Chief Reynaldo Hernandez
Petty Officer 2nd Class Matt Gage spackles the side of a school house in the Sihanoukville Province of Cambodia. A 25 member team of NMCB 40 has been deployed to Cambodia since early September in Engineer and Medical Support.
Chief Reynaldo Hernandez
Petty Officer 3rd Class Bryan Pelham breaks bread with some of the local nationals in the Sihanoukville Province on his lunch break. Building strong relations with the community they build for will further the efforts of future US Military groups who deploy to the area, and Cambodia in general.
While most Active Duty Sea Components of the U.S. Navy use Homeport for dwell time and preparation for follow on deployments, some hard-charging Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Forty (NMCB 40) used theirs to enrich lives and build positive relations with the people of Cambodia.In early September, Twenty five Seabees from NMCB 40 deployed to Cambodia's Sihanoukville Province to work side by side with their counterparts from the Royal Cambodian Navy as part of the Engineering and Medical Civic Action Programs (EN/MEDCAP). The goal of this mission was to construct and renovate three schools and build a new in-patient medical ward called the O Oknaheng Health Center. While the Seabees completed the buildings, the final painting was left incomplete to allow sailors from a visiting U.S. Navy ship, the USS Mustin (DDG 89), to participate in this mission. While working with the Royal Cambodian Navy the learning process has been a two-way street. The Seabees shared their skills, knowledge and experience of western construction methods; like placing and finishing concrete, concrete reinforcement, overhead form-work construction, and safety and risk management, said Lt. Bryan Cody, NMCB 40's Detachment Officer in Charge (Det OIC). In turn the Seabees learned local Cambodian construction methods for placing brick and concrete as well as mortar mixes that are compatible with the typical construction techniques in that area.While NMCB 40's Seabees learned from their Cambodian counterparts they also received a taste of what the climate of Sihanoukville Province has to offer this time of year."The tasking was not too difficult, this is stuff I'm trained to do," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Reginald Cyr, "but the weather has been incredible, there was so much rain. But we pushed through."The weather was not the only matter these Bees faced. Logistical coordination for this mission was complicated, but somewhat standard, said Cody."The logistics would have been impossible without the support of other Seabee Commands; NMCB 133, 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30th NCR), 1st Naval Construction Division (1NCD), and the US Embassy. Adding to the challenge was the mission timeline, which was driven by the arrival of the USS Mustin. "We conclude our mission in conjunction with her [the ship's] port visit," said Cody.This complex 35-day mission for NMCB 40's Seabees involved the sacrifice of working long hours and a seven day work week, during a time they would generally spend training with their unit and relaxing with their families. But like much of the work Seabees do, the sacrifice was well worth it, said Cyr. "It's always a good feeling to help those who are less fortunate. I'm very close with my wife and I miss her but I gotta do what I gotta do, and I think this is a great deal for NMCB 40, the guys who got to go on this task should feel really good about what they've done here," said Cyr. "These missions have helped to strengthen the faith Cambodians have in U.S. Military and Americans in general," said the Director of the O Oknaheng Health Center, Dr. Choub Sambou, "there will be many people to be helped by the Clinic, and the children will appreciate the schools the quality of the construction is good and will help for years. Cambodia has always had a good attitude towards America and we are very appreciative of the work the U.S. Armed forces do here," he added.The Seabees of NMCB 40 who were involved in this mission are slated to return stateside in the near future and will have a couple of months of training left in their homeport before heading back to the Pacific for more Humanitarian Action as part of NMCB 40's next deployment.
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