April 16, 2018 Vol. 1 No. 10

Seabees Refine Skills While Helping CRTCBy MC3 Alexa TraftonNMCB 1 Public Affairs

Nine Seabees assigned to Crane Crew lifted a HH-60L Black Hawk Medevac helicopter in preparation for transport in Gulfport, Mississippi, April 3, 2018.The lift, done by Naval Mobile Construc-tion Battalion (NMCB) 1’s Alfa Company Crane Crew, was a new experience and provided the crew with a valuable train-ing opportunity.“This is the first time I have ever done this, as well as the rest of the guys out here,” said Equipment Operator 3rd Class Tyler Ruiz, from King City, Missouri. “It is great that we were called upon to do this, giving us the experience with lifting this aircraft as well as being able to lend a hand to our fellow service members.”The HH-60L Black Hawk Medevac he-licopter, belonging to the 1108th The-ater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance

Group, was lifted 10 feet into the air, and placed down on top of a tractor trailer bed it for transport out of state. “We had a smooth lift,” said Chief Equip-ment Operator Latrice Ware, from Man-sfield, Ohio. “I am proud of the coop-eration, communication and team work of this crew. Showing our fellow service members what we are capable of and how we can aide them when they are in need is remarkable.” NMCB 1 is a Seabee Battalion, home-ported in Gulfport, Mississippi, that specializes in contingency construction, disaster response, and humanitarian as-sistance. NMCB 1 is a part of the Naval Construction Force (NCF) and is a vital component of the U.S. Maritime strate-gy. The NCF offers deployable battalions capable of rapidly providing contingency construction, disaster response, human-itarian assistance and combat opera-tions support.

TOP LEFT: Equipment Operator 3rd Class Meghann Pugliese, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1’s Crane Crew holds a guild rope on a HH-60L Black Hawk Helicopter in Gulfport, Mississippi, April 3, 2018. NMCB 1 is a Seabee Battalion specializing in contingency construc-tion, disaster response, humanitarian assistance and combat operations support. TOP RIGHT: Equipment Operator Constructionman Dominique Gay, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1’s Crane Crew operates a 40-ton crane in Gulfport, Mississippi, April 3, 2018. NMCB 1 is a Seabee Battalion specializing in contingency construction, disaster response, humanitarian assistance and combat operations support. BOT-TOM RIGHT: Pugliese, collects a guide rope off of a HH-60L Black Hawk Helicopter. (U.S. Navy photos by MC3 Alexa Trafton)

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NCBCCommanding Officer

Capt. William Whitmire

Public Affairs Officer

Brian Lamar

Assistant PAO

Ryan Labadens

Courier Staff

MCC Rosalie Chang

BU2 Susan Johnston

CE2 Alyssa Ware

The Seabee Courier is an authorized on-line publica-tion for members of the military services and their families. Content does not necessarily reflect the offi-cial views of the U.S. Gov-ernment, the DoD or the U.S. Navy and does not imply endorsement thereof. All content in this publica-tion shall be made available for use without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. The Seabee Courier office is in Building 1, Room 205. The mailing address is 4902 Marvin Shields Blvd., Code N00P, Gulfport, MS 39501. Phone,228-871-3662.

NCBC Gulfport to host commissioning symposium, education fairBy Ryan LabadensNCBC Public Affairs

Education is often the key to un-locking certain career paths that people may want to follow. The Naval Construction Battalion Cen-ter (Gulfport) is doing its part to help Seabees and Sailors along this path, specifically in regards to transitioning from the enlisted to the officer ranks, by having and Officer Commissioning Program Symposium and an Education Fair here April 19, 2018.

Master at Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Crook, assigned to the Naval Construction Battalion Center Security Depart-ment, is honored in an annual Gulfport Rotary Club military award ceremony at the Gulf-port, Mississippi Great Southern Club April 12. The annual awards are hosted by the Missis-sippi Gulf Coast Rotary Club as a way to honor a local military members who have shined above the rest. (U.S. Navy photo by Brian Lamar/released)

The symposium is scheduled to be held in the Training Hall at 1 p.m., while the Education Fair is slated to be held in the Colmer Dining Facility from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day.Capt. William Whitmire, NCBC Gulf-port commanding officer, noted the symposium is mainly geared towards those with questions about pursuing a career in engineering and architec-ture who are interested in becoming a Civil Engineering Corps (CEC) offi-cer.Whitmire mentioned three routes en-listed members can take to become a CEC officer in the Navy: Direct Com-mission, the Seaman to Admiral Pro-gram, and the Civil Engineering Corps Collegiate Program. Information about these enlisted-to-officer paths will be available at the symposium.While at the symposium, Seabees and Sailors can meet with repre-sentatives from different community colleges and four-year accredited colleges to find out what engineer-ing- and architecture-related courses

can be transferred between institu-tions. Representatives from various local and regional academic institu-tions are scheduled to be on-hand to answer questions about the relevant courses people need to take at a 2-year college that can be transferred to a four-year college and allow them to enroll as a junior in an engineer-ing and architectural program at that institution.“This is intended to help service members find out about how they can go from the enlisted-to-officer route in the Civil Engineering Corps, all while still serving on active duty so they don’t have to worry about a break in service,” said Whitmire.Currently there is no formal Navy program in place that outlines this process, so this program provides an opportunity for Sailors and Seabees to meet with academic representa-tives to seek clarification on how they can accomplish this through those in-stitutions.There are also 12 academic institu-

tions currently scheduled to attend the Education Fair that same day. They will also provide information about the various education pro-grams, tuition assistance and other educational opportunities these in-stitutions and the Navy College Pro-gram has to offer.“This is a great opportunity for aca-demic institutions who partner with the Navy College Program to give military members a fresh look at the programs they have to offer and to get the message out there about the education initiatives available,” said Darlene Davis, the Navy Region Southeast regional advisor from Na-val Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.For more information about the Of-ficer Commissioning Program Sympo-sium and the Education Fair, contact Davis at darlene.l.davis@navy.mil. More information about programs and assistance the Navy College Pro-gram has to offer is also available on their website at http://www.navycol-lege.navy.mil/.