NMCB 11 Detail McCain Engineering Survey

CAMP MCCAIN, MS, UNITED STATES

02.25.2022

Courtesy Story

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11

Story by Engineering Aid 2nd Class Kayla Amparano

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11’s Detail McCain completed the engineering reconnaissance of a 4200’ x 700’ area and design for the construction of an expeditionary runway capable of supporting a C-17 Globemaster III on Camp McCain, MS, as a part of Operation Turning Point 2022. The survey and design work exercised the engineering design capabilities of an NMCB, while the planned training airstrip will provide a platform for future Naval Construction Force (NCF), Special Operations Forces (SOF), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) training.

Engineering Aid 1st Class Keith Casey, Engineering Aid 2nd Class Elizabeth Goodrich and Engineering Aid 2nd Class Elizabeth Kayla Amparano, utilized the NMCB’s Trimble R-12 and S-7 survey assets to complete an accurate topographic survey, define runway and terrain boundaries, and compile a topographic map in order to provide earthwork cut and fill estimates using the programs Trimble Business Center and AutoCad Civil3D. Upon completion of the topographic survey the Engineering Aids conducted soils analyses to measure the strength and composition of the existing soils while the other 12 members of the Detachment completed a heavy timber bunker and two Southwest Asia Huts (SWAHUT).

Camp McCain, in Grenada county Mississippi, is five hours north of Camp Shelby, where the Gulfport Seabees generally perform their field training exercises. This introduced new logistical and communications challenges to the Detachment which align with the real-world distributed maritime operations environments that the Seabees are preparing for in the event of major combat operations. NMCB 11’s Detachment McCain completed the first NCF construction projects on Camp McCain during Operation Turning Point and laid the groundwork for an ongoing partnership between the NCF and the Mississippi Army National Guard.

“Camp McCain has been great. I’m not just saying it to say it – they have been the most supportive and most responsive adjacent unit I’ve had the honor to work with,” said Ensign Paul LeRay, Detachment Officer in Charge. Direct support from Camp McCain’s Range Control department included earthwork for the two SWAHUTs and materials handling equipment support which enabled the Detachment to complete the semi-permanent construction tasking while the engineering survey was ongoing.

“I love having the opportunity to use my rate training in the field,” said Engineering Aid 2nd Class Goodrich, “In the past it’s been rare for us to do survey work on this scale.”

• Date Taken: 02.25.2022
• Date Posted: 04.13.2022 16:45
• Story ID: 418450
• Location: CAMP MCCAIN, MS, US