By BUCN Laine Pulfer, NMCB 3 Public Affairs Office
From left, NMCB 3 s Training Officer Lt. Cmdr. John Beattie, Commanding Officer Cmdr. Gordon Meek III and Operations Leading Chief Petty Officer Senior Chief Builder Kevin Nolan lead the battalion through the final laps of the 24-hour relay run, NBVC Port Hueneme, Calif., April 10-11. Photo by BUCN Laine Pulfer
Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 completed a 24-hour relay run on board Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Port Hueneme, Calif., Fri., April. 11, to help raise awareness about sexual assault.
Friends, family members and Seabees assigned to NMCB 3 gathered at NBVC on a .25-mile track at 9 a.m., Thurs., April 10,to kick-off the non-stop event.
This run was a different way to get the message across to Live Our Values: Step up to Stop Sexual Assault, said the run s coordinator Chief Builder Jesse Garcia-Montes. People will remember this event with help from our collection of beads and T-shirts we gave to participants.
Runners received their T-shirts after registering for the run and were given a bead after each complete lap to create colorful strands.
NMCB 3 conducted a 24-hour relay run, as well as a chem-light vigil, NBVC Port Hueneme, Calif., April 10-11, during an event to help raise awareness about preventing sexual assault. In excess of 200 chem-lights represented more than 2,000 sexual assaults documented in the Navy throughout 2012. Photo by BUCN Laine Puller
The relay provided Seabees and other volunteers the chance to not only reflect on the importance of stopping sexual assault but also showing respect to those who have been or are still affected by sexual assault.
In addition to the 24-hour relay, NMCB 3 s Coalition of Seabees Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) presented a skit to kick off the 24-hour evolution. CSADD s Vice President Builder Constructionman Ashley Racy created the unique skit that focused on male sexual assault in order to highlight a lesser known fact and better support the day s important message.
I wanted to do something different because a lot of people fail to recognize that males are also affected by sexual assault not just women, said BUCN Racy. So, that is why I chose to do a skit highlighting males, showing that they are also victims.
A chem-light vigil at sunset paid respect to victims affected by sexual assault throughout 2012. Each light stick represented 10 sexual assaults, resulting in a visual display of more than 2,000 sexual assaults that had occurred in the Navy that year. Seabees, friends and family members even the furry four-legged ones continued running into the night as the more than 200 chem-lights glowed on the side of the track, reminding participants of why they were braving the brisk ocean breeze throughout the 24-hour event.
As NMCB 3, we truly care about the troops and about raising awareness of sexual assault, said BUC Garcia-Montes. We have 60 victim advocates all trained and willing to help any possible victim. This command doesn t just talk about raising awareness with no action they walk the walk.
NMCB 3 s CM2 Shawn Conley shows his collection of beads after becoming the first person to complete 40 miles during the battalion s 24-hour relay run, NBVC Port Hueneme, Calif., April 10-11. Participants received one bead for every .25 mile completed. The event helped raise awareness about preventing sexual assault. Photo by BUCN Laine Pulfer
Raising awareness though this unique event allowed NMCB 3 Seabees the chance to affect positive change while building a special camaraderie within the battalion. In total, participants ran more than 4,000 miles, which is beyond the distance measured between the East and West coasts.
NMCB 3 provides combatant commanders and Navy component commanders with combat-ready warfighters capable of general engineering, construction and limited combat engineering across the full range of military operations.