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Seabees Apply Skills, Build Special Boat Unit Facility

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040129-02

Release Date: 1/29/2004 3:11:00 PM

By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Scott Sutherland, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 Public Affairs

OKINAWA ISLAND, Japan (NNS) -- Throughout the waterfront White Beach Port facility, 17 Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, "The Professionals," are constructing a pre-engineered metal building, or PEB, to be used as a boat maintenance facility and office spaces. The Seabees are also building a 135-foot retaining wall.

The work will eventually aide a Navy's special boat unit to accomplish their mission in the Japanese operating area.

The work will support Naval Special Warfare Group 1's special operations mission in the Pacific region.

The project should keep the Seabees busy during their entire six-month deployment period. Dec. 17, Seabees began ground excavation and prefabrication of 10-foot by 10-foot wooden forms to be used as footers.

"Footers will be at the center, corners and sides of the 100 foot by 50 foot PEB," said Builder 2nd Class Arturo Gaytancampos, the project crew leader. "We're using reinforcing steel, or rebar, to provide strength inside the footers."

The work also includes the construction of restrooms and drying cages.

The project is Gaytancampos's first as a crew leader. Besides coordinating and overseeing the work of 17 Seabees, he also has to be on top of safety precautions. Before each day's work begins, the crew receives a safety lesson about the specific safety requirements and precautions needed for that day. Even though each Seabee project has a designated safety representative, it's up to the respective crew leader to stay on top of whether or not the safety rules and regulations are being adhered to.

"It's new and challenging for me," said Gaytancampos.

The Navy's Special Boat Squadrons were established by the Naval Special Warfare Command to equip, support, and provide trained and ready special operations ships and craft to Special Boat Units (SBU). Members of SBUs are organized, trained and equipped to operate a variety of special operations surface craft in both the maritime and riverine environments. Their unique capabilities in the littoral battle space includes the ability to transition from the blue water open ocean to beach landing sites, to operations within inland maritime lines of communication. They operate rigid-hulled inflatable boats, or RHIBs.

At White Beach, Navy Seabees aren't limiting their skills to vertical construction, like the work being done for SBU. They're also building a staging area for Naval marine equipment belonging to Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet, Amphibious Group 1, Sasebo, Japan. In addition, they're refurbishing the port facility's security building and its armory.

Navy workers and host island nationals at the White Beach Naval Facility should be hearing the hammering, sawing and sounds of heavy construction equipment the rest of this winter and well into the spring, as Seabees leave their mark all over the port area.