NMCB-133 Takes Charge of Camp Covington

By Shaina Santos, Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs

SANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 turned over duties to NMCB-133 during a change of charge ceremony at Camp Covington on U.S. Naval Base Guam Aug. 15.

Capt. James Meyer, commodore of 30th Naval Construction Regiment, served as the keynote speaker during the ceremony and commended NMCB-1 for an outstanding deployment.

"Without a doubt, your work here on Guam and your support of the Pacific region have been critical in supporting our nation's strategic interests," he said. "Your work has built upon our rich Seabee legacy and you should all reflect on that and be proud of what you have accomplished."

Lt. Travis Brinkman, officer in charge of NMCB-1, said he is incredibly proud of the accomplishments they made during their deployment to Guam.

"We started off with a team of sixty that came to maintain and own a camp that was built for six hundred personnel, a very challenging task," he said. "Even mid-deployment, when we received a supplemental force, it still really gave us the opportunity to just start digging in. [It] really makes us ready to support in the defense of the region and take care of the big Navy's mission abroad. [I'm] going home very proud."

Brinkman said he was appreciative of the invaluable training his team received during their deployment to Guam that improved upon their mission readiness.

"Deploying here to Camp Covington is a tremendous asset to us," he said. "We spend homeport honing our skills, learning new ones and advancing our training, but it's not until you come forward and deploy to locations such as this that we have the opportunity to execute the lessons we've learned. Through coming here, executing the mission, getting our hands on the equipment and getting familiar with it, honing our construction skills and really executing solid tasking and good work both for Naval Base Guam as well as PACOM (Pacific Command) in general really sets us up for success when the bell calls and we have to move forward in support of other operations."

Lt. Cmdr. Luke Cowley, officer in charge of NMCB-133, said his team is looking forward to working on numerous projects and improving upon their skills while on island.

"Me and NMCB-133 are very excited to be here and grateful for the opportunity to serve here on Guam and to continue the legacy the Seabees have here," he said.

NMCB-1 returns home to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Mississippi.