Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer Ryan Wilber | Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 perform walking lunges in...... read more read more
GULFPORT, Miss. -- On Aug. 7, sailors of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 successfully completed their first homeport 2010 readiness exercise on board Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport. The exercise was designed to build strength, confidence and endurance in order to prepare the battalion for future missions and exercises in homeport and on deployment.
The morning began with a Mission Oriented Protective Posture Level IV drill where the Seabees had nine seconds to don their gas masks and nine minutes to don their MOPP Suits.
“We heard the call ‘GAS! GAS! GAS!’ Everybody scurried and threw on their gas masks, then we donned our MOPP gear and did buddy checks as fast as we could. It was kind of stressful but I think we did pretty well,” said Seaman Brian Smith, an exercise participant.
After the MOPP drill the battalion doffed and stowed their chemical suits, re-donned their Military Tactical Vests and Kevlar battle helmets, and marched to the base crane yard where seven stations were prepared. The exercise events included: walking lunges, push-ups, buddy carries, squats, up-downs, sit-ups and running in place while wearing gas masks.
“The push-ups were the last station for my company. By then I was exhausted,” said Smith. “It felt like they were going on forever, but we got motivated and shouted to get through it.”
According to Lt. j.g. Joshua Baker, operations officer for field exercises and readiness exercise coordinator, the goal of the whole exercise was to get used to wearing heavy gear under physically demanding conditions.
“You don’t want your first time wearing this gear to be out there in the field,” said Baker. “You put your vest on, you put your Kevlar on, then you add a heavy bag and you start to realize things like ‘this bounces too much, I should cinch this down’ or ‘this strap chafes my neck, I should move this.’”
Baker emphasized the fact that once the battalion gets get out into the field, it will be too late to try and exchange or repair the gear. The time to address any issues is now in homeport.
“I think it’s a good idea to get us ready, especially for the new guys. They need to get used to the gear, and we have to practice to make sure that everyone is proficient and confident in their equipment,” said Smith.
In addition to the readiness exercise, NMCB 74 has been, and will continue to emphasize the importance of physical training on a regular basis and acclimatization. At present, the battalion performs PT three times a week as a group.
“Mississippi gets very hot and humid, and it’s something we have to pay attention to and prepare for,” said Baker. “Our best chance at preventing heat casualties is regular PT, readiness exercises and keeping our camel backs full.”
NMCB 74 has more readiness exercises planned during the homeport training cycle, and is scheduled to deploy later this year.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2010 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 54710 |
| Location: | GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 256 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, NMCB 74 Gears Up for Readiness Exercise, by CPO Michael Lindsey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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