Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) marked the 10-year anniversary of its establishment Jan. 13 of providing expeditionary combat support.

Pete Frothingham, who retired from active duty at the rank of captain, continues to serve as NECC's first N8 director and discussed the importance of aligning expeditionary combat forces totaling more than 19,000 active and reserve component forces under one type commander (TYCOM).

"NECC allowed for the proper man, train, equip of a large number of expeditionary and pre-existing forces," said Frothingham who added that the stand-up of NECC provided "better understanding of the critical capabilities of our expeditionary forces and how to best provide our combatant commanders with an effective and well-trained fighting force."

Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG) Chief of Staff Mark Sakowski has also been affiliated with NECC before its inception, actually since its conceptualization. Sakowski first reported to NAVELSG in 2003 as their deputy commander and later retired from active duty in 2008.

"It is unheralded how quickly NECC came online to become an effective and proven advocate for the expeditionary forces," said Sakowski. "Our manning is better, our training is better, our facilities are better, our equipment is better, and our Sailors are better. This never could have happened, and especially so quickly, without a dedicated and focused TYCOM that has worked deliberately and exhaustingly to truly represent our capabilities and build the Navy an effective and lethal expeditionary force."

Since its establishment in 2006, NECC has folded the expeditionary combat force under one umbrella of capabilities that includes explosive ordnance, Navy diving, coastal riverine, construction force, expeditionary logistics support, cargo handling, expeditionary warfare development, individual augmentee training, expeditionary combat camera support, and expeditionary intelligence capabilities.

Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center's Command Master Chief (EXW/AW/NAC) Randy Watson, who was one of the establishing plank owners, explained the synergy behind the stand-up of NECC.

"To see that vision grow into reality over the years has been a special opportunity," said Watson. "One of the TYCOM benefits for our communities is recognizing the synergies across various communities and leveraging those to build a stronger, more effective and efficient force as well as building the adaptive force packages to meet many unique missions."

Watson has served at four different commands within NECC and discussed its formation.

"By forming NECC, the Navy brought many overlapping or similarly supported capabilities under one umbrella - capabilities that are unique in nature and if not formalized would otherwise have to be accomplished by pulling Sailors from the fleet in a temporary duty or ad hoc manner," said Watson.

NECC delivers its core capabilities through rapidly deployable expeditionary forces made up of both active and reserve force components. NECC continues to serve as a role model for Active Reserve Integration with approximately 50 percent of its forces comprised of reservists.

Nearly 9,000 selected reserve Sailors are assigned to NECC and serve across the United States in commissioned, hardware-equipped units that train and deploy to meet operational requirements around the globe.

"These are not your average 'one weekend per month and two weeks per year' drilling Navy reservists," said Rear Adm. Darren Hanson, NECC deputy commander. "They are a highly dedicated, elite group of men and women who are proud to support real missions in real places alongside, or in lieu of, their active component counterparts."

Lillian Jenkins, manpower analyst, reported to NECC Jan. 5, 2005 serving as their first chief yeoman.

"It was exciting to be a part of an organization from the very beginning and witness its growth escalation over the past decade," said Jenkins of Kenbridge, Virginia, who retired from active duty after serving 20 years. She has also served on the NECC staff for the past decade as a Navy civilian.

"It has been rewarding to be a part of a bigger organization that has global reach," said Jenkins, whose job affects military and civilians across the NECC enterprise. "As part of standing up our force I established or reorganized each command within NECC and maintained force structure and military manpower."

On any given day approximately one third of NECC forces are deployed worldwide on missions from theater security partnerships to partnership building to infrastructure protection. Due to the operational capabilities represented and where they operate, NECC units act as a force multiplier in the areas where they deploy and operate.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command , visit www.navy.mil/.