
NMCB 1 Assumes Charge of Joint Task Group Tinian During Recovery Efforts
By ggranger, / Published Nov. 19, 2018
Story by MC2 Kelsey Hockenberger, Commander, Task Force 75
TINIAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, Detachment Guam, assumed responsibility for ongoing relief efforts on Tinian during a relief-in-place and transfer of authority ceremony with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Nov. 14.
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A family of Tinians looks on as Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Combat Logistics Battalion 31 and Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 stand in formation at the baseball field during a ceremony marking the end of the 31st MEU’s mission as part of the U.S. Defense Support of Civil Authorities relief efforts on Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Nov. 14, 2018. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU and CLB-31 assisted the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and local and civil authorities on Tinian to deliver aid to Tinians affected by Super Typhoon Yutu, which struck here Oct. 25 as the second strongest storm to ever hit U.S. soil. Marines and Sailors with the 31st MEU and CLB-31 arrived on Tinian Oct. 29-31 to lead relief efforts on Tinian in response to Yutu as part of Task Force-West. TF-W is leading the Department of Defense’s efforts to assist CNMI’s local and civil authorities provide critical assistance for citizens devastated by Yutu. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations across the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

181114-N-VR594-365 TINIAN, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Nov. 14, 2018) Lt. Cmdr. Pete Smagur, officer in charge of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, Detachment Guam, passes the flag of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to Chief Utilitiesman Patrick Hines, assigned to NMCB 1, Detachment Guam, during a relief-in-place and transfer of authority ceremony. NMCB 1, Detachment Guam, assumed responsibility as command element for Joint Task Group Tinian from the 31st MEU. Service members from Joint Region Marianas and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command are providing Department of Defense support to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' civil and local officials as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency-supported Super Typhoon Yutu recovery efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelsey J. Hockenberger)