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NMCB 7 Lends a Helping Hand to Underwater Construction Team 1

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100520-25
5/20/2010

By Construction Electrician Constructionman Ivana P. Flores, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 Public Affairs

ROTA, Spain (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7 donned dust masks, tyvek suits, hard hats, and their ear and eye protection as they came to the aid of their counterparts from Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1.

The three-month construction project, scheduled to be completed by May 25, will consist of the installation of dry wall, overhead lighting, and tile; transforming previously unused spaces into maintenance and administrative offices for the Seabees of UCT 1.

"Our mission was to construct office spaces from unused infrastructure within the spaces of UCT 1," said Utilitiesman 2nd Class Nolan Blount. "My expectations for the crew were to show up on time and to work hard throughout the day to ensure that completion timelines are met."

The crew for this project consisted of six highly skilled NMCB 7 Camp Maintenance personnel from Delta Company: Construction Electrician 2nd Class Timothy Powell, Construction Electrician 3rd Class Ian Kipp, Builder 3rd Class Greg Lever, Builder Constructionman Trenton Tucker, and Utilities Constructionman Jayson Fickbohm, with Utilitiesman 2nd Class Blount as crew leader.

"The project taught me a lot about the Seabees, safety, hard work, projects, and deployment," said Utilitiesman Constructionman Jayson Fickbohm. "Even though I have worked projects before, this particular one has taught me the skill of laying tile, which I really enjoy."

"For this being my first project since joining the battalion, I was amazed at the exceptional teamwork displayed by our crew," said Construction Electrician 3rd Class Timothy Powell. "The project has been a great success thus far. It has been an excellent training environment and has provided a good experience to have under our belts. We are looking forward to completing this project and moving on to other tasking handed down to us."

Upon completion of this project, NMCB 7's Camp Maintenance personnel will have expended approximately 283 man-days of construction with a budget of $15,000.

In addition to the UCT 1 project, Seabees from Camp Maintenance have begun the renovation of a crew lounge area in enlisted barracks building 1775 at Camp Mitchell. Titled as MCD Project 7409, the project will consist of repainting walls and the removal and replacement of worn tile flooring. This project will last approximately six weeks.

NMCB 7 and its detachments are currently deployed to various locations throughout Europe and Africa as part of the battalion's regularly scheduled 2010 deployment, with the main body of the battalion operating from Camp Mitchell at Naval Station Rota. In January, the battalion deployed an air detachment of 85 Seabees to assist in Operation Unified Response, in response to the 7.0 earthquake that struck the country of Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010.

NCMB 7 is homeported at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss., home of the Atlantic Fleet Seabees, and is currently the East Coast's Battle "E" Seabee battalion.