Grateful U.S. Navy Sailors Wrap Up Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

By Lt. John Ripley, U.S. Navy Public Affairs U.S. Navy teams are preparing to return to their home commands with a feeling of gratitude for being invited to participate in the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. U.S. Navy Sailors arrived on Nov. 3 as part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, which deployed Seabees, divers and other assets throughout the New York-New Jersey corridor at the request of state and federal agencies to help with the cleanup. During their 14-day deployment, the teams assisted with dozens of projects in the area to help with the cleanup and recovery:

Coastal Riverine Group Two spent more than 200 man hours conducting a survey of Jamaica Bay, New Jersey.
Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 spent nearly 150 man hours removing 127 trees and 5,400 square feet of beach sand from municipal streets.
Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 5s 110 Seabee spent more than 3,900 man hours removing nearly 1 million gallons of water from 41 homes. The battalion also removed more than 30 tons of debris manually.
Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 removed more than 4.2 million gallons of water from homes and devoted more than 1,300 man hours.
Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command spent more than 1,100 man hours serving as liaisons with various agencies to help monitor relief efforts.
Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 11s 90 Seabees spent more than 6,000 man hours removing 250 tons of debris from more than 100 city blocks in the New York-New Jersey area, as well as more than 210,000 gallons of water.

You guys are an example of the finest this country has to offer, Capt. James C. Hamblet, Commodore of Coastal Riverine Group TWO (CRG 2) and the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Adaptive Force Package (AFP) commander for Hurricane Sandy response, told members of NMCB 11, who worked after hours to clean a World War II monument on Staten Island of beach sand and debris. Im very proud of you.

- USN -