Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Rayburn | SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (May 18, 2023) Sailors , assigned to Naval Construction...... read more read more
On May 26th, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 and NMCB-25 successfully completed their field training exercise (FTX), Operation Turning Point. After nearly a month of around-the-clock operations conducting expeditionary construction in a situation mimicking a distributed and hostile environment, NMCB-4 and NMCB-25 have been certified by Naval Construction Group (NCG) 1 as ready to deploy.
The battalions were spread out through locations across southern California: Fort Hunter-Liggett, Naval Base Ventura County, San Clemente Island, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Vandenberg Space Force Base. NMCB-4 established their tactical headquarters at San Clemente Island while NMCB-25 established their headquarters at Naval Base Ventura County for the duration of the exercise.
At Naval Base Ventura County NMCB-4 conducted pierside damage repair (PDR) with assistance from Navy divers assigned to Underwater Construction Team 2. For the duration of the exercise the team deployed a integrated waterfront construction capability to conduct battle damage assessment and repairs while also determining the feasibility of a having a floating barge at the site. At the same time, NMCB-25 established their headquarters on a separate part of the base and were tasked with constructing an intermediate staging base capable of supporting 300 personnel. To accomplish this the battalion was tasked with building 10 modular general purpose tent system (MGPTS) decks 4 Southwest Asia huts and 5 force protection heavy timber bunkers while also conducting defensive operations for their headquarters.
On San Clemente Island, NMCB-4 was tasked with establish a task force headquarters with command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I) and an advanced base capable of supporting 400 personnel. NMCB-4’s headquarters was responsible for relaying timely and accurate information of requirements and possible attacks using C4I to the various locations’ centers of command. The construction team was tasked with building 20 MGPTS decks, 8 Southwest Asia huts, 6 force protection heavy timber bunkers and 2 Sentry posts. The team had to accomplish the assigned tasks while conducting defensive operations, battle damage repair, and handling water purification while under tight deadlines.
At Fort Hunter-Liggett the battalion conducted vertical and horizontal construction while facing various simulated situations including civilian visitors, ground attacks, and missile threats conducted by NCG 1. While working with Marines from the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, the crews were tasked with building bunkers and Southwest Asia huts under a tight deadline. As the scenario developed, attacks and other disturbances became more common, putting pressure onto the battalion and Marines to finish their requirements on time. Additionally, NCG 1 and the battalions worked with the base fire department to build a new concrete pad for the on base fire station.
On Vandenberg Space Force Base, NMCB 4’s Airfield Damage Repair element was tested on its ability to produce high-quality airfield construction and repairs. Within days of their arrival on site the crew completed their initial concrete placement, constructing a NUMBER foot runway. As Operation Turning Point progressed, parts of the crew’s runway was destroyed multiple times by Sailors from Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit NUMBER in simulated missile attacks. The runway was destroyed to test NMCB 4’s ability to conduct Expeditionary Rapid Airfield Damage Repair in a timely and high-quality manner should the need arise while deployed.
On Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, NMCB-25 was tasked with deploying and maintaining ground lines of communication (GLOC) construction and their ability to conduct battle damage repair (BDR) construction and sustainment. The battalion was tasked with repairing 3 miles of roadway that was either degraded or destroyed from simulated attacks. These new and improved roads will help those at NAWS China Lake better access to the remote testing sites for the NAWS China Lake Weapons Survivability Lab.
NMCB-4 and NMCB-25 illustrated the Seabee’s commitment to providing vital infrastructure enhancements to our force and strategic allies in remote parts of the world, implementing key-components from Force Design 2030 to operate in a distributed and hostile environment across the Indo-Pacific region. The situations the battalions went through will hone their skills and ensure that the battalion will provide a variety of humanitarian aid and critical combat construction support around the Indo-Pacific region during its future deployment.
NMCB 4 is homeported out of Port Hueneme, California where its NUMBER personnel provide engineering and construction support around the world.
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2023 12:59 |
| Story ID: | 445915 |
| Location: | VARIOUS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Naval Construction Group One Concludes Operation Turning Point., by PO1 Brian Sipe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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