By Navy Office of Community Outreach
Public Affairs
NORFOLK – An
Irving, Texas native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Naval Beach Group TWO
(NBG 2).
Petty Officer
3rd Class Christine Walsh is a construction mechanic with the beach group
operating out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A Navy
construction mechanic is responsible for the maintenance of all of the
equipment.
“This job is
definitely something new,” said Walsh. “I've never worked in a job like this
before.”
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.
Walsh
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..
“The people that
are here are family,” said Walsh “There is no one else to fall back on so we
only have 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.
“Since joining the Navy, stress does not
bother me as much now,” said Walsh. “I've learned to deal with it well and can
handle all the changes.”
As a member of
the one of the U.S. Navy’s most unique commands, Walsh 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.