Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 spouses

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 spouses stateside watch their deployed Seabees promote to Chief Petty Officer using wireless internet and social media technology during a CPO Pinning Ceremony, Sept. 13. Nine newly promoted Chiefs from NMCB 3 joined nine other Chief inductees from the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa and U.S. 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in receiving their gold fouled anchors. The time-honored tradition is one of the oldest in the Navy and marks what is widely considered the most difficult promotion in an enlisted sailor’s career. One of the first battalions commissioned during World War II, NMCB 3’s legacy stands strong in its ability to build and fight anywhere in the world as either a full battalion or as a group of autonomous detachments, simultaneously completing critical engineering and construction missions. For this deployment, NMCB 3 has split into 9 details to perform critical construction projects in remote island areas such as Timor-Leste, Tonga, Cambodia and the Philippines. The teams will also conduct operations in Atsugi, Yokosuka and Okinawa, Japan; Chinhae, Republic of Korea and China Lake, Calif. The Naval Construction Force is a vital component of the U.S. Maritime Strategy. They provide deployable battalions capable of providing disaster preparation and recovery support, humanitarian assistance and combat operations support. NMCB 3 provides combatant commanders and Navy component commanders with combat-ready warfighters capable of general engineering, construction and limited combat engineering across the full range of military operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chris Fahey, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 Public Affairs Lead).