The White Falcon - 21.10.1988, Blaðsíða 3

Runway exercise rates success
JOZ Scott Johnson
Training exercises are a large
part of military life. We con-
stantly train to keep our skills
honed in case they are ever
needed.
Last week, Seabees from Public
Works and the Naval Mobile
Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74,
Air Detachment, trained on the
techniques required to safely and
successfully complete Rapid
Runway Repair (RRR).
RRR is employed in the event
that the Keflavik airport runways
are damaged in an air attack and
repairs are needed to be able to
launch aircraft.
Training craters were dug to
simulate bomb craters from an
actual attack.
During the first two days of the
exercise, the Seabees repaired
the craters to become familiar
with the methods employed. But,
e real test came on the final
y of the exercise, when the
(Above) Seabees dressed in chemical weather suits fit a
two ton pre-cast concrete slab into place. The Seabees
pictured above are from the Naval Mobile Construction
Battalion 74, Air Detachment, currently deployed from
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.
(Left) A Seabee uses a concrete saw to 'square* around
the crater. The crater will then be filled and leveled.
(Photos by J02 Scott Johnson)
whole repair process was performed in chemical
weather suits. This was to see if the chemical suits
would slow down the repair process.
The Seabees employed a method of repair using
pre-cast concrete slabs six feet long, six feet wide
and six inches high, weighing almost two tons.
Seventy-five slabs were cast the Week before the
exercise. These slabs were fit into place once the
crater was filled, squared and leveled.
The entire training exercise was observed by
representatives of various Atlantic fleet staff
commands. This was to see if the pre-cast
concrete slab method was feasible for the Navy and
to see if It could be easily Implemented by the
Seabees. The U.S. Air Force currently uses this
method of runway repair.
‘The exercise went well,’ Lt. Mark R. Libonate,
NMCB 74 Air Det. officer in charge, said. ‘The first
two days were rough, but the final day went very
smooth. It was successful because morale was
high and everyone worked as a team."
NMCB 74 Is homeported out of Gulfport, Miss, and
the NMCB 74 Air Det. is currently deployed to
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. They deployed here,
from Puerto Rico, especially for the RRR exercise.
October 21, 1988
3