DIEGO GARCIA, British Overseas Territory -- U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 built two driveways for the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) onboard Naval Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia.
The Seabees placed a paved driveway and installed bollards for one of PACAF’s warehouses valued at approximately $304,000.
“I’m excited to see our project progressing,” said Steelworker 2nd Class Mariah Morgan, with NMCB-5. “It’s nice to get back into the swing of things.
“It is so fun watching a first concrete placement for some of our newer guys on the [Detail site]. The pads looked great, and I’m excited for them to be used after we return to homeport.”
The installation of bollards will improve the longevity of the PACAF facilities. The Seabees developed construction expertise while facilitating public relations and maintaining a global presence as a stand-in naval force.
The Seabees installed 16 bollards inside and outside of the PACAF warehouse and placed two 20’ x 62.5’ pavement driveways.
“This project was a group effort and required a lot of long days and late hours to complete. I couldn’t be more proud to be the officer in charge, and I’m sure everyone can return to homeport knowing that one of their projects will make a difference out here,” said Lt. j.g. Matthew Vandenboomen, with NMCB-5.
This project allows PACAF to increase its capability to maintain and pre-position various expeditionary pieces of Civil Engineering Support Equipment (CESE) by improving the allowable working load of the area — allowing the service members to use larger CESE.
NMCB-5 is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, strengthening their network of alliances and partnerships, and providing general engineering and civil support to joint operational forces. Homeported out of Port Hueneme, California, NMCB-5 has 13 detail sites deployed throughout the U.S. and Indo-Pacific area of operations.