Navy Seabees walk toward the Regimental Combat Team 3 Combat Operations Center, May 13, at Camp Leatherneck. The sailors said there will be no down time for them in between projects while in Afghanistan. Photo by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

The Marines affectionately call the structure “Noah’s Ark,” for its similarities to the vessel built before flood waters covered the earth in biblical times.

In the rugged desert of southern Afghanistan sit hundreds of tents occupied by Marines for as far as the eye can see.

Rising above the dust and grit that blow across the Helmand plains, one object stands out majestically amongst Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan’s sprawling tent city at the unit’s base of operations at Camp Leatherneck.

The Marines affectionately call the structure “Noah’s Ark,” for its similarities to the vessel built before flood waters covered the earth in biblical times.

This modern-day ark, built for Marines in less than three months by sailors of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, looms over all other structures across the desert camp.

“In my 19 years in the Navy, I have never built a building this big,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas Damron, a supervisor for the construction of the 12,000 square-foot structure. “This is the largest wooden structure I’ve ever seen Seabees build.”

Damron, a Port Hueneme, Calif., native, said the building is the largest building made by the Navy outside the U.S. since World War II and will be used for coordinating various aspects of MEB-Afghanistan’s mission, which includes counterinsurgency operations and mentoring and training Afghan national security forces.

Construction of the massive building began two months before MEB-Afghanistan arrived in Helmand province. Damron said the Seabees are currently on schedule to meet their deadline for finishing the Ark, but only because of the sweat and perseverance that has come from the naval construction workers involved.

“We’re all pushed to our limits,” Damron said. “A construction job of this size takes an average of five months to complete. We’re doing it in less than three.”

The sailors each work an average of 12 hours every day at the least. By the time the sun rises, on average, the temperature is 85 degrees, said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Amber Chambliss, hospital corpsman, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5. She said temperatures lately can reach 125 degrees by mid-day.

“This job they’re doing can be extremely dangerous,” Chambliss said, of working both inside and outside the building, which currently lacks air conditioning. “Dealing with the heat is a serious issue alone, not to add the possibility of falling off the roof.”

The Miami native said individuals who work on the job site drink anywhere from two to three gallons of water daily. And it’s necessary, she said, noting the fact that if one of the workers falls out, the job will become even harder to complete on time.

The day-to-day job hasn’t been easy, Damron said. In order to reach their completion deadline, the Seabees work nearly non-stop, taking an hour-long break for lunch and 10-minute breaks every hour to rest. Reaching their completion time has required every one of those minutes saved, he said.

“This is one of the toughest jobs some of us have ever done because of the elements and working conditions,” Damron said. “It’s controlled chaos. We’ve been building this at more than two times the speed it would take on average to complete. Everyone is constantly doing different things, moving different directions, accomplishing one job, then moving toward the next.”

“Look at them, you can se the exhaustion in their faces,” said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Garrison Hardisty, project supervisor. “And they’re only halfway through the day. They’re all pushed to the limit.”

Hardisty said everyone is physically drained when they leave the job site in the evenings. The job has taken an obvious toll on Damron, who said he’s lost more than 30 pounds since he arrived in Afghanistan. But, Hardisty said, they return each day and never give up.

And even though returning each day reminds them of the grueling tasks ahead, it also reminds them of how far they have come in such a short amount of time.

“Everyone’s excited to see the end result,” Damron said, enthusiastically. “We’re all proud to have had a part in this building. It will be around for years to come.”

Petty Officers 2nd Class Landon Church and John Nicholas, project lead electrician and utilities man respectively, said they were confident in the building becoming operational by its deadline. Church, a Byron, Mich., native, said he and his team of electricians have installed more than 10,000 feet of wiring throughout the building to support hundreds of computers. Nicholas, a Boise, Idaho, native, said the facility will also be climate-controlled, ready to accept those who will work there when it opens.

As the clock continues to count down, the Seabees remain resilient, motivated by purpose and commitment. But as one job nears an end, others add up by the week. After the brigade command center is complete, they will move on and continue to build the Regimental Combat Team 3 and Camp Leatherneck Garrison Combat Operations Center, also 12,000 square-feet each.

