PORT HUENEME, Calif. — Petty Officer 1st Class Francisco Villalobos, a native of San Antonio, Texas, assigned to the Seabees of the 9th Naval Construction Regiment is currently serving at Port Hueneme, Calif., in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Villalobos graduated from Louis W. Fox Technical and Vocational High School in 1974 and is the Son of Juan (Deceased) and Bertha Garcia, who resides in San Antonio, Texas. He is fully supported by his wife of 25 years, Linda and his four sons Vincent, Michael, Francisco Jr. and Nathaniel along with all his family and friends.
Villalobos' job with the Regiment is Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303 and Underwater Construction Team 2 Homeport Equipment Manager. The mission of the CESE Manager is to support the assigned units with CESE and to properly maintain all equipment for overall unit readiness at all homeport project sites.
Villalobos and the Seabees in his regiment departed from their homeport of Naval Operational Support Center San Antonio, Texas to complete a six-month deployment to Port Hueneme.
"I was recalled to active duty with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 and served a 10 month deployment to Al Asad, Iraqi," said Villalobos. "There I was selected for [Convoy Security Element] Lead Mechanic. I got to see a lot of the country, the people and the culture, but still aware of all the dangers of being there and keeping your fellow shipmates safe."
Villalobos, who's been in the Navy since 1993, says he feels proud to be part of an event that is making history.
"It is an honor and privilege to have been selected to serve with the 9NCR. This is without a doubt a great group of SEABEES. "HOORAH!!! 9NCR HOORAH!!!"
Seabees bring a broad range of technical and military skills which, in combination, provide a unique capability to the engineering mission. In addition to construction, these essential capabilities include robust organic support functions such as logistics, maintenance and communications.