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NMCB 4 Seabees Rescue Camels

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS081125-02
Release Date: 11/25/2008 4:45:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SCW/SW/AW) Ronald Gutridge, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 Det. Horn Of Africa Public Affairs

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (NNS) -- Members from Naval Mobile Consrtuction Battalion (NMCB) 4, based out of Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., responded to a call for help when a train derailed just outside of Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Oct. 11.

The Seabees of NMCB 4's Alfa Company were notified that a train consisting of 10 cars had derailed. A crew of eight Seabees equipped with builder tool kits, skill saws and plywood, proceeded to the crash site via the detachments maintenance truck and the medium tactical vehicle replacement (MTVR) wrecker. When they arrived, it was a chaotic scene. They saw that the train's engine had derailed pulling two other cars off the tracks. When the Seabees approached the train, to their surprise, they discovered that most of the cars cargo were camels.

"It was just like a scene out of the movies." said Construction Mechanic 2nd Class (SCW) Justin South. "There was a lot of confusion, but I could tell right away when we [Seabees] arrived, that this was still a very dangerous situation."

Immediately, Alfa Company went into action, evaluating the situation, and planning a rescue. First and foremost, they had to make the scene safe. The two cars that the engine pulled off the tracks were still very unstable. The crew knew they had to disconnect these two cars from the rest of the train in order to safely rescue the camels. The Seabees constructed and crucially placed shoring to stabilize the engine and to keep the first two cars from rolling over while disconnecting them from the rest of the train. Once disconnected, the Seabees used the MTVR wrecker to tow the remaining cars away from the derailed cars and engine.

Then it was time to rescue the live cargo. The eight cars that were disconnected had 20 camels per car. Some of the cars were so severely damaged that the doors would not open. With the help of the base contractors, the doors were removed by using cutting torches. Once inside, the Seabees discovered that many of the camels were severely injured, or did not survive the crash. The ones that did survive were very distraught and were trying to jump out of the cars. Construction Mechanic 2nd Class (SCW) Justin South and Construction Mechanic 2nd Class (SCW) Sean Kelly once again hooked up the MTVR wrecker and towed the cars to a nearby ramp, but the extent of damage to the cars still made it too high for the camels to jump. With the famous 'Can Do' Seabee spirit, this problem was quickly resolved. Temporary ramps were constructed from plywood and put in place, making the offloading of the camels, quick and safe. The severely injured camels were removed with a forklift and were cared for by the local population.

"This rescue consisted of a lot of teamwork from both, the Seabees and the locals," said Builder 3rd Class (SCW) Devin Arndt of NMCB 4 Material Liaison Office. "It just goes to show that when and where tragedy strikes, it is possible for everybody to work together to save lives, whether it be humans or animals."

NMCB 4 is on a six-month deployment in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, completing missions in various countries in Eastern Africa.

For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, visit www.navy.mil/local/nmcb4/.