“As soon as this job is complete, we will carry on to the next,” Damron explained. “There will be no rest for us.

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Story by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Landon Church, an electrician from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-5, inspects a portion of the Camp Leatherneck Garrison Combat Operations Center, June 2. Since March, the Byron, Mich., native has served as project lead electrician in building the operations centers here. Photo by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

For several nights he has walked down an empty, wooden hallway partially lit by a mixture of moonlight and a spotlight off in the distance, stopping sporadically to observe different sections of the structure. After he moves on, he leaves the building as calm as it was when he found it.

Being at a construction site before anyone else arrives is a nightly routine for Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Landon Church, an electrician from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-5.

Church, a native of Byron, Mich., is the project lead electrician in building the combat operation centers here. Since March, his knowledge and experience have been essential in the progress made here by Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan and its subordinate elements.

“This has been the opportunity of a lifetime,” Church said. “I knew in the beginning that the MEB project was crucial to the beginning of operations here and it has been an honor to head up and manage the electrical portions of the project.”

Church, 24, has less than four years in the Navy and is in charge of planning and estimating the electrical requirements of the three buildings.

He and his team of four electricians completed the electrical portions of the brigade’s command center less than two weeks ago and installed more than 10,000 feet of wiring throughout the building that will run power to hundreds of computers, telephones and more.

“I spent many hours reviewing building codes for electrical components and making sure I had an overall knowledge of every aspect of the project, down to the very last detail,” Church said. “With that knowledge, I had the best idea of how to go about tasking, coordinating and managing my troops.”

Church was trained as an electrician in Wichita Falls, Texas, from May to July 2006. It was then where he learned about electrical distribution and interior wiring, motors and controls, and how to climb utility poles and troubleshoot electrical problems.

From Texas he was then sent to his current duty station at Port Hueneme, Calif., and deployed to Kuwait from September to November 2006, and later to eastern Afghanistan’s Camp Salerno from December 2006 to February 2007.

Nine months before coming here he was assigned to his battalion’s convoy security element. There he focused on weapons training, improvised explosive device awareness and urban combat.

Shortly after arriving here, he was handed the blue-prints for three of the largest projects he’d ever fathomed, even though he hadn’t worked as an electrician for almost a year.

“I kind of stared at the blue-prints for a while, wondering how I would ever plan this out,” Church reminisced. “I chose to push through it one item at a time, and pretty soon the plan came together and eventually evolved into one of the biggest projects the Seabees have seen in quite some time.”

Petty Officer 1st Class Garrison Hardisty, project supervisor, said he had no doubt in Church’s ability to adjust to the challenge, and proof of that is the recent completion of the MEB-Afghanistan COC.

“That’s what Seabees do, we make do with what little we have,” Hardisty said.

Church attributes his success to the hard work and commitment of the electricians in his team. He said he’s happy with the results he’s produced so far, but said that wouldn’t be the case if not for his men.

“I’ve tasked them, and they haven’t let me down yet,” Church said. “They put in the extra effort to get the mission done.”

Seaman Apprentice Aaron Bluitt, 36, an electrician from Santa Barbara, Calif., said he found inspiration in following Church, a leader 12 years his junior. He said Church is always well organized and puts forth a lot of extra time in planning and executing every task he’s given.

“I’m glad I’m able to be a part of his crew,” Bluitt said. “His positive leadership has helped us get the job done. He’s very good at what he does and I’m happy that I’ve been able to learn as much as I have from him.”

Bluitt said Church gave him the opportunity to install the circuit panels inside the MEB-Afghanistan COC, a task not normally given to a junior electrician. Because of this, Bluitt said, Church developed a lasting impression as a leader in the eyes of his troops.

“The best thing to do as a leader is to give the troops a sense of accomplishment,” Church said. “Once they see that it all works and comes together, they develop a trust in you.”

Church sees the success achieved by his team every evening before he leaves the job site. He said he’s blessed to have the opportunity to lead such a meaningful project and to lead sailors who help him succeed.

“At the end of the day I go home, get in my rack and think about what I did that day,” Church said. “I’ve always felt satisfied.”

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Story by Cpl. Aaron Rooks