By Navy Office of Community Outreach
Public Affairs
NORFOLK – A 2006
Graham High School graduate and Bluefield, Virginia native is
serving in the U.S. Navy with Naval Beach Group TWO (NBG 2).
Petty Officer
2nd Class Brent Cook is a steel worker with the beach group operating out of
Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A Navy steel
worker is responsible for welding steel.
“I enjoy
welding,” said Cook. “I enjoy the process of making, cutting and welding things
out of steel every day.”
Commissioned in
1948, NBG 2 is designed to organize, man, train and equip
forces to execute, combat support, and combat service support missions.
NBG 2 is made of
four commands, Assault Craft Unit TWO (ACU 2), Assault Craft Unit FOUR (ACU 4),
Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO (PHIBCB 2), and Beach Master Unit TWO
(BMU 2); who have their own individual missions that assist to ensure the
overall mission of NBG 2 is complete.
Cook
serves with PHIBCB 2 who regularly embark aboard the ships of amphibious ready
groups (ARGs) deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, Adriatic Sea,
and throughout the Atlantic area from the coasts of Norway to South America to
include the Caribbean Sea. Since the Millennium, Naval Beach Group detachments
have supported routine exercises and ARG deployments..
“I like the
people in my command,” said Cook. “They are a great group of people to work
with.”
Approximately 30
officers and 300 enlisted men and women make up the beach group. Their jobs are
highly specialized and keep each part of the command running smoothly. The jobs
range from operating boats to maintaining engines and handling weaponry.
"The Sailors here never cease to impress me with
the effort they put into their daily work," said Capt. Jeffrey Hayhurst,
commodore commander of NBG 2. "Their dedication and hard work make me
proud to be in command of Naval Beach Group Two."
Although NBG 2
is made up of four separate commands, they all work together to complete their
mission of providing the Navy personnel and equipment to support an
amphibious operation or exercise.
These exercises can include evacuation of American citizens
from a hostile territory, delivery of food and medical supplies after a natural
disaster, the bulk delivery of fuel or fresh water from a ship anchored off the
coast through a pipeline to a shore facility, and nearly any other task that
involves moving from ships offshore to the beach.
“I have become
more mature and independent since joining the Navy,” said Cook. “I am also able to provide for my
family.”
As a member of
the one of the U.S. Navy’s most unique commands, Cook and other NBG 2 Sailors
understand that they need to have the ability to complete a variety of missions
to help keep America safe from enemies foreign and domestic.