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NMCB 1 Returns From Historic Worldwide Deployment

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040414-08

Release Date: 4/16/2004 12:00:00 PM

By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Dennis J. Herring, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 Public Affairs

GULFPORT, Miss. (NNS) -- "The First and The Finest" Seabees returned to Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Miss., April 16 after a deployment that spread around the world, making a mark in history and demonstrating once again the Seabees' "Can Do" spirit.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1's main body of Seabees returned from Camp Covington, Guam, after completing a deployment that began in August 2003 and spread numerous details and detachments across 22 time zones at 19 locations around the world.

After active-duty battalions deployed in the spring of 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Naval Reserve battalions were called in to operate two of the three forward-deployed Seabee camps. When it was decided the Reserve battalions would return home in September, First Naval Construction Division divided NMCB 1's deployment between Camp Covington, Guam, and Camp Mitchell, Rota, Spain.

This was the first time since the establishment of Seabee battalions in 1941 that a battalion was tasked with splitting its main body between two main-body camps.

"The logistics of maintaining both camps was a tremendous task," said Cmdr. John Heinzel, NMCB 1's commanding officer. "We maintained over 600 pieces of equipment plus the full allowance of supplies, weapons and communications gear normally allotted to two battalions."

"These Seabees made it happen," he added. "No matter what their job or where they were, they made this deployment happen."

From the two forward camps, NMCB 1 deployed details to Andros Island; Sigonella, Italy; Souda Bay, Greece; and Bahrain. The battalion also deployed Deployments-For-Training to Grenada, Senegal, Jordan (twice), and The Philippines. Personnel were also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Exercise Palah and Exercise Fusion Torch, and a Civic Action Team was deployed to the Republic of Palau. The battalion also deployed units in support of five unified commands: U.S. European Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Northern Command.

"The men and the women of 'The First and The Finest' were unquestionably on-station and on-call around the world during this deployment," Heinzel said. "With this deployment, NMCB 1 has enhanced the Seabees' reputation as the worldwide contingency-engineers of choice."

NMCB 1, homeported in Gulfport, is one of eight active Seabee battalions tasked with providing advance base construction and battle damage repair, contingency engineering, humanitarian assistance, and disaster recovery support to fleet and unified commanders.