On 28 August, Typhoon "Omar" passed directly over Guam, with winds gusting at approximately 150 miles per hour. Although thorough preparations spared Camp Covington significant damage, the island itself suffered its worst devastation 15 years. Within hours of the typhoon’s passing, the Kangroos of NMCB-133 were involved with disaster recovery efforts throughout the island. All routine tasking was put on hold as NMCB-133, augmented by tailored Air Dets from NMCB-40 in Port Hueneme and NMCB-7 in Okinawa, worked around the clock assisting in water distribution, restoration of power, rebuilding heavily damaged schools, and erection of large tent city at the Fleet Hospital site to house hundreds of homeless.
Despite constant power outages and four more typhoons (Brian, Elsie, Gay and Hnt), the Roo’s completed 27 K-Span shells, 19 PEB’s, finished a fire fighting training complex and renovated a 44,000 square foot diplomatic telecommunications service facility for the U.S. State Department. During the deployment, Alfa Company endured a particularly tough work schedule. The maintenance division turned over 319 pieces of heavy equipment and vehicles upon arrival in May and immediately instituted a comprehensive in-depth inspection/repair program. The cost of repair parts alone was $930,000. Alfa Company also provided equipment support to more than 50 project sites, and there were never less than 12 continuously active sites. At the two quarry sites, crews excavated 26,000 cubic yards—enough to cover five football fields three feet high. The Orote Point quarry machinery required extensive repairs before being brought on-line as a production facility. The aggregate wash plant was completely rebuilt. After receiving a major overhaul, the asphalt plant produced its first batch in more than four years. Seabee reservists were integrated into operations at the Orote Point quarry and proved to be able teachers in quarry operations.
The 30-man Diego Garcia Det worked on six projects, including site work and erecting a 24 foot by 40 foot PEB, constructing a hazardous waste building and a 500 square-foot reinforced concrete emergency fuel distribution facility. The 13-man Civic Action Team at Palau worked on 18 projects, including the erection of a PEB and the installation of a bauxite cap on 16 miles of roadway.
NMCB-133 was awarded the Battle "E" for FY 92 Best of Type in the Atlantic Fleet in October. Later they were named recipient of the Peltier Award for FY 92.
In July 1993, the battalion deployed to Rota, Spain to begin their European deployment. Their 33,000 mandays of work resulted in a new NEX Gas Station/Convenience Store at Edzell, Scotland; NEX Mini-Mall at Sigonella, Sicily; renovation of the Carney Park buildings at Naples Italy; and dramatic improvement of the facilities at NSA Souda Bay. Added to this list was their construction of much needed infrastructure improvements in Turkey, Ghana, and Senegal. Quality and productivity were so impressive the Secretary of the Navy, during a visit, awarded 24 Navy Achievement Medals on the spot.
In September 1994, NMCB 133 deployed to Guam with Details deployed to Diego Garcia, San Diego, California and Chinhae, Korea. A Civic Action Team was deployed to Palau. DFT’s were sent to Southwest Asia, Ban Chan Khrem, Thailand in support of exercise Gold Cobra ’95, and El Salvador in support of Fuertes Caminos ‘95. The mainbody site in Guam completed several projects including Dental Clinc Addition, relocation of the Fleet Imaging Center, K-Spans for NCTAMS, and repairs to the earthquake damged Victor Wharf. The DFT to Southwest Asia completed the overlay of 1 million SF of Aircraft Parking Apron with a rubberized coal tar emulsion and several other projects in support of Operation Southern Watch.
In December 1995 the Kangaroos deployed in Spain and soon found themselves deploying to the former Yugoslavia in support of operation "Joint Endeavor". An Air Det Heavy of approximately 200 Seabees was sent to build base camps for the Army in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and to renovate the NATO Commander’s facilities in Sarajevo. The embark effort of Detail Juliet Echo included 1,120,000 pounds of cargo, 64 pieces of CESE flown on five C-17 and fifteen C-141 aircraft. Led by the Operations Officer, Detail Juliet Echo endured intense cold, rain and mud to build camps to support the troops of the US Army’s 16th Corps Support Group in Croatia and the First Armored Division’s Ready First Combat Team in Bosnia. This record setting deployment included successful details to Africa, Crete, Sicily, Italy, Great Britain, and Camp David and earned the Kangaroos the Battle "E" and the Navy Unit Commendation for FY95. This was the first NUC given to 133 for a peace time mission. NMCB-133 was awarded the pistol marksmanship trophy for FY95.
In January 1997, NMCB 133 was again traveling across the Pacific to Guam. The Detail sites for this deployment were San Deigo, CA; Lemoore, CA; Fallon, NV and Bangor, WA. At Mid-deployment an additional detail was sent to Bahrain to establish a permanent Naval Construction Force Detail Site. The Battalion supported USCINCPAC with a 14 person Civic Action Team deployed to the Republic of Palau, and an 8 person Tiger Team, deployed to both Palau and Kosrae. A DFT was also sent to Kenya, Africa.
