The battalion stands ready to complete assigned tasking, support Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Relief and Major Combat Operations throughout the area of responsibility.
For more information about Seabees and NMCB-3, visit http://seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil or https://www.facebook.com/NMCB3/
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2020 02:51 |
| Story ID: | 378880 |
| Location: | SANTA RITA, GU |
| Web Views: | 379 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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