By Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael B. Lavender
ROTA, Spain - Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 departed Rota, Spain, to their Deployment For Training site in Senegal.
The DFT's mission will be to improve military training locations supporting the West African Training Cruise, African Partnership Station Initiative, and the African Contingency Operations Training Assistance Program.
"This mission provides a great opportunity for our detachment to build on existing relations established between [U.S. Africa Command] and supporting Naval Construction Forces," said Chief Warrant Officer Antoine Stephens, DFT Senegal's officer in charge.
DFT Senegal will be completing four projects while detached from the battalion's main body. "We'll be building a Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility, a container berm and catwalk for a small arms firing range, a contingency operating location, and refurbishing two abandoned warehouses for reuse by the Senegalese army," said Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Read, steelworker, DFT Senegal's projects supervisor.
"This will be the first deployment for some of our Seabees," said Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas Wilhorn, utilitiesman, the detachment's safety and quality control representative. "Homeport preparations and pre-deployment training will overcome many of our challenges. Our detachment has planned a positive course of action to properly prepare and handle any obstacles we are faced with."
Some of the challenges the detachment may face, however, will be outside of their control.
"Weather conditions in Senegal will be a constant risk for us. By using the proper preventative measures, that we have been trained to do, such as hydrating and monitoring our work-rest cycle, we will be able to prevent or deter heat related casualties," explained Wilhorn.
For some of the Seabees, the mission will provide an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"This mission has great promise and I feel that our detachment is a very hard-working, strong-willed and inspirational group," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Brenton Heisserer, steelworker, a Seabee assigned to DFT Senegal. "I also feel that this is a promising and essential mission that we are excited to participate in."
Seabees from NMCB 7 recently deployed from Gulfport, Miss., to various locations throughout Europe and Africa as part of the battalion's regularly scheduled 2010 deployment, with the main body of the battalion operating from Camp Mitchell at Naval Station Rota. Nearly a month prior to its scheduled deployment, the battalion deployed an air detachment of 85 Seabees to assist in Operation Unified Response, in response to the 7.0 earthquake that struck the country of Haiti, Jan. 12.
NMCB 7, often referred to as the "Magnificent Seven", is one of the original 10 Seabee battalions authorized by the Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks, in 1942. The battalion is homeported in Gulfport, Miss. and is comprised of approximately 600 highly skilled warfighters; ready to serve our nation at a moment's notice.
Seabees ... "Can Do"