Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Waters | 240723-N-PI330-1051 GULFPORT, Mississippi (July 23, 2024) Seabees, assigned to Naval...... read more read more
GULFPORT, Mississippi – Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 conducted their field training exercise (FTX) from July 22, 2024 to July 29, 2024 across multiple locations in Mississippi, Louisiana and North Carolina.
This field training exercise saw NMCB 133 split into multiple units of action and conduct independent construction and tactics operations with a centralized headquarters company to practice command and control over the subordinate units.
“The assigned missions and adaptive scenarios do an exceptional job in preparing battalions for globally dispersed operations in competition, crisis and conflict,” said Cmdr. Christopher W. Archer, NMCB 133’s commanding officer. “Our units of action exercised mission command from locations around the country, conducting high quality airfield, waterfront and advanced base construction operations while adjusting to changes in the threat environment. Our operational planning teams knocked every task out of the park, rapidly working through the naval planning process to analyze multiple naval construction missions, develop courses of action, and ultimately issue orders for our units to execute. We completed this evolution having established a firm foundation to accomplish all projected future missions.”
Earlier in 2024 the Naval construction force (NCF) reorganized into units of action focused on specific types of construction. This caused significant changes to how the units of action train and conduct operations including FTX.
“Operating in a distributed environment results in the individual companies having to rely much more on their own planning and small unit training than we had to in the past,” said Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Lawrenz, NMCB 133’s operations officer. “When logistics and reach back support is limited, the smaller units must take on more responsibility and mission command, understanding and executing commander’s intent and operating with little to no logistical support.”
Both Archer and Lawrenz expressed that these changes more accurately reflect how Seabee battalions have been conducting deployments in recent times and better prepares them to support task force commanders in a deployed environment.
In addition to changes in the battalion’s structure, the NCF has implemented changes to the military tactics they evaluate to more realistically reflect modern threats.
“Each company faced their own unique challenges, ranging from unmanned aerial systems and missile threats to degraded communications to battling the rain and heat at Camp Shelby,” said Lawrenz. “I was extremely impressed with how motivated everyone was, and how well each unit came together to overcome these challenges and meet the mission.”
Despite all of the changes to this year’s FTX, NMCB 133 was able to overcome the obstacles in their path and certify for deployment.
“No matter where our battalion deployed for this exercise, our Sailors embraced the challenges, rapidly adjusted to conditions, and executed high quality construction to enable fleet maneuver,” said Archer. “I’m proud of the tactical and technical training we conducted on and prior to FTX, and of the training and guidance we received from Naval Construction Group 2 before we went to the field and throughout the exercise – it was a whole of Seabee effort and we were well prepared.”
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2024 11:37 |
| Story ID: | 478358 |
| Location: | GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 143 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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