NMCB 3 relieves NMCB 5

Photo by MCC Jesse Sherwin / NMCB 3

Seaman Cesili Caraway hands Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5's Battalion Equipment Evaluation Program sign to Seaman Jason Cassle during a turnover ceremony with NMCB 3. The ceremony marked the official transfer of authority from NMCB 5 to NMCB 3.

CAMP MITCHELL, Spain Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 relieved NMCB 5 of all Seabee construction responsibilities in Europe and Africa during a formal ceremony Feb. 14.

The relief in place and transfer of authority ceremony (RIP/TOA) marked the official end of NMCB 5’s deployment to Europe and Africa that started in August when they deployed from Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme.

Before the RIP/TOA could occur, a weeklong inspection and review was conducted of all equipment, supplies, projects, facilities and Civil Engineering Support Equipment (CESE).

Unlike a ship, when a Seabee battalion deploys, they do not travel with their equipment. Instead, all of the construction equipment and supplies that they will use are already at their deployment sites. A detailed turnover must be conducted before the oncoming battalion commences work.

The equipment and supplies that the battalion uses is called a Table of Allowance (TOA). For an NMCB, the entire TOA, which is worth more than $70 million, is designed to support operations and sustainment of a 600-Seabee battalion, conducting forward contingency and humanitarian assistance operations anywhere in the world, said Chief Logistics Specialist Frankie Acevedo, the NMCB 3 supply chief.

“If any tools, parts or other supplies are found to be missing during the inspection, they need to be on order or placed on order,” said Acevedo. “We have to maintain the TOA at 100 percent readiness.”

The CESE undergoes a more thorough inspection in a process called the Battalion Equipment Evaluation Program (BEEP). NMCB 3 Alfa Company, consisting of construction mechanics and equipment operators, inspected and received custody of more than 200 units of CESE. When the inspection was complete, a red diamond shaped sticker with a white number three, called a BEEP sticker, was placed on each piece of CESE.

“The BEEP sticker identifies what type, and what specific Seabee unit the CESE belongs to,” said Construction Mechanic 1st Class James Gongas, from NMCB 5.

A red diamond identifies the CESE as belonging to an NMCB. A triangle will identify it as belonging to a Naval Construction Regiment and a square is an Underwater Construction Team.

Along with the equipment and supply turnover, NMCB 3 relieved NMCB 5 of construction project responsibilities all over Europe and Africa.

Some of the ongoing projects include building a school and a bathroom facility for the locals in Gende Gerade, Ethiopia, and building clinics in Djibouti, Africa.