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Seabees Add Depth to Joint-Service Engineer Group

Story Number: NNS030210-02

2/10/2003

By LCDR Meg Reed, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group Public Affairs

KUWAIT (NNS) -- U.S. Navy Seabees and the U.S. Marine Corps have a storied history of working together in peace and in war. Now the two groups are demonstrating new versatility and forging stronger ties in their traditional relationship while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

The Naval Construction Force (NCF) provides essential combat construction services to a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Here in the Arabian Gulf, the NCF element of the MAGTF has evolved into the First Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group -- the "MEG." The MEG is made up of light, fully integrated regimental task forces that can be sized and shaped for specific missions, responding with great agility on the modern high-speed battlefield.

The joint-service group features active, Reserve and Guard components from several Seabee units of the First Naval Construction Division (1NCD) and its Marine Augment Detachment 88835; the Marine Corps 4th Combat Engineer Battalion; and the U.S. Army 265th Engineer Group of the Georgia National Guard.

In the MEG, challenges come from adapting Marine Corps processes to the requirements and needs of Seabees, but the process works naturally within the traditionally successful Navy-Marine Corps relationship. Marine Corps Col. Dan R. Mater, MEG chief of staff, said the group's interoperability improves every day. "The MEG has become a fully integrated staff because its members are willing to focus on the same goals. The end result is successful accomplishment of the mission."

U.S. Army Lt. Col. William Hardy, operations officer, is grateful that his unit's connection to the MEG gives it an opportunity to participate in OEF. He graded his experience with the MEG as exceptional. "I've been very pleased with the overall teamwork and camaraderie, and with the way MEG personnel have been dedicated to bridging the gap between the services' different ways of doing business."

The capabilities of the MEG regimental task forces take maximum advantage of Seabee, Marine Corps and Army expertise to produce a force-multiplying synergy. MEG capabilities include airfield construction and repair, road upgrade and maintenance, troop bed-down projects and specialized bridging. The MEG can also provide force protection for its own forces and augment existing security in areas where it is assigned. These skills are tailored in real time to dynamic mission requirements.

The MEG's joint-service elements are useful in forward-deployed operational planning teams. Given today's sophisticated communications, for example, MEG Seabee planners in the Gulf can interface directly with counterparts assigned to 1NCD command operations centers in Little Creek, Va., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii -- and beyond. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Atlantic and Pacific Divisions are only a phone call or a few key clicks away, providing unique engineering expertise in real-time response to tactical needs anywhere on earth.

According to Rear Adm. Charles R. Kubic, MEG commander, integration with the larger Marine Expeditionary Force is going well, though with a learning curve.

"Organization and process integration have been our biggest challenges, but full engineer integration has also led to our initial successes," Kubic admitted. "The decision to organize the MEG into regimental task forces has allowed tremendous engineer agility and adaptability.

"Navy and Marine Corps doctrine has always associated Seabees with the MAGTF," Kubic continued. "The MEG's role adds clarity and greatly advances the concept of engineers working jointly on a fast-paced, well-synchronized battlefield."