In the final days of the deployment, the Roo’s disaster recovery skills were put to the test when Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 801 crashed on final approach to the Guam International Airport. NMCB 133 personnel were among the first to arrive on the scene and begin the rescue operation. An access road was build into the crash site by 133 to facilitate the rescue and recovery efforts. NMCB-40 arrived about three days after the crash, for about a week thereafter, during turn-over, the search for bodies and crash disassembly continued as a joint NMCB 133/40 operation. NMCB 133 continued to work on the site until a day before our departure, approximately 18 August.
The 1997/98 homeport period was packed with planning for NMCB-133’s return to Bosnia. With the tasking and manning unknown until the last month of homeport, several Detail configurations where planned. FEX for this homeport period included a Bosnia training phase to simulate security threats and to train in convoy movements. During this homeport 133 also was named the recipient of the Golden Anchor Award for retention.
In early March 1998, the Kangroos returned to Rota, Spain with details in Sigonella, Sicily; Souda Bay, Crete; St. Mawgan, England; and Thurmont, Maryland. Also, 217 Seabees deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to support Army peacekeeping operations. They constructed SEAHuts for 965 personnel, as well as accomplishing bridge repairs and force protection projects that significantly improved safety and quality of life in Bosnia. In all the Roos completed 70 projects and were the first Seabees to complete an entire deployment in Bosnia. Another high profile project was the completion of the Marathi Sewage Plant in Souda Bay. This project allowed for extended Carrier Battle Group visits to Souda Bay.
Upon returning from Spain NMCB-133 was once again tasked with Hurricane clean-up in Gulfport. The most visible homeport project was the restoration of the Ship Island Lighthouse which was over 100 years old. Once again the Roos were awarded the Battle "E", bringing the total to nine. This was followed by the prestigious Peltier award. As the homeport came to an end the Seabees prepared for their deployment to Guam with details in Lemoore, CA; San Diego, CA; Fallon, NV; Bangor, WA, Hawaii, Bahrain, and Carat. Also, Seabees will be deploying to Palau with the CAT team.
In December of 1999 the battalion returned to Gulfport
to begin seven months of training and preparation for their upcoming July 2000
deployment to Rota, Spain.
Highlights of this period included a highly successful Field Exercise, Operation
Warthog, and several high visibility projects including the completion of the
multiple battalion Ship Island Lighthouse that rebuilt a historic wooden
lighthouse off the coast of Gulfport.
The Detail sites had significant contributions and
challenges as well. At Det
Sigonella two projects highlighted the efforts of the Seabees of NMCB 133.
The Red Label Ordnance Apron project increased the
capacity of the station to load operational aircraft and required the placement
of more than 8000 cubic yards of concrete in a fourth month period.
The NAS II MWR Expansion project involved cutting more
than five acres of hillside into a three tiered recreational areas to
accommodate tennis, soccer, and softball fields.
In Souda Bay the Detail focused much of their efforts on
the Marathi Pier in direct support of the Fifth Fleet.
The expanded the usable pierside concrete apron and
began work and a multi-purpose MWR facility to improve the quality of life of
the sailors while in Souda Bay.
On the naval station itself they improved the safety of the airfield by
completing the taxiway and apron lighting project and by extending and expanding
the perimeter fence. In
Naples the small Detail focused their work at the recreational area that
services local U.S. forces by improving a large head/locker room space,
constructing a large pavilion, and by improving the electrical distribution in
the area. In London the Det
improved housing by adding front porches to 80 housing units.
They also constructed a concession stand for MWR in the
main housing area. Detail
Thurmont worked on a several projects to improve the quality of life at Camp
David including a large multi-function facility and the renovation of several
cabins.
In Rota the battalion was fully tasked as well.
Highlights included the complete renovation of the
Spanish-American friendship club, Hay Motivo.
The grand re-opening of the facility was attended by the
Spanish Chief of Naval Operations.
The battalion also constructed a 160 foot concrete boat ramp for use by
MWR, Environmental, and Spec War.
The job was unique as the tides ranged fourteen feet and the last 30
feet of the boat ramp had to be poured underwater as it was always below the
water level. Other projects
included improving the drainage on the airfield and at the front gate, the
renovation of the Spec War facility, the placement of a new steel girder and
panel roof on top of an existing flat roof barracks, construction of improved
automatic security gates around the airfield, the installation of security
fences and systems around the reservoir, and the construction of a multipurpose
outdoor court for MWR.
Additionally, in direct support of multiple construction projects the battalion
completed more than 800 mishap free crane lifts.
