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Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Meets Maintenance, Management, Material Mission

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090821-30
Release Date: 8/21/2009 4:45:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan G. Wilber, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Public Affairs

CAMP MORRELL, Kuwait (NNS) -- The Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 remain successful at performing their maintenance, management and material (3M) mission, a mission which relies heavily on communication, with the support of a small detachment of 3M experts at Camp Morrell, Kuwait.

Despite having limited communication assets in remote locations in theater, NMCB 74 can communicate to higher authorities through the Seabees at Camp Morrell.

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) and fleet assets are mandated to use the 3M program to ensure the proper completion of scheduled maintenance on all equipment that they own. The program is designed to keep equipment operating for as long as possible and at peak performance through preventive maintenance.

The 3M team at Camp Morrell is made up of four Seabees led by Chief Engineering Aide Aaron Marshall, who is the 3M coordinator and resident expert for NMCB-74. Stationed with him are two 3M assistants (3MAs) and a repair parts petty officer (RPPO), who together ensure the 3M program is operating correctly.

"We supervise the battalion work centers on all levels to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do," said Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Justin Sharpe, a 3MA for NMCB-74.

Knowledgeable operators, as well as a number of specialized programs, such as MicroSnap to order parts and SKED to track the completion of maintenance, are required to manage a 3M program. Constant communication with higher authority is a major requirement, and this is the main reason for the detachment at Camp Morrell. Ordering parts is essential to battalion operations. The detachment at Camp Morrell ensures parts arrive when and where they are needed.

"It would be better for an RPPO at each detachment site [in country] to put their requests for parts into MicroSnap and then it all be submitted up the chain of command, but without them being able to go on and look at their parts they cannot track what they have on order," said Sharpe.

The forward-deployed Seabees of NMCB-74 are grateful for Marshall and his team's expertise and ability to accomplish the 3M mission.

For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74, www.navy.mil/local/nmcb74/.