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Seabees Deploy First Intelligence Superhighway
Story Number: NNS070614-02
Release Date: 6/14/2007 7:19:00 AM
By Chief
Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Shane Montgomery, 30th Naval
Construction Regiment Public Affairs
FALLUJAH, Iraq (NNS) -- If
Wedge Donovan’s Seabee battalion had intelligence gathering specialists
during the climatic battle at the end of the 1944 movie, “The Fighting
Seabees,” perhaps his combat construction team would have been better
prepared for the unexpected second enemy column that eventually forced
him to heroically ram his bulldozer into a petroleum storage tank. While
he destroyed the enemy, it cost John Wayne’s tough, no-nonsense
character his life.
The idea may have come too late to save the fictional World War II era
Donovan, but a new program that incorporates intelligence specialists
into Seabee units deploying to Iraq may save some very real present day
members of the Naval Construction Force (NCF).
For the first time since the creation of the Seabees in 1942, Naval
intelligence specialists have been assigned directly to a Seabee unit,
the 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30 NCR), according to Lt. Scott
Norberg, 1st Naval Construction Division’s (1NCD) intelligence officer.
“While 30 NCR is the first unit to receive specialized intelligence
assets, more than 40 intelligence billets have been funded by the Naval
Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) for the NCF,” said Norberg, a
Reserve intelligence officer who was recalled to active duty at 1NCD to
assist in the formation of the new intelligence program. “Over the next
two years, every battalion, regiment and the division will have organic
intelligence personnel assigned.”
Prior to sending out the organic intelligence team, the Seabees would
utilize other members of their team to act as intelligence gatherers.
The mentality was that during peacetime there was an important need to
conduct continuous training and have an officer whose sole
responsibility would be to coordinate and track it. When deployed to a
hostile environment, the mindset was that training was complete, and the
training officer would become the intelligence officer, explained Cmdr.
Stephen Cook, chief staff officer for 30 NCR.
“In reality, Seabees in a war zone need to both train and gather
intelligence,” said Cook, an 18-year Civil Engineer Corps officer.
“Having someone manage an intelligence unit in a war zone as a second
job is like owning a small business and having the receptionist manage
your books. By adding trained intelligence specialists to the Seabee
units, it’s the same as taking the books away from that receptionist and
hiring a certified public accountant.”
Volunteer Reservists make up more than half of the Seabees currently
serving in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. During the search for
intelligence assets, the Seabees turned to Reserve individual augmentees
for volunteers.
“The Reserves were tapped for this deployment due to a forcewide
shortage of active duty intelligence specialists and the immediate need
to support the Seabees,” said Norberg, who started working on the
program last year with the support of Cmdr. Michael Murray, NECC’s
assistant chief of staff for intelligence. “Active-duty enlisted
intelligence specialist manning will continue to be a challenge, but
NECC is working closely with us to ensure our forward-deployed troops,
who are in harm’s way, receive the manning necessary to execute our
intelligence support mission.”
Norberg explained that the force will need to utilize Reserve
augmentation for the near future to ensure there is the correct level of
support for deployed Seabees.
“We should start filling active component billets by December, and I
expect to be at 60 percent manning by January,” said Norberg, who
explained that intelligence billets were being added to several units
under NECC. “It will be a quick ramp up.”
The intelligence team bestowed with the honor of being the first to
deploy with the Seabees had to plan a way ahead before they could
navigate uncharted waters. Led by Lt. Steven Husby, a team of five
enlisted intelligence specialists were augmented to 30 NCR and needed to
adjust to life as part of the NCF culture.
“It was a baptism by fire for most of my guys,” explained Husby, who
works as a computer and network systems engineer in his civilian career.
“From new uniforms, to speaking a new language, my team had to immerse
themselves into the Seabee world to be able to appropriately communicate
the message and accomplish the mission. The senior leadership was
amazing. They really took my team under their wing and helped make the
transition easier.”
The team is made up of a hodgepodge of unique and interesting civilian
professions that includes chemistry, law, management, video game testing
and insurance among others.
