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NEWS | April 30, 2018

Seabees Break Ground on Helicopter Mooring Pads

By Construction Electrician Constructionman Monique Erdman

POWIDZ, Poland   –  

Ten Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11 began construction of a helicopter mooring pad project for the U.S. Army’s 1st Air Calvary Brigade (ACB) in support of the European Deterrence Initiative build-up, April 16, 2018.


The project consists of building five 30’ by 50’ helicopter parking pads, each containing six mooring points, to include the placement of five concrete approach aprons to aid in the taxiing and securement of UH-60 Black Hawks.

“Using the laser level started off very slow due to the fact I had never utilized that specific piece of equipment before,” said Engineering Aide 3rd Class Anthony Howell. “However, with the instruction from Builder 2nd Class David Goebel I was able to increase my in-rate and construction knowledge through practical application and can now pass on to junior troops all that I’ve learned.”

Construction began with the excavation of more than 300 cubic yards of soil and rock, paving the way for the crew to compact and elevate the base course to proper grade; ensuring a quality base for the formwork and concrete finish.

The Seabees are building the pads to improve aircraft security and staging posture crews for the members of the Army’s medical evacuation teams.

“These pads will tie into the medical evacuation plan for the region to where we have a staging area for the medical evacuation helicopters, and to improve our response times,” said Sergeant First Class Mike Longhenry, medical evacuation team, Charlie Company 2-227, Second Battalion, 1st Air Calvary Brigade.

NMCB-11 is homeported in Gulfport, Mississippi, and is part of the Naval Construction Force (NCF). They have personnel assigned to more than 15 locations world-wide, performing a variety of missions in support of the Navy and the Department of Defense.

The NCF is a vital component of the U.S. Maritime Strategy and is comprised of deployable battalions capable of providing contingency construction, disaster preparation and recovery support, humanitarian assistance, and combat operations support.