By Navy Office of
Community Outreach Public Affairs
NORFOLK – A 2006 Collinwood High School graduate and
Cleveland native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Naval Beach Group TWO
(NBG 2).
Petty Officer 2nd Class Raphael Hookes is a logistics
specialist with the beach group operating out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A Navy logistics specialist is responsible for ensuring that
the command has the supplies it needs to complete the mission and the finances
to order those supplies.
“My job gives me a lot of satisfaction because I can see the
work getting done with the supplies that I order,” said Hookes. “It’s good to
see the finished product and that I had a hand in it.”
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.
Hookes serves with BMU2 who provides Naval Beach Party Teams
(BPTs) for deployment in conjunction with Expeditionary Forces in order to
provide beach and surf zone salvage and to facilitate the landing and movement
over the beach of troops, equipment, supplies, and the evacuation of
casualties, prisoners-of-war, and non-combatants.
“This command gives me the opportunity to learn the
leadership aspects of my job and handle multiple responsibilities to improve
myself,” said Hookes
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.
“The Navy has helped me build character,” said Hooks. “I
have been put in situations where I had to apply my training and use critical
thinking skills to complete the mission.”
As a member of the one of the U.S. Navy’s most unique
commands, Hookes 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.