“It’s critical building the right type of team for this job,” said Chief
Intelligence Specialist Duane Bruechert, leading chief petty officer for
30 NCR’s Intelligence Department. “Our personalities are an extension of
our capabilities. Some people are more technical while others are more
creative. Together, with all of our individual experiences, we find
different ways to utilize our training and expertise to help save lives.
That idea alone gives us a great sense of responsibility and drive to be
successful.”
Once the team was assembled in Iraq, the proverbial intelligence
superhighway needed to extend off-ramps to the battalions in the
war-torn region. Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Carlos Ramirez was
selected to serve as the intelligence liaison to Naval Mobile
Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4.
“The regiment to battalion relationship is command and control,” said
Ramirez who includes weather and road conditions as part of his overall
daily intelligence report. “The regiment intelligence staff conducts
broad trend analysis studies that take into account the entire NCF
operating area here in Iraq. Those reports are relayed to my office and
the other battalion intelligence departments so we can help develop a
good picture for our areas of operation. A relevant intelligence picture
really helps the respective commanding officers determine the best
course of action.”
As the Intelligence Department head, Husby sees his team as being in a
unique position to mold this process for future mobilizations.
“Having a full-time intelligence staff is the right thing for the
Seabees in a wartime scenario,” said Husby, who has served in the Navy
for 15 years. “Prior to having full-time intelligence support, the
Seabees filled the position as a collateral duty. They need people with
specialized training; people who are trained to see the big picture and
gather data in a way that will determine the greatest threat to
personnel and operations.”
The team’s primary responsibility is to look for trends in enemy actions
and attempt to determine potential future threats to Seabees in country,
according to Bruechert.
“It’s our job to sift through all available data near where our
engineers may be working or traveling and try to determine what the
possible threat could be to them,” said Bruechert. “We can develop the
threat potential for future construction sites, show areas of repeated
attacks on our convoys or develop future attack locations that
operations managers should take into consideration. For example, if we
determine it is likely bridges will be attacked, the supply and
operations [personnel] can make sure all of our assets to repair the
facility are ready in advance.”
Once the intelligence gathering team can paint a picture of an area,
they brief convoy commanders and site assessment personnel on what they
need to look for to stay safe while working off base or what is commonly
referred to as “outside the wire.”
“It makes me feel a lot better knowing what’s going on in an area where
I will be working,” said Senior Chief Builder Richard Cousins, who is
routinely responsible for conducting site assessments at various
locations in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. “I not only feel better
knowing the threat level, but understanding the cultural aspects or
political implications is invaluable to my returning safely.”
Making people feel safer in dangerous situations is one benefit to
having a specialized intelligence gathering staff, but the other benefit
is tearing down misconceptions and building correct situational
awareness.
“Without going into specifics, our combat engineers in the field
developed perceptions about situations that could have caused them to
either do harm or be in harms way,” said Cook, who currently serves as
second in command of 30 NCR in Iraq. “Our intelligence team was able to
show them long-term trends that changed the truth of their perceptions.
These truths now allow them to make more accurate and informed
decisions, which ultimately ensure a better chance of completing a
mission successfully and safely. Our team is really doing a tremendous
job.”
Being the first of anything brings a certain amount of responsibility.
It means setting the tone for the future, building the foundation and
principles for replacements and, perhaps most of all, simply being
successful. Being wrong or not providing enough information could be the
difference between life and death for someone “outside the wire.”
“I was donating blood at the base surgical unit because Marines had been
wounded in Fallujah,” said Bruechert. “One of the Marines had been
killed, and it was a huge dose of reality for me. It reminded me of the
importance of getting the word out to my troops about potential threats.
We always do our job to the best of our abilities, but I made a promise
to myself that I would ensure I was doing as much as I could to keep
people informed and safe.”
The promise of keeping people safe and contributing to the success of
the war is shared by more than one member of the 30 NCR intelligence
team.
