Posted on 02/27/2006 3:08:50 PM PST by SandRat
GULFPORT, Miss. (NNS) -- Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott honored Seabee and Marine first responders, as well as other military and civil service employees serving at Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport, for their Hurricane Katrina recovery and relief efforts at a ceremony held on base Feb. 24.
A military member from each Gulfport command was presented with the Armed Forces Service Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal. A civil service employee representing all NCBC civilian employees was presented with the Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal. The humanitarian awards, approved by the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff have been earned by Seabee units in the past, but never for response to an event of such magnitude that hit so close to home.
“It’s different when it’s in your own backyard,” commented Capt. Eric Odderstol, commodore of the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment. “Seabees did everything in their power to help their communities and their neighbors, and we still had our work cut out for us, because in spite of the fact that over 800 Seabees lost everything and hundreds of families evacuated, the mission had to continue at home and overseas.”
One of the units in formation for the ceremony was Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74, whose members were in the midst of a six-month deployment when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Members of this unit delayed their personal response to the storm and instead responded to earthquakes in Pakistan for the duration of their deployment.
“You do what needs to be done,” commented Cmdr. Mark Libonate, commanding officer of NMCB 74. “The people of Pakistan are no less worthy of our help, even if our hearts were at home.”
Lott, whose first encounter with Seabees came in the aftermath of Hurricane Camille, took time prior to the awards presentation to thank those in attendance for the work they had done to begin rebuilding the region after the natural disaster that struck Aug. 29.
“I am very proud of the Seabees,” Lott said. “I have long since learned that the Seabees, ‘Can Do.’”
Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, more than 3,400 active-duty and reserve Seabees worked collaboratively throughout the Gulf Coast regions of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The Katrina mobilization of Seabee personnel and equipment was the largest-scale Seabee response to a natural disaster since the creation of the Seabees in World War II.
Seabees from Gulfport, Port Hueneme, Calif., Little Creek, Va., and from reserve units across the United States conducted engineering assessments of 2,600 miles of roadway and cleared more than 800 miles, while collecting and disposing of more than 20,500 tons of debris from the coastline and surrounding affected communities.
Many reserve Seabees arrived in Gulfport without official orders, compelled to personally respond to the call of duty when shipmates were in need.
The Seabees also played a critical role in getting 45,000 area students back in the classroom following the storm, by repairing and restoring 74 schools.
“Those school openings would not have happened as soon as they did if it weren’t for the Seabees doing what they do,” Lott said.
Seabee commanders integrated into Gulf Coast county emergency operations centers (EOCs) and helped elected officials prioritize recovery work and align assets for response. These efforts were indicative of the working relationship that has always existed between the Seabees and the Gulf Coast community, according to CBC Commanding Officer Capt. George E. Eichert.
“There is no better place to serve than right here,” Eichert added.
Sea Service Ping
BTTT
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