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Class IV: The Lifeblood of Expeditionary Construction

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080424-07
Release Date: 4/24/2008 11:33:00 AM

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jeffrey J. Pierce, 22nd Naval Construction Regiment Public Affairs

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (NNS) -- The Class IV yards located throughout the Anbar Province of Iraq and run by the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment (22 NCR) can be considered the lifeblood of military construction in the region.

In the military engineering world, Class IV are materials used for construction such as lumber, electrical, masonry, aggregate, plumbing hardware and roofing materials. The Class IV yard supplies almost anything available for purchase at a home improvement retailer in the U.S.

Cmdr. James Peltier, 22 NCR's logistics officer, explained the regiment helps to sustain and improve infrastructure in the Multi National Forces-West area of operations.

"We'll supply anyone [U.S. Navy, Army or Marine Corps units] who comes to us for assistance in furthering construction efforts across all lines of operations," Peltier said.

There is a process for the procurement of materials from the Class IV yards. The first step is the determination of what materials are required. This requirement comes in the form of a bill of materials or BOM. The BOM is then submitted to the 22 NCR Current Operations department. The request for materials is then given a quality assurance check.

Once the check is complete, the BOM is forwarded to 22 NCR's R44 (Class IV) Department. R44 determines the appropriate Class IV yard that is closest and has the majority of the material in stock and transfers material from other yards to fill the shortages on the BOM.

At this point, the materials are staged and the unit is notified to schedule a pick up.

Chief Equipment Operator (SCW) Rolando Martinez, officer in charge of one of the Class IV yards noted he and his crew are always working a week ahead of time.

"The size of the BOM dictates when we need to schedule the unit for pick up. It also dictates when we need to start staging materials to have them ready on time," Martinez said. "Priority of pickup is determined by project number and where it falls in what is known as Prioritized Engineer Project List or PEPL. The lower numbered projects have a higher priority."

Lt. Brian Huckaby, 22 NCR's Class IV officer, explained having the right materials, in the right place and at the right time is critical for construction success in Iraq.

"The Seabees are here to build, and if they don't have the construction materials to build with it's a day they are not working to their full capacity. We can't go back in time and recover that lost work day. We only have a finite number of working days on deployment, so each one is crucial."

For more news from 22nd Naval Construction Regiment, visit www.navy.mil/local/22ndNCR/.