By MC1 Brannon Deugan, NMCB 1 Public Affairs
Personnel Specialist 1st Class Jennifer Johnston, left, and Engineering Aide 3rd Class Peris Karanja discuss a significate event during Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1's Command Post Exercise (CPX) aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi, July 21. (Photo by MC1 Brannon Deugan/160721-SD965-004)
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 concluded a three-day Command Post Exercise (CPX) focusing on the fighting aspect of the Seabee s motto, We Build, We Fight, aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi, July 22.
The exercise concentrated on command and control, communications, and timely decision making processes for real-world scenarios.
Communication is very important, said Engineering Aide 3rd Class Peris Karanja. The information received provides a visual of the process and allows for decisive decisions to be made regarding whether or not support needs to be sent out to contain the lines.
Karanja, who stood watch inside the Combat Operation Center (COC) during the exercise, was able to learn the importance of communications in warfighting decisions that are made based on information being passed to and from all of the outlying detachment sites, entry control points, and company posts.
More than 200 Seabees participated in different scenarios during the CPX. The concentrated exercise is one in a series of training events leading to the battalion's final graded Field Training Exercise (FTX), which certifies that the battalion can deploy.