Story by EA2 Yohanes Nuguse, NMCB-5
Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 completed a revitalization project at the Tinian Childrens Park, designed for local families to enjoy in Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) May 11.
Seabees from NMCB 5 hit the ground running, building a jungle gym, repairing and rejuvenating the restroom facility, and clearing the childrens park of debris that had piled up after Tinian was hit with successive typhoons in 2018.
The last typhoon, Typhoon Yutu, was a Category 5 super typhoon that took place on Oct. 24, 2018 reaching winds of 280 mph wreaked havoc on this proud Pacific island and left behind over $854 million in damages.
The park has been abandoned for anywhere between 10-15 years, with funds running out for maintenance, said Raena P. Cing-Cabrera, grants and projects manager from Tinian mayors office. Thank you to the Seabees for starting the revitalization of Tinian Childrens Park.
The clearing and revitalization of this abandoned park was done using multiple crews. One to clear the open park area of debris, while the other focused on the cleaning and repairs within the restrooms.
The debris around the park was removed using multiple trips to respective dumps around the island including green waste, scrap metal waste, and general waste. The parks restrooms were cleaned using a power washer and repairs were made to the restroom sinks, toilets, and drain systemsincluding unclogging, replacing piping, and building and installing restroom stall doors.
The jungle gym consists of three slides, two sets of monkey bars, a firehouse style pole, and a pull-up bar. The jungle gym was built and solidified by the placement of a concrete footer to hold down in the system in the event of strong wind force that this island is accustomed to.
This project is a meaningful way to give back to the community, because its all about the kids having a great place to enjoy their free time. said Utilitiesman 1st Class Isaias Betancourtgomez, NMCB-5s project supervisor.
NMCB-5 is deployed across the Indo-Pacific region conducting high-quality construction to support U.S. and partner nations to strengthen partnerships, deter aggression, and enable expeditionary logistics and naval power projection. The battalion stands ready to support Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Relief and Major Combat Operations throughout the region.