By Navy Office of Community Outreach
Public Affairs
NORFOLK – A 2012
Buford High School graduate and Buford, South Carolina native is
serving in the U.S. Navy with Naval Beach Group TWO (NBG 2).
Petty Officer
2nd Class Tony Nolan is an equipment operator with the beach group operating
out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A Navy equipment
operator is responsible for the operation of heavy equipment and machinery.
“I enjoy getting
behind the steering wheel,” said Nolan. “I feel important because it is an
important job.”
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.
Nolan
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..
“We are small
tight-knit group and look out for each other,” said Nolan. “If anyone needs
anything, we take care of each other.”
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 matured
a lot since joining the Navy,” said Nolan. “I have also been around the world
on my own.”
As a member of
the one of the U.S. Navy’s most unique commands, Nolan 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.