By 30th NCR Public Affairs
Cmdr. Jeff Lengkeek (left), commanding officer, NMCB 4, greets Cmdr. Je-Nyoung Sung, Republic of Korea (ROK) navy, during a visit to the battalion sfield training exercise, Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 7. (Photo by UT3 Stephen Sisler/151007-N-HD670-158)
The 30
th Naval Construction Regiment (NCR) and Naval Construction Group (NCG) 1 hosted a team of engineers from the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy during a visit to the U.S. Navy s West Coast naval construction forces, Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 5-10.
Three ROK sailors toured with leadership at commands on Naval Base Ventura County and throughout Navy Region Southwest to help better understand how the commands operations, logistics and training elements work to execute expeditionary construction.
Members of the Republic of Korea navy ask questions during their visit to NMCB 4 s field training exercise,Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 7. (Photo by UT3 Stephen Sisler/151007-N-HD670-339)
The ROK navy is interested in boosting the size of its naval construction capabilities from one construction battalion to a force of three construction battalions, according to Lt. David No, assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea.
The bilateral exchange took the ROK sailors to NCG 1, 30
th NCR, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 2, and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center.
ROK Senior Chief Equipment Operator Woo-Seok Lee, speaking through a translator, said he was struck by how the U.S. naval construction forces train not just on specific jobs, but how that job should be executed in different scenarios.
Members of the Republic of Korea navy look on as equipment operators from NMCB 4 bulldoze dirt for an airfield during the battalion s field training exercise, Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 7. (Photo by UT3 Stephen Sisler/151007-N-HD670-334)
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 showcased its capabilities at Fort Hunter Liggett during the field training exercise. ROK engineers observed Seabees building and fighting in an expeditionary scenario while under evaluation by training elements from NCG 1.
We ve got them up here to observe our field exercise so they can get an idea on how we train [as well as] some of our tactics and techniques, said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Singleton, NCG 1 s training officer. We re looking forward to expanding the amount of training we do with them. They re growing their engineer forces so we re trying to provide [an] example for them on what a professional construction engineering force looks like.
ROK Navy Cmdr. Je-Nyoung Sung said he was very impressed with how realistic the training scenarios were for the battalion, and added that he s interested in implementing many of the training scenarios within the ROK construction force.
Cmdr. Jeff Lengkeek (left), commanding officer, NMCB 4, explains the layout of his main body site to members of the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy during a visit to the battalion s fieldtraining exercise, Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 7. (Photo by UT3 Stephen Sisler/151007-N-HD670-171)
The ROK engineers also visited Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, both based in San Diego, to get a feel for how naval construction units integrate into the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) concept, a method of offloading supplies and equipment from ships without the use of a port.
The U.S. Navy s amphibious construction battalions are an integral part of JLOTS.
They [ROK navy] are definitely one of our partners in the Pacific region and I m pretty excited with their efforts to grow their engineer force I m excited for them to take it back and grow, said Singleton.
Lt. Eric Truemper, NCG1, speaks with a member of the Republic of Korea navy about ongoing operations during NMCB 4 s field training exercise, Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Oct. 7. (Photo by UT3 Stephen Sisler/151007-N-HD670-205)
NCG 1 prepares Pacific Fleet naval construction force units to conduct expeditionary and deliberate construction in support of combatant commanders and warfighter requirements. This is done through combat and construction training, equipment and maintenance training, and the logistical and mobilization support of subordinate units.
NCG 1 exercises administrative control over the 1
st and 30
th NCRs; NMCBs 3, 4 and 5; Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303; and UCT 2.
The 30
th NCR provides operations control over naval engineering forces throughout the Pacific, Southwest Asia and the western United States in response to combat commander and naval component commander requirements. They serve an integral part of the Naval Construction Force and accomplish major combat operations, theatre security cooperation, humanitarian assistance, disaster recovery and phase zero requirements across the Pacific area of responsibility.