By BU3 Micaela Tennant, NMCB 3 Public Affairs
Seabees assigned to NMCB 3 place the final touches on a concrete block retaining wall s footer at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Calif., July 23. Photo by BU3 Micaela Tennant
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 saved the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center s (MCAGCC) Exercise Logistics Coordination Center (ELCC) more than $1 million, while increasing the battalion s construction capabilities.
From July 13 - Aug. 24, 43 NMCB 3 Seabees split into two groups to construct three concrete block retaining walls that will prevent washout damage during flash floods common to the region, and a new 17-ton steel command and control training center for the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command.
I was pretty amazed at how high the morale was, said Builder 1
st Class Greg Hueramo, the team s safety supervisor. We had a lot of junior troops with no concrete experience, and I could see that Can Do attitude coming out, and getting the job done safely no matter what the conditions. We had zero heat-related mishaps or heat-related medical emergencies. Our troops got used to working at 115 degree-heat, staying safe in that environment and getting the job done.
The overall cost of the project totaled $110,000 a fraction of outside construction costs estimated to be approximately $1.5 million.
The Naval Construction Force (NCF) is a vital component of the U.S. Maritime Strategy. The NCF includes deployable battalions capable of providing disaster preparation and recovery support, humanitarian assistance and combat operations support.
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.