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NMCB 40 Conducts "Training Lanes"

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050207-09
Release Date: 2/7/2005 2:05:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class (SW) Barbara Silkwood, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 Public Affairs

OKINAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40, forward deployed to Okinawa, Japan for a six-month deployment, completed "Training Lanes" in January.

The three-day training evolution is designed to maintain the crew's combat readiness and efficiency.

Since the battalion's capability to maintain a "ready posture" is largely dependent on its current level of training, these evolutions are critical to the mission of the Naval Construction Force.

"If we were to go out into an unfamiliar situation without the proper training, there [would] definitely [be] room for mistakes to happen," said Chief Builder Todd Bolden, the training coordinator and acting military advisor. "But, if you can instill this type of mission essential knowledge in the troops, then they will have the ability to understand the dynamics of the situation and will be more apt to overcome and work through the obstacles."

The training commenced before dawn with an hour-long squad level march around the base in full "battle rattle," including the kevlar helmet, flak jacket, web belt, and Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) masks to build endurance and establish unit cohesiveness.

For the remainder of the training, companies rotated through nine topics, including CBR decontamination procedures; REACT training; embark procedures; urban combat methods; patrols and convoys; Improvised Explosive Device (IED) identification; tactical communications; and combat medical skills.

"One of the most important skills we continuously train on is communications, and then we focus on the survivability skills, such as field medical and CBR," said Bolden.

He explained that training is most often dictated by current world situations and combat tactics, so a few topics were included this year to train more toward the present combat situations.

The training department sent three people to a class with Marines from the field who gave a brief on the most recent events in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the explosives currently being used.

"The people from our command in turn brought back that knowledge and used it to put together IED recognition training," Bolden said.

The majority of training was conducted in the field with hands-on application, and in this case, on the grassy lots in Camp Shields. Instructors also used the conventional classroom method to familiarize and educate those new to the battalion, as well as refresh the memories of those who have previously been through the training.

"The training went exceptionally well," Bolden said. "I received a lot of positive comments about the hands-on approach, and the group as a whole was very responsive and actively participated in the learning."