Story by Chief Petty Officer Lowell Whitman
Capt. Jeffrey Kilian, commodore, 30th Naval Construction Regiment, reads a citation awarding the Meritorious Unit Commendation to 30 NCR for the regiment's efforts in providing command and control of Naval Construction Force units from July 2014, to March 2016 during a Nov. 18, 2016, ceremony in Port Hueneme, California. (Photo by Chief Petty Officer Lowell Whitman/161117-N-HA376-003)
The Chief of Naval Operations awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) to the 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30 NCR) for its work throughout the Pacific, Nov. 17.
The award recognizes the accomplishments of the unit from July 2014, to March 2016. During that time, the personnel of 30 NCR demonstrated unparalleled operational readiness and superb expeditionary performance while providing command and control of Naval Construction Force units deployed throughout the U.S. 7th Fleet, according to the citation from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.
This commendation is well-deserved recognition of the work that the regiment has put forth in conducting a diverse range of expeditionary tasks throughout the Pacific, said Capt. Jeffrey Kilian, commodore, 30 NCR.
As a command and control element, 30 NCR provides planning and management for construction operations executed by Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCB), Underwater Construction Teams (UCT), and Construction Battalion Maintenance Units (CBMU), among others.
I believe this award stands as a greater pronouncement of the quality of work in the Asia-Pacific accomplished by Seabees from across the Naval Construction Force, said Kilian.
During the almost two-year reporting timeframe, 30 NCR executed 67 joint and combined exercises, engagements, and contingency operations supporting disaster recovery across the U.S. 7th Fleet.
The regiment led a Combined-Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force executing civic construction, cooperative health engagements, subject matter expert exchanges, and humanitarian and disaster response preparation together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the islands of Panay and Palawan during Exercise Balikatan, 2015.
Embarking aboard USNS Millinocket as Task Force Forager for Pacific Partnership 2015, the regiment visited five different countries including Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Philippines and Vietnam over the course of three months, helping to improve the interoperability of the region's military forces, governments, and humanitarian organizations during disaster relief operations.
For Exercise Foal Eagle 2016, the regiment deployed forward to provided command and control for numerous engineering projects between Republic of Korea engineers and NMCBs 4, 133, UCT 2, and CBMU 303.
Capt. Jeffrey Kilian, commodore, 30 NCR, presented the commendation to the regiment after receiving the award from Rear Adm. Brian Brakke, commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, during a ceremony at Commander, Task Force 75 on Guam, Nov. 8.
Established in 1967, the MUC is awarded to units in either combat or non-combat conditions for valorous or meritorious achievement.
Commander, 30th NCR provides operational 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, theater security cooperation, humanitarian assistance, disaster recovery and Phase Zero requirements across the Pacific area of responsibility.