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NAVFAC's Mobile Utilities Experts Support Katrina Relief Efforts

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050902-05
Release Date: 9/2/2005 7:25:00 AM

By Linda Wadley, Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center

PORT HUENEME, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command’s (NAVFAC) Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) technicians deployed Aug. 31 to Gulfport, Miss., where they will assess damage and urgent utility needs for Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport.

“We are proud to be able to do what we can to help,” said Chief Construction Electrician John “Matt” Smith, leader of the four-member team.

NAVFAC MUSE division is tasked to provide emergency utility support to the base in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Two 800-kilowatt (kW) generators and one 2500-kilovolt-amp (kVA) substation are on their way to Gulfport via truck. One 800 kW generator weighs 40,000 pounds and can provide power for approximately 600 homes. Additionally, four 750 kW generators and two substations will depart Friday, Sept. 2. More MUSE technicians will deploy to support that equipment.

Mobile Utilities Support Equipment has 31 active-duty enlisted personnel. MUSE personnel have more than 16 months of specialized power generation training in addition to their Seabee construction rate core training. MUSE has a $200 million inventory, with power generation, transformation, and steam generating equipment to support worldwide Navy and Dept. of Defense utility shortfalls and emergencies.

Although Smith has been with MUSE teams supporting the fleet during disasters, this is the first time he has been involved with supporting Seabees.

“The team is really jazzed to be going out to help our Seabee brothers and sisters in Gulfport,” said Smith. “It’s like helping one of your own family members.”

Naval Construction Battalion Center, home to more than 2,700 Seabees, functions as a support for operating units of the Naval Construction Force. Specifically, it supports Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 1, 7, 74, and 133; the 20th Naval Construction Regiment, the Naval Construction Training Center, and other smaller tenant activities. The mission is to prepare for and support all facets of the mobilization of construction forces, including reserve units. The center is also responsible for preservation and storage of war reserves, including construction equipment and materials.