Sailors who run harbor patrols practice small arms fire in simulators at Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story. Other sailors in this wide-ranging command defuse landmines. Divers retrieve downed aircraft, while SeaBees build piers and bridges and just about anything else the Navy needs.
Starting in October, the command was upgraded with a fresh name, Navy Expeditionary Forces, said Rear Adml. Bradley J. Andros.
"I think our new name truly captures our core mission to man, train and equip expeditionary sailors who are ready for Navy and joint operations across the world," Andros said.
The 24,000 active and reserve sailors are based around the world, but sailors from this little-known command are trained and managed at Little Creek. Though they receive less attention than the ships, many of their sailors are also deployed to the Middle East, where they are guarding ships and using drones to hunt for mines in the Strait of Hormuz, said Cmdr. Rick Haley.
“We don't do ships. We're not subs. We're not aircraft. We're expeditionary, so we operate from both sea and shore. I've been in the Navy now for 17 years. My mother still doesn't really get it that I'm in the Navy, but I don't do boat stuff,” Haley said.
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, the name of the command was upgraded from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command to signify that the collection of construction, demolition and logistics units was on the same level as better known forces in the Navy, like the surface fleet and special warfare.
Units load missiles and other weapons onto destroyers, while others units build temporary piers.
Explosive Ordinance Disposal units defuse landmines and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
“I know it sounds a little counterintuitive. Navy, and then we're primarily land-based, but you know, we go wherever we're needed and we take care of the threats on the battlefield and make it safer for everyone involved,” said Lt. j.g. Nathan Schaum, while he explained how his EOD unit uses robots to collect explosives at a distance.
Quartermaster First Class Akia Hill served on ships before joining the harbor patrol unit. The small craft have a crew of four, who typically work 12-hour shifts on the water.
“I came here because I wanted to see a different side of the Navy. I'm used to being on a ship, and I was like, you know, I wanted to experience being on the expeditionary side. It's totally different, but to me, I feel like the camaraderie is really good here. Everyone's close knit. You work in smaller crews, so usually get closer to the people that you work with,” Hill said.
