NMCB-5 Holds Change of Command Ceremony in Okinawa, Japan

OKINAWA, JAPAN

05.19.2023

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Luke Cunningham 

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5

OKINAWA, Japan – Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 held a Change of Command ceremony onboard Camp Shields in Okinawa, Japan, May 19.
During the ceremony, Capt. Andrew Olsen, NMCB-5’s outgoing commanding officer, relinquished command to his successor Cmdr. John Pergerson.
Throughout his speech, Olsen reminisced about his time in NMCB-5 and gave praise to the members of his former battalion.
“I am so incredibly proud of our NMCB-5 family and your amazing accomplishments,” said Olsen. “I am eternally grateful for our time together and for having had the opportunity to lead the finest Seabee battalion in the U.S. Navy.”
The ceremony marked Pergerson’s first address to the battalion as a whole. During his speech, he demonstrated his eagerness to get to know the members of NMCB-5, both in Okinawa and those currently deployed to detail sites upon return to homeport.
“In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to meeting and talking with each of you and seeing the great work you have done here while deployed in Okinawa,” said Pergerson. “To our Seabees at forward detail sites across the Pacific, if I do not have the opportunity to meet you while we are deployed, I certainly look forward to seeing you all when we return home and celebrating the many awesome achievements you have made during this deployment.”
Pergerson’s previous Navy tours include his role as Assistant Resident Officer in Charge of Construction at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, he was dual-hatted at Naval Base Ventura County, California where he served as the Officer-In-Charge and Public Works Officer of Outlying Landing Field San Nicolas Island. He was assigned as Facilities Officer and Engineer Operations Officer on the staff of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain. He then transitioned to NMCB-40 in Port Hueneme, California, where he served as Charlie Company Commander, Exercise Officer, and Officer in Charge/Embassy Liaison Officer of Detachment Philippines. He later worked as the Assistant Public Works Officer at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia. He was then assigned as Training and Readiness Officer for NMCB-3 where he completed two deployments to the Pacific. He then became the Public Works Officer onboard Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia. He also served as Executive Assistant to the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, and most recently assumed duty as the OPNAV N46 MILCON Program Analyst in June 2021.
NMCB-5 is forward deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region and United States territories to support and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the stand-in, crisis response, naval engineering force, NMCB-5 maintains a ready posture to deliver in-theater expeditionary logistics via expeditionary shore infrastructure, forward damage repair, and mobile construction.

• Date Taken: 05.19.2023
• Date Posted: 05.19.2023 02:54
• Story ID: 445083
• Location: OKINAWA, JP