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US, ROK Navies Conduct Combined Rapid Runway Repair Exercise

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070329-05
Release Date: 3/29/2007 4:05:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Lisa Wassilieff, U.S. Naval Forces Korea Public Affairs

POHANG, Republic of Korea (NNS) -- U.S. Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 and Republic of Korea (ROK) Sailors from Air Wing 6 combined forces to rebuild a runway damaged in a simulated bombing March 21-23 at the ROK Marine Corps Base here.

This is the second year that the Rapid Runway Repair (RRR) exercise has taken place.

The combined effort was part of the annually scheduled Exercise Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration/Foal Eagle (RSOI/FE) 2007.

The Combined Forces Command in Korea routinely conducts these field exercises and their computer simulated components to train and evaluate ROK and U.S. interoperability while preparing and mentoring junior military personnel and exercising senior leaders.

described the purpose of RRR.

“This exercise was a great collaborative capability enhancer for both the ROK and U.S. Navy,” said Capt. Thomas Cunningham, assistant chief of staff for the engineer department for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK). “This exercise is designed to teach both navies how to repair the runway when damaged.”

For this exercise to take place, both of these navies were divided into two teams, the crater crew and the matting crew. The crater crew filled and leveled a hole 29 feet wide to simulate a damaged runway. Meanwhile, the matting crew bolted together and installed a “patch” 30 feet by 54 feet on the runway. The patch was made of folded fiberglass matting (FFM).

“This was the first time we have used this type of matting, and we were able to figure it out together using our “Can Do” capability,” Cunningham said.

The FMM’s purpose for this simulated damaged runway was to create a surface for aircraft to land on and protect the aircraft from foreign object debris.

The ability to repair an air point of embarkation in such a short time is critical to continued power projection against an enemy in the Korean theater of operations. FMM was originally used by the U.S. Air Force for their fighter jet runway.

The entire runway repair process was timed and conducted seven times. For Builder Chief Carl Peltier, the assistant officer in charge of the detachment here, the exercise was a success.

“Our time for this training evolution has improved since we first began. We went from bolting the matting together in 33 minutes to 17 minutes, and the entire evolution went from 60 minutes on Day 2 to 42 minutes on the final day,” Peltier said.

Peltier also thought the exercise taught his Seabees more than just how to repair a runway.

“They have had the opportunity to learn about teamwork with another country’s service. Since starting this exercise, we have synchronized this process together,” said Peltier.

One of the Seabees, Builder Second Class (SCW) Eric Dirk, really enjoyed the opportunity to learn about how the ROK Navy operates.

“It feels good to work with another service. We came together during this exercise and shared our knowledge,” Dirk said. “I really feel this exercise brought us closer together as a team and helped improve relations with our allies.”

To form the NMCB-3 detachment involved with RSOI, 10 members deployed from Okinawa, Japan, while 12 others came from a detachment in Chinhae. NMCB-3 is homeported out of Naval Base Ventura County, Oxnard, Calif.