Naval Station Newport is the Navy's Center of Excellence for Officer and Senior Enlisted Education and Training and is not often the location for mobilization activities, but they do take place.

The naval station, home to 50 separate commands and departments, houses deploying assets such as Coastal Riverine Squadron (CORIVRON) 8, which is currently in the process of mobilizing over 100 personnel for deployment to the Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

The installation's various schools and facilities also routinely support the fleet by sending individual augmentees (IA) to missions both stateside and overseas.

The current mobilization of CORIVRON 8 is part of a persistent security presence in foreign ports that has been ongoing for more than 14 years. The unit is responsible for maintaining readiness of its assigned companies, including training individuals to deploy in support of mission tasking.

CORIVRON 8 is a multiservice (Navy and Coast Guard) unit that provides centralized planning, control, coordination and integration of boat and security departments. CORIVRON 8's anti-terrorism/force protection missions include harbor and homeland defense, coastal surveillance, and special missions.

The deploying personnel are a mixture of officers and enlisted Sailors from throughout the command's headquarters company, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Companies.

This deployment involves maritime port security missions that will be executed by reserve personnel hailing from throughout the country.

The group will depart Newport Jan. 10 for additional training and readiness preparations prior to leaving the continental U.S. in March for an additional six months in the 5th Fleet AOR.

Personnel will provide port security in support of U.S. and coalition naval assets throughout the region. The unit includes personnel who specialize in small-boat operations, high-value unit protection and security enforcement.

Many of those assigned to the command are veterans to these types of deployments including Equipment Operator 2nd Class Peter Lamoureaux, a reservist from Worcester, Massachusetts, who deployed with CORIVRON 8 (then known as Mobile Security Squadron 8) to the 5th Fleet AOR in 2012.

For others, like Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Nicolas Luck from Smithfield, Rhode Island, this is their first deployment. As always the "veterans" are there guiding their younger shipmates through the process, which is supported by members of the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC), Newport.

NOSC, another command onboard Naval Station Newport, is responsible for the readiness of more than 625 selected reserve Sailors who make up 30 diverse units, which provide operational capabilities to their supported active-duty commands fleetwide.

NOSC Newport will mobilize and demobilize these CORIVRON 8 personnel and support those families left behind with any Navy-related issues that may arise for them.

Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate Dana Titchnell, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is also leaving his second family - a Pawtucket youth basketball team he has been coaching.

"I'll miss the rest of this season with the basketball, all of baseball season and some of the football season with this deployment," Titchnell said.

This is his fourth time deploying since 2008 so the local youth sports clubs he is active coaching are no stranger to supporting the Navy's mission by giving up their coach.

CORVIRON 8 personnel began their processing Jan. 11 and will move out throughout the weekend as they head down to Virginia to continue training and processing, stage all of their equipment, and physically depart for their overseas mission in the coming weeks.

The personnel will return to Newport in March, when they will actually depart for overseas service.

Naval Station is the home of such prestigious commands as the Naval War College, Surface Warfare Officers School Command, Naval Justice School, Officer Training Command Newport, Navy Supply Corps School and the Naval Academy Preparatory School.

NAVSTA Newport is also home to four U.S. Coast Guard ships that oversee security and navigation from Canada to Long Island Sound; the U.S. Army Reserve Center with deployable Civil Affairs and Military Intelligence assets and the multi service Defense Institute of International Studies that routinely has teams on the ground in conflict zones worldwide developing and implementing effective security cooperation programs to build partner legal capacity, including equitable, transparent and accountable security sectors, civilian control of the military, respect for human rights and good governance.

For more news from Naval Station Newport, visit www.navy.mil/