All in all the battalion completed more than 38,000
mandays of tasking and 44 tasked projects at 10 sites around the world.
In February of 2001 the battalion returned to Gulfport
for what would be the last 14 month cycle in the NCF.
The homeport of 2001 was a fast paced and challenging
period punctuated with several highlights. Included
was Operation Rolling Thunder, called by the 20th
Naval Construction Regiment the most successful homeport field exercise in
years. Also of note was the
change of the deployment cycle from 7 months of homeport and 7 months of
deployment to 10 months of homeport and 6 months of deployment.
NMCB 133 would be the last battalion affected by the
change, however, as they would still complete the current seven month homeport
and would be the last battalion to deploy for seven months when they left for
Guam in September 2001. The
final highlight of homeport was the change of command at 0900 on 20 July 2001
when CDR Katherine L. Gregory was relieved by CDR Douglas G. Morton.
On September 5th
the battalion launched advance parties to the main body site in Guam and Detail
sites in Diego Garcia, Bahrain, San Diego, Hawaii, Lemoore, Fallon, El Centro,
and Camp Pendleton. With
the battalion split with the Main Body still in Gulfport and the Commanding
Officer and Command Master Chief enroute to Guam and held up in Hawaii the
tragic events of September 11th
2001 unfolded. The
battalion was finally able to fully deploy all its personnel on 19 September.
With the war on terrorism unfolding the battalion
still had a mission to do and went about its business. A
detachment for training in support of Operation Bright Star in Egypt was sent
forward for eight weeks of highly successful MPF and construction exercise with
the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
and host nation forces.
The battalion next geared up for a series of movements
unprecedented in the NCF.
First, NMCB 133’s Augment unit was recalled to active duty from New York and
surrounding areas and 75 personnel were brought forward to Guam to plus up the
manning in anticipation of potential operations to support the war on terrorism.
Then, as a ripple effect of the deployment schedule
changes due to Itempo, the battalion had to man up an 89 person Air Det sized
unit to take over the main body site in Puerto Rico in December since it would
no longer be manned by a full battalion.
Next came the turnover of Diego Garcia mid-deployment as the Det
site shifted from being a Guam supported Detail site to being on supported out
of Okinawa. Finally in this
personnel shuffle, NMCB 5’s Augment unit which had also been recalled in
September to support NMCB 5 in Okinawa was moved to Guam to plus up 133 in its
myriad of operations when NMCB 5 rolled back to Pt Hueneme in December 2001.
The battalion also faced the environment head on when
a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Guam in October causing light damage and
Supertyphoon Faxai rolled of the northern edge of Guam in December.
In mid-November the call came for the battalion to
provide direct support for Operation Enduring Freedom and an Air Det Heavy was
stood up as U.S. Marine led coalition force for offensive operations in
Afghanistan. Organized
under Brigadier General Mattis, the 1st
MEB commander out of Pendleton, the Air Det Heavy went in country on 28 November
as Task Force 58.5 with the Operations Officer as the Air Det Heavy OIC being a
direct report to the commanding general.
The Air Det was organized in two elements, the small lead element
of 27 Seabees to go to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Rhino to maintain a dry lake
airstrip and provide rudimentary contingency construction and the remainder of
the Air Det Heavy to follow on into Kandahar to help establish a permanent
operating base by providing Rapid Runway Repair (RRR) and contingency
construction.
Change being inevitable, the operation unfolded
differently than was planned.
The small group of Seabees from NMCB 133, eventually a total of 56 who
went in country, were able to support both operations including a three week
period when both sites were in operation.
Supporting the 15th
MEU at Rhino, the 26th MEU at
Kandahar, U.S. Special Forces at both locations, and coalition forces from
Britain, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Turkey, Canada, and Norway the Seabees
were the key to maintaining a forward Amphibious assault more than 450 miles
inland from the supporting fleet through their expeditionary runway maintenance
and repair work and contingency construction expertise.
At Rhino, highlights of the operation included more than
800 sorties by C-130 and C-17 aircraft at a runway intended for light, single
engine planes, dust control operations for Helos, and the construction of
fighting positions and sanitation improvements.
At Kandahar, the highlights included the temporary and
than permanent repair of 29 bomb craters on the runway and taxiway, the
construction of a 500 person detainee short term holding facility in less than
10 days, the creation of fighting positions, ordnance and fuel berms, the
re-development of wells, and a myriad of smaller contingency construction
taskings.
In a odd twist in Operation Enduring Freedom, the
Detail that was sent to Puerto Rico in December sent forward its OIC and the
bulk of its personnel to Guantonomo Bay, Cuba to work in Camp X-ray building a
detainee/POW camp to house Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters captured in
Afghanistan. With the
construction of the detainee camps at Kandahar and Gitmo, NMCB 133 provide cradle
to grave service for terrorists caught in the war on terrorism.
