Story by BU3 Darcel Tinner, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 Public Affairs Office
ATSUGI, JAPAN Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 Detail Atsugi completed phase one of excavation and compaction on the steel bridges project at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Nov. 13, hitting the first major milestone of the construction project.
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Builder 3rd Class Tyler Godfrey is using a Hand Vibratory Tamping Foot to compact the excavation site at Atsugi, Japan. (Photo by Builder 3rd Class Darcel Tinner)
We are constructing four concrete abutment pads and have completed the first phase of the project by excavating 81-cubic meters of earthwork, said Detail Atsugi Officer-in-Charge, Ens. Martin Craig. The finished project will be a valuable asset to the water treatment facility and their employees, allowing them to navigate between the tanks more efficiently and safely.
The water treatment plant provides water for all of NAF Atsugi. The goal of the project is to create two steel bridges in between three water reservoirs for employees to have easier access getting between the reservoirs.
As crew leader, Builder 2nd Class Timothy Demaio makes sure the junior troops receive proper training and that they have the ability to conduct cross training to increase their job skills.
I ensure that the junior troops are remaining gainfully employed doing work on the project site to make them well rounded Seabees, said Demaio. Many of our troops have been doing cross training like Construction Electrician 2nd Class Amber Decasas who has been working on the reinforcing steel (RST) for the abutments and Utilitiesman 3rd Class Sean Clemens who is getting his license for the backhoe to help with the excavation.
Builder 3rd Class Tyler Godfrey stated the excavation went very well and as a project crew member the job was challenging at times.
I have been working on the abutments at the excavation sites, said Godfrey. When the excavator filled the trucks with dirt, we unloaded the dirt by hand with shovels and rakes into the staging area so we can use the dirt again later for backfill and compaction after the concrete abutments have been placed.
Both bridge sites are completely excavated and are standing by for a compaction test. The next phase of the construction project includes prefabricating the forms for the abutments. Once they are created, leveled and plumbed, the crew will place the forms on the blinding concrete. When both the forms and RST are completely set and ready the concrete will be placed.
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Construction Electrician 2nd Class Amber Decasas and Utilitiesman Petty Officer Third Class Sean Clemens are shoveling aggregate from a truck on to the excavation site in Atsugi, Japan for concrete abutments. (Photo by Builder 3rd Class Darcel Tinner)
NMCB 4 is a forward deployed pacific NMCB ready to support Major Combat Operations and Humanitarian Assistance/ Disaster Relief operations and to provide general engineering and civil support to Navy, Marine Corps and joint operational forces. Homeported out of Port Hueneme, Calif., NMCB 4 has detachment sites deployed throughout the United States and Pacific area of operations, including Diego Garcia, Guam, Japan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Timor Leste.
For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, visit http://www.public.navy.mil/seabee/nmcb4/Pages/default.aspx or follow NMCB 4 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NMCB4