Fifty Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40, forward deployed to Camp Shields, Okinawa, Japan, have shipped out to the tsunami-ravaged shores of Indonesia to assist with initial disaster recovery efforts, their command reported Jan. 6. An additional 300 are preparing to follow, as missions require. They will serve in the relief effort along with Marines from the 3rd Marine Division, and sailors from 7th Fleet.
The initial wave of Seabees will focus on contingency construction, such as road clearing and runway repairs, while the sailors they accompany aboard USS Fort McHenry, an LSD class vessel, will use water purification equipment aboard ship to supply clean water for victims of the disaster.