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3rd NELR decommissions after short 7-year legacy

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sean M. Crowe
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Sailors of the 3rd Navy Expeditionary Logistics Regiment cased their colors during a decommissioning ceremony held for the seven-year-old unit July 27, 2013, at the Timmermann Center here.

Capt. Ed Chevalier, 3rd NELR commander, surrendered command of the unit in front of an audience of the unit's Sailors along with members of Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 8, Naval Sea Cadets and the Rancocas Valley Regional High School Navy Junior ROTC honor guard.

Guest speaker Rear Adm. Mark J. Belton, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group commander, spoke with pride as he experienced both sadness and a sense of appreciation for the Navy's continued progression.

"Decommissioning is but one step in the process of moving ahead," said Belton. "This is the last era of a proud legacy of cargo handlers."

The 3rd NELR decommissioned along with only one of its three subordinate units. The two remaining units falling under the 3rd NELR, Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 8 and Expeditionary Communications Detachment 3, will be restructured to fall under the command of one of the NELSG's 11 remaining regiments.

The unit had a short life of seven years, but in that time, the unit members used 50,750 man days supporting 90 different exercises and operations, said Chevalier.

The 3rd NELR supported exercises and mission in various places including: Australia, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Egypt and more.

"Being a part of this unit has been an extraordinary experience that I looked forward to as soon as I got orders," said Petty Officer 1st Class David Humphries, regiment leading petty officer. "My wife is a cargo handler as well and she has always gotten to travel and do interesting work. I knew it would be a great chance to do more operational work than I had before."

The cargo handlers directly support forward-deploying Sailors with supply delivery. The NELSG provides expeditionary Sailors with anything they need from tents to communications equipment. Any expeditionary supplies the Sailors might need come from the NELSG and its subordinate units.

The NELSG conducts surface and air cargo-handling missions to provide logistical support, ordnance reporting and handling and expeditionary communications.

"I'm a decommissioning specialist here at the regiment," said Humphries. "In my previous jobs, I haven't learned as much operational knowledge as I have here. My biggest personal accomplishment while here was qualifying as an expeditionary warfare specialist by passing a practical exercise and board evaluation."

Some regiment members get to experience operational capability, while most provide administrative support to the operational units.

The unit members recognize their support to humanitarian relief operations in Haiti for Operations: UNIFIED RESPONSE. Eight regiment members mobilized to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to support the operation. The regiment provided command and control to a Joint Forces Logistics Operations Center and also provided supplies for 23 ships in the area of responsibility.

"I really enjoy the cargo handling career," said Master Chief Petty Officer Danny Blackshear, 3rd NELR command master chief. "We've provided support in many humanitarian relief missions. Almost everyone on staff has deployed. I've grown close to my coworkers over my three years here so it's unfortunate to think this might be the last time I see some of these people."