May 11 (UPI) — Following just three weeks of constructino, a new Expeditionary Medical Facility is operating at Naval Base Guam to support COVID-19 diagnoses and treatment, the Navy announced on Monday.
The five-acre site was developed by the 30th Naval Construction Regiment of the Navy’s Pacific Seabees construction battalion, and included the involvement of several units of advance teams, cargo handlers and logistics, in addition to site preparers and builders.
“The EMF requires about a five acre site and for our team to turn this from an undeveloped field into a fully graded area in four days is incredible,” Chief Equipment Operator Jared Perry, assigned to NMCB [Naval Mobile Construction Unit] 5, said in an April 21 press release at the start of the project.
“Even with our deployment being extended, our team was extremely motivated to support the EMF and show what they can do to help during the COVID response,” Perry said.
The facility includes 11 medical units, and six warehouse units. The extra space and additional staff of 77 Air Force personnel will allow for expanded capacity of U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, adding 25 total beds that can usable for COVID-19 patients. The warehouses will be used to store medical equipment.
A Twitter message on Monday indicated that the facility is operational.
The project supports efforts to return the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to health after hundreds aboard the vessel developed COVID-19 symptoms.
In a statement on Monday, the Pacific Seabees stressed the cooperation and coordination of various units in quickly completing the project.
“We coordinated with the other units to ensure all the right equipment was offloaded and accounted for properly before we started the line haul from the marshal yard to the EMF site,” said Chief Equipment Operator Brad Moore, 30NCR [Naval Construction Regiment] Embark leading chief petty officer “It was vital that all the different units were on the same page to make sure we were moving the right piece of equipment at the right time, so it showed up when needed.”
