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Seabees Help Clean up Community

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050920-03
Release Date: 9/20/2005 1:06:00 PM

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

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Several groups of Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40 are working to clean up debris and remove fallen trees throughout Southern Louisiana as part of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts since their arrival in September.

The Seabee Engineering Reconnaissance Team (SERT) toured through several parishes of New Orleans checking Parish priorities such as road accessibility and clearing routes, annotating schools or other public areas along the way in need of repair.

After consolidating information and organizing a plan of action, SERT and Bravo company loaded up an MTVR (medium tactical vehicle replacement) with chain saws and clean-up equipment, and headed for Plaquemine Parish’s highest priority, the Belle Chase post office.

“The postal trucks were blocked in by large trees which fell during the hurricane, so the idea was to clear the parking lot so the post office could start functioning again as quickly as possible,” said Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Matt Klier. “There were also a lot of downed power lines, so we ended up cutting the lines and moving them out of the way as well,” he said.

The crew finished the job quickly and began searching for other work in the area.

“We found a historical landmark which had been turned into a library. There were about 12 trees down, roofing was laying everywhere, so we cut the trees up, stacked them in a pile and cleaned the area up the best we could,” Klier said.

The crew piled in the truck again and went searching for more work.

“We know we can’t help each individual citizen, so we look for government or public facilities within the community. If we can help citizens out in the process, we will do what we can, but we also understand we can’t just start attacking houses one by one,” Klier said.

As an example, the team found a middle school several miles up the road with severe damage to the roof, and trees and debris scattered through the school yard. The crew spotted a couple across the street who had returned to their home for the first time since the storm. One by one they made their way to the yard and began cutting and stacking the enormous tree branches littering the front and back yard.

“They just came over and asked if they could help,” said local resident Theresa Wade. “We really appreciate their help.”

The Seabees were more than happy to help and were delighted when the Wades’ daughter-in-law offered them freezer pops for their hard work.

“It was a good feeling to be able to help some of the residents,” said Klier. "We will continue to do what we can to ease the burden of the community.”