Similar in nature to a carrier strike group’s Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX), CPX is one in a series of training events that leads up to one of the battalion’s final graded events, the Field Training Exercise (FTX), which certifies a battalion as ‘deployable’.
By learning these skills the Seabees ensure the clear and concise flow of critical information to and from each command post, allowing the chain of command to take the proper actions to understand and react to situations decisively.
To do that, each company within the battalion are given specific orders and are required to perform reaction drills to ensure effective camp defense; allowing sustainment of camp operations and execution of engineering missions in a wartime environment.
Seabees in Alfa and Charlie Company take care of civil engineer support equipment and vertical construction respectively, while Bravo Company focuses on camp set-up, maintenance, and provides a quick reaction force for the battalion. The Air Detachment; the battalion’s first contingency responders, have forward deployed to Camp Shelby, Mississippi along with the battalion’s convoy security element to conduct training and simulated engineering missions.
Alfa Company is also tasked with manning the entry control point to the main body camp, ensuring only authorized vehicles and personnel enter.
Also participating in the CPX is the bridge detachment which will be training on preparing bridge mission’s as ordered.
At the completion of CPX 3, NMCB-11 will take their lessons learned and move into FTX which will ultimately evaluate the battalion’s combat and construction readiness and capabilities in a contingency environment.
Homeported in Gulfport, Mississippi, NMCB-11 is part of the Naval Construction Force (NCF). The NCF is a vital component of the U.S. Maritime Strategy and are comprised of deployable battalions capable of providing contingency construction, disaster preparation and recovery support, humanitarian assistance, and combat operations support.
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