In
addition to all that was unfolding the battalion still had its original
deployment mission to accomplish to fulfill and succeeded there as well.
In Hawaii the Detail constructed several short fused
Force Protection projects.
In San Diego the Detail worked on a waterfront Oasis project and completed the
high visibility Coronado electrical tie in project.
At El Centro the small Det completed two large PEB
warehouses and a helo pad.
At Camp Pendleton the Detail worked on two ISTM training facility PEB’s and the
MOUT/MAC training area. In
Fallon the Det build a supply warehouse and improved the airfield Fire House
conditions. In Lemoore the
Detail completed the work at ‘Seabee Corner’ and renovated the old NEX into the
new Navy College Center. In
the three months the Det was on Diego Garcia they worked on the BOSC Housing and
constructed a very short fused AM2 Matting area critical to forward operations.
In Bahrain, the Detail finished up work on Fleet Park
and executed many short term construction projects in direct support of NAVCENT.
Finally, the Detail in Puerto Rico took over caretaker
status of Camp Moscrip marking the first time that a single battalion had manned
two mainbody sites simultaneously.
As a result of 133’s
efforts during fiscal year 2002, the Battalion was selected by Commander, FIRST
Naval Construction Division as the Atlantic Fleet Battle “E” Battalion and
subsequently recognized as the best NMCB in the NCF when it was selected as the
Peltier award winner for FY02, marking the 9th time that NMCB 133 has won this
award.
Originally scheduled to deploy to Rota, Spain in February 2003, the Battalion altered its plans in January 2003 when it received orders to deploy to Southwest Asia (SWA) to support Central Command operations in combating the Global War on Terrorism. Upon arrival in SWA in January and Febuary 2003, 133 was called upon to support FIRST Marine Expeditionary Force (IMEF) tasking and, along with many other NCF units, fell under the operational control of FIRST Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group.
The highlights of the Battalion’s contingency construction efforts during this fast-paced and dynamic deployment included construction of a 14,000-person Enemy Prisoner of War holding area in southern Iraq, defense of two key Iraqi bridges, maintenance and improvements to Main Supply Routes in southern Iraq, repair of two 3,000 meter runways at an airfield in Al Kut, Iraq, and with support from other NCF and military units NMCB 133 was the lead element in the construction of a 210-meter pontoon bridge over the Tigris River. This pontoon bridge was the longest such bridge constructed by Seabees since World War II.
When the Battalion was
not busy executing contingency construction tasking for IMEF, they were involved
in revitalization efforts within Iraq.
Highlights of these important civil military and
humanitarian assistance projects included
rehabilitating a British World War I cemetery that was home to soldiers
who had fallen in combat with the Turks in the Mesopotamian conflict
(1914-1918), repairs to multiple governmental facilities, and renovating Iraqi
schools in Karbala and Al Kut.
By the end of the deployment, NMCB 133 had ensured that
10 schools had power, lighting, fans, working bathrooms, a fresh coat of paint,
windows, and doors; thus giving more than 3,000 Iraqi children the opportunity
of an education!
The first-ever Naval Construction Force change of command in Kuwait
occurred on 23 June 2003, when Commander Doug Morton by Commander Jeff Borowy as
Commanding Officer during a ceremony at Camp Moreell.
In additional to operations in Iraq, the Battalion
also conducted significant important operations in Kuwait.
Here, NMCB 133 operated and maintained Camp Moreell, a
1,100 person Naval Construction Force camp, and supported the retrograde of
Civil Engineer Support Equipment (CESE) and Table of Allowance (TOA) containers
for shipment back to the United States or onto Maritime Preposition Force ships.
In total, the Battalion prepared and cleaned over 1,100
of the 1,600 total pieces of CESE and repackaged over 100 TOA containers.
Adding to the complexity of a wartime deployment, NMCB
133 also supported SOUTHCOM in its area of responsibility where the Battalion
completed a multi-service Deployment for Training to the Dominican Republic
called New Horizons 2003 and also sent detachments to Andros Island and
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
By any measure the 2003 SWA deployment added to NMCB
133 legacy, executing more than 45,000 mandays of tasking and participating in
Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, NMCB 133 added another
action-packed chapter to it’s proud history.
In May of 2005, Commander Jeff Borowy was relieved by Commander Allan Stratman as Commanding Officer of 133.
Three months later, on
August 29, Hurricane Katrina came barreling through the central
Within a day, the Seabees from the homeport Battalions of NMCB 1, 7, and 133 rushed out to clear roads so emergency workers could access hard hit areas. In the ensuing weeks, 133 provided extensive humanitarian aid around the area including the critical repair of lift stations, the cleaning and repair of government buildings and schools and the distribution of food, water and clothing to local residents in need.