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Seabees Help Build Tent City at NAS JRB New Orleans

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050919-10
Release Date: 9/19/2005 4:08:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Barbara Silkwood, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 Public Affairs

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Shortly after arriving at Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) New Orleans in September, a small detachment of Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40 began erecting “Tent City,” which will house upwards of 7,500 military personnel assisting with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts - including the Louisiana Air National Guard (LANG), NMCB 40 Seabees, and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

Once Tent City is established, there is a possibility it will remain in place for the next two years, and crews will stay in the tents for extended periods of time. It will consist of nearly 300 tents, three galleys, shower units and latrines.

The initial tasking required the Seabees to provide a 500-man camp, so the first group from the battalion to arrive at JRB from Port Hueneme, Calif., assembled 48 tents. An additional 250 tents were put up by Kellogg, Brown and Root Company (KBR), one of the Department of Defense contractors hired to assist with recovery operations.

After the tents were in place, there remained several larger tasks: installing wooden decking for all the tents, as well as the decks for the galleys, shower units and latrines.

The wooden floors, electrical power and air conditioning units in all the tents will not only make living conditions more comfortable, but will also provide protection from the elements.

Since the contractors had a fairly small crew on site, the officer in charge of NMCB 40’s crew, Lt. Jonathan Charbonnet, spoke with the civilian contractor in charge of the project to see if the Seabees could help augment some of the work.

“This is a Chief of Naval Operations priority since there is an immediate need to house several thousand people and the base can’t support the berthing requirements,” said Charbonnet. “So in order to expedite this process we are sending some of our Seabees to help,” he said.

As the work starts to progress and the crews begin working on multiple tasks - such as the additional berthing requirements and power distribution – the Seabees will also bring in some of their electricians and utilitiesmen.

“This is great on-the-job training for the Seabees to have the chance to work with professional carpenters and journeymen," said Charbonnet. "Seabees bring good capabilities, and this will be an excellent opportunity for them to excel in their knowledge and work experience. There are a lot of benefits to be gained having both groups work together in this,” he said.

Contractors continue to mobilize. Together with the Seabees, there will be a crew upwards of 150 working to complete the project as quickly as possible.