Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Lilah HudsonKindred, NMCB 4
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 with augmented team members from NMCB 11, formed a 30-person embark organization to perform a joint mount-out exercise (MOX) with USNS Fall River (T-EPF 6).
Being involved in this MOX is a great experience for me since I usually dont get to work around civil engineering support equipment, said Utilitiesman Constructionman Apprentice Yashneel Achari.
During the embarkation process, the team prepared and staged the Civil Engineering Support Equipment (CESE). Thirteen vehicles and equipment were physically embarked on the T-EPF 6 ship, moored pier-side at Naval Base Guam. The CESE included three High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, a light plant trailer, an Environmental Control Unit, a front end loader, a backhoe, a skid steer, a 12K forklift, a 11K telehandler forklift, two MTVR cargo trucks, one trailer-mounted saw, two 60K generator sets, and other equipment common to multiple NMCB mission sets.
Getting the extra practice when it comes to CESE embarkation is just another great way to continue my career, because the more I learn, the more I can teach to my junior troops, said Equipment Operator 3rd Class Sarah Ketchum.
The selected CESE represented equipment required on multiple mission sets that the Seabees offer in the construction of Advance Naval Bases and Expeditionary Advance Bases, which enhances the capabilities of our Joint Forces.
The Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ship provides a viable platform for rapid delivery of Seabees and their equipment, to effectively restore, rebuild, and construct expeditionary bases throughout the theater, explained the MOX Officer-in-Charge, Chief Equipment Operator Jamie Lengner.
Each of the members played a crucial role in the preparation and execution of the exercise, which provided an important proof of interoperability in the execution of unit movement in the Indo-Pacific theater.
This exercise shows the Seabees ability to go to sea, and effectively build and fight in any corner of the Pacific Fleet, described Senior Chief Construction Mechanic Cleveland Peart.
The exercise fostered relationships between the Naval Construction Force and Military Sealift Command, and developed paths for additional interoperability exercises in the future.