“The intelligence community gives me the opportunity to utilize my
analytical skills in a way that I hoped would someday contribute to the
war on terror,” said Kesthely, who like many Americans felt a strong
need to join after the World Trade Center buildings were attacked. “This
deployment has allowed for that to happen. It’s rewarding to know that
the information I give convoys, battalions and the regiment helps keep
our Seabees safer.”
The reward of knowing there is a justification to the purpose is a
rallying point for many people serving in Iraq.
“I tell my family that we are here to help save lives,” explained Husby,
who bears the responsibility that his team is getting the right
information to those who need it most. “My family is like any other
family and wants their Sailor or Marine to come home, but knowing they
are proud of me and that they support what we are doing here makes all
the difference.”
According to Norberg, another team of intelligence specialists will
deploy with the next wave of 30 NCR Seabees later this year which will
take the new program further down the path of complete integration.
There are nearly 1,300 Sailors and Marines supporting critical
construction efforts in the Al Anbar province of Iraq as a part of 30
NCR.
For more news from around the fleet, visit
www.navy.mil.
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NMCB 28 Route Repair Teams Work Night and
Day in Iraq
Story Number: NNS070525-08
Release Date: 5/25/2007 11:36:00 AM
By Equipment Operator 2nd Class Lori Roberts, Naval Mobile
Construction Battalion 28 Public Affairs
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (NNS)
-- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 28’s route repair
team crossed the 60-day mark of their Iraq deployment, May 20,
working night and day to repair holes caused by improvised
explosive devices (IED) on main supply routes (MSR) and
alternate supply routes (ASR) in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.
The repair process originates with requests sent to the II
Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), who is responsible for
deciding how critical the repair is to upcoming missions that
require units to travel on the damaged roadway.
Missions are rated from most to least critical, then repairs are
scheduled and completed on the basis of greatest need, according
to Senior Chief Equipment Operator Jerry Carter, NMCB 28 Delta
Company’s assistant officer in charge and MSR coordinator.
The team consists of nine members, one alternate, and a
corpsman.
"The team is like a family, always looking out for each other
and taking care of each other. If we have problems, we take care
of it together,” said Equipment Operator 3rd Class John
Hunsberger, who is responsible for driving the tool truck for
the team. “We get a great sense of accomplishment because you're
out there making it easier on our troops to travel these roads
and get from one place to the other safely."
Equipment Operator 1st Class Jerry Dugger, crew leader, said
their job potentially thwarts the efforts of insurgents.
“Repairing the craters helps prevent insurgents from placing new
IEDs further into the middle of the road,” said Dugger.
“Typically, their strategy seems to be to blast a crater on the
edge of the road, then put an IED in that hole to blast a little
further into the road, and so on until they get into the heavy
traffic area. If we get the craters filled before they get too
far into the road, we are potentially saving lives.”
Equipment Operator 1st Class Tomasa Wickert, an assistant crew
leader, said she was both scared and excited to be chosen for
the job.
“I really enjoy working on MSR crew; it was exciting to go
outside the wire to complete a job. We really came together as a
team to get the job done,” said Wickert, who lost friends in an
IED explosion while deployed to Iraq with her previous
battalion.
“I kept thinking about the Seabees from NMCB 25 who died on a
convoy when their Humvee hit an IED. The first time out (for
us), I was really afraid; but when I saw how the Marines
dismounted from their Humvee to protect the MSR crew, my fear
went away. I was able to relax and concentrate on my job and
know that we were preventing needless death by preventing IEDs
(from being placed).”
In all, approximately 60 miles of road are repaired regularly by
NMCB 28’s MSR/ASR repair team. In coordination with other MSR
teams, some Marine and some civilian, NMCB 28’s team continues
to help keep the roads safe for military forces and civilians,
Iraqis and foreigners alike.
NMCB 28 is part of nearly 1,100 Sailors and Marines supporting
critical construction efforts in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.
For more news from 30th Naval Construction Regiment, visit
www.news.navy.mil/local/30NCR/.
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