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NMCB 4 Constructs New Aerial Targets

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070601-12
Release Date: 6/1/2007 5:30:00 PM

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Steve Bansbach, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 Public Affairs

NAVAL BASE, Guam (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 provided their services to help construct new targets for Carrier Air Groups (CAG) that will deploy.

Working in conjunction with the Training Department of Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md., and Pacific Fleet Command Training Department in Pearl Harbor, four Seabees helped construct plastic armored vehicle targets during the week of May 21. These targets will provide radar cross-section and target recognition for deploying squadrons enabling them to hone their skills before they deploy.

“These targets will help pilots recognize and see simulated targets, helping them to distinguish between enemy and friendly forces,” said Lt. Craig Petersen, area training officer for Naval Base Marianas.

The crew that was in charge of putting these targets together said they enjoyed their work, stating it gave them a chance to work outside their normal jobs.

“The civilians wanted us to stay,” Builder 2nd Class (SW) Charles Murdock said, “and we wanted to. It was a lot of fun. We stayed focused and just did what we do everyday.”

The targets are hard plastic models of foreign vehicles and weapon systems based on old Soviet items. The models will be placed on an uninhabited island, 60 miles off the coast of Guam. Currently, the models are on Guam and will be repositioned in August.

“The rest of the guys will not be here in August, but I will,” Constructionman Joshua Benda said, “I would love to go back and work with them. It was a lot of fun and we got a chance to work with our fleet counterparts.”

The targets are projected to be constructed every six months to a year, and the Seabees were eager to help.

“The targets were just big models that we had to put together,” Utilitiesman 2nd Class Chris Deiulius said. “They had to show us how to put one together and then we assembled the rest.”

“The Seabees are awesome, to be perfectly honest,” Petersen said. “We needed experienced builders to construct these targets correctly and as quickly as possible and that is what Seabees do. They definitely proved that this time. If it were anybody else it would have taken much longer.”

Currently, civilian contractors from the Computer Science Corporation are constructing instruction manuals so that future Seabee battalions can construct these targets when the need arises.