Seabees assigned to U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 conducted an Engineering Civic Action Project (ENCAP) with engineers from four Asia-Pacific partner nations in the second multilateral naval exercise Komodo, March 26 - April 16.

Komodo was hosted by the Indonesian Armed Forces, Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angatan Laut (TNI-AL).

First organized in 2014, this year marks the first time U.S. engineering forces participated in the events. This exercise focuses on maritime peacekeeping and strengthening naval partnerships across the Pacific. This year, 35 countries participated in fleet, medical and engineering cooperation scenarios.

As the only U.S. engineering forces on the ground, NMCB 4 had the opportunity to interact with military engineers from multiple countries.

"Komodo is about building partnerships, capabilities and interoperability between our partners," said NMCB 4 Detail Komodo Officer in Charge, Construction Electrician 1st Class Bryan Pelangka. "The amazing part was you could see the teamwork being built right in front of you."

The NMCB 4 team left their mark in Indonesia by improving the Tua Pejat Road from a dirt road to a concrete road alongside their engineering counterparts. The reconstruction of the 500-meter road helped strengthen the multinational relationship and directly improved social and economic growth on the island. In a region with prolonged rainy seasons, the improved road enables over 1,000 local families year-round access to community services, schools and a regional medical clinic.

"Meeting the medical staff from other countries and learning how they treat and react to casualties on job sites was something different for me," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kalin Verhelst. "I was able to relate to and learn how a different Navy handles minor procedures and what their capabilities are outside of a hospital. Overall, it was a unique and eye-opening experience."

NMCB 4 and its engineering counterparts outpaced their planned schedule, demonstrating harmony and morale in their joint work ethics to complete the project. Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Jeremy Colbert said the three-week project built not only a partnership but memories the Seabees will not forget.

"Even though our construction means vary, we quickly learned that we have a lot more in common than not," said Colbert. "Exchanging construction and cultural knowledge with them is something I will take with me the rest of my naval career and I hope I get the chance to work with them again in the future."

The project came to an end with the closing ceremony, April 16, which included each nation marching together in a 'pass in review' and a demonstration parachute jump by the Indonesian Marine Parachute Team. The keynote speaker, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Indonesian Navy for Operations, Rear Adm. Ary Atmaja, addressed the importance of team building exercises and expressed his gratefulness for the participation and cooperation of all nations.

NMCB 4 is a forward deployed pacific NMCB ready to support major combat operations and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations and to provide general engineering and civil support to Navy, Marine Corps and joint operational forces. Homeported out of Port Hueneme, California, NMCB 4 has detachment sites deployed throughout the United States and Pacific area of operations, including Cambodia, Diego Garcia, Guam, Japan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Timor Leste.

For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, visit http://www.public.navy.mil/necc/1ncd/Pages/NMCB4 or follow NMCB 4 on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NMCB4. For more news about Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo, visit http://www.komodoexercise.org

For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, visit http://www.navy.mil/.