NMCB 11 RESTORES GUARD TOWERS AT THAAD SITE ON ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE

Photo By Lt.j.g. Joshua Marks | 200520-N-SK929-1001 YIGO, Guam (May 20, 2021) Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 Det. Guam completed construction of new stairs for the guard towers manned by Guam National Guard Security Force 3 to defend the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) site on May 20. This project improved the safety of watch standers and enhances the physical security of the site which provides anti-ballistic missile defense against adversaries in the western Pacific. NMCB 11 Det. Guam is forward-deployed to execute construction, humanitarian assistance, theater security cooperation, and support Major Combat Operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet areas of operation. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Joshua R. Marks)  

SANTA RITA, GUAM

05.28.2021

Story by Lt.j.g. Joshua Marks 

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11

YIGO, GUAM - Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 Det. Guam completed construction of stairs for guard towers defending the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) site on Andersen Air Force Base on May 20.

The THAAD site provides the U.S. anti-ballistic missile defense against adversaries in the western Pacific and is defended by the “Guardians” of Guam National Guard Security Force 3. The project consisted of rebuilding staircases for three towers on the THAAD site.

Repair of the towers was a project quickly becoming a priority as the year-round unforgiving weather of the island exacted a toll on the stairs that would only intensify with the fast-approaching typhoon season. In their condition at the time, the stairs to the towers presented a safety concern for the watch standers defending from their posts in the towers.

NMCB 11 Det. Guam was able to initiate the project when a detachment from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 303 came to the island primarily to provide exercise support. The additional labor allowed personnel from both units to work together to design the new stairs and estimate the materials required.

Once the exercise support for 30th Naval Construction Regiment and Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific completed, CBMU 303 personnel returned to their primary duty station, and material required for the project was available on island, NMCB 11 Det. Guam was able to execute the project.

“This project provided my crew a great opportunity to learn,” said Builder 3rd Class Alex Short. “In the Seabees we don’t have many opportunities to do framing and carpentry on a project of this scale.”

Short, who served as the crew leader for the THAAD tower restoration project, was able to practice his small unit leadership skills when he led his crew of five to independently execute construction for three weeks on the opposite end of the island from his leadership with NMCB 11 Det. Guam.

The leadership environment Short faced is analogous to the distributed maritime operations the Naval Construction Force seeks to practice in preparation for the next major global conflict. In it scalable, task-tailored elements will operate independently to enable lethality provided by the fleet, units from other services, and partners from allied nations.

“It was an amazing experience to lead a project with huge impacts like this one,” said Alex Short. “It’s not very often that we get to do projects that show interoperability and cooperation as much as this did. This project was really unique with it being done by the Seabees for the National Guard on an Air Force base to support a very important mission. I am so grateful for the experience it’s given me and my crew.”

NMCB 11 Det. Guam is forward-deployed to execute construction, humanitarian assistance, theater security cooperation, and support Major Combat Operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet areas of operation.

• Date Taken: 05.28.2021
• Date Posted: 06.17.2021 09:44
• Story ID: 397900
• Location: SANTA RITA, GU