SAN DIEGO – Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest awarded Clark/McCarthy of Costa Mesa, Calif. a $394 million Recovery Act funded contract September 1 to design and construct a new hospital at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Calif.

Navy Medicine West is the sponsor for the hospital representing the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). NAVFAC Southwest will manage the largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 project awarded in the Department of Navy.

"The Naval Hospital Replacement Project at Camp Pendleton is one of the largest Recovery Act projects within the Department of Defense, and plays a critical role for the support and care for the local military families in the Camp Pendleton area," said Cmdr. Whit Robinson, NAVFAC Southwest Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton.

Clark/McCarthy, a joint venture, will design and construct the new 500,000 square foot, multi-level medical hospital on a 70 acre site at Camp Pendleton. The new hospital will include a central utilities plant, a 1,500 space multi-level parking structure, surface parking, site development, and associated supporting facilities such as inpatient medical facilities, ancillary departments, emergency care, primary care, specialty care clinics, support spaces, and facilities for non-ambulatory patients with stays in excess of 24 hours.

"I speak for both Clark and McCarthy in stating how pleased we are with NAVFAC's trust and confidence in selecting our team for this very significant contract award," said Richard M. Heim, Clark-McCarthy, a Joint Venture, managing partner. "We pledge the utmost from both firms in making this much needed hospital a valued success for NAVFAC, a strong boost to the construction community, and the best facility for our men and women in the Navy and Marine Corps."

The project will have facilities to provide a variety of medical services for surgery, patient overnight stays, dental care, intensive care, and general medical and emergency care.

"Navy Medicine West strives to provide the safest environment for both patients and staff in California’s earthquake-prone region," said Ché Miranda, Navy Medicine West deputy chief of staff for Installations and Logistics. "California’s Seismic-safety legislation, Senate Bill 1953, was passed in 1994 following the Northridge earthquake. The Northridge earthquake caused 23 hospitals to suspend some or all of their services and resulted in more than $3 billion in hospital-related damages. Although state standards do not directly apply to federal hospitals, Navy Medicine leaders recognizing this vulnerability to one of the largest concentrations of USMC Forces in the world, and identified this project as a top priority for military medical construction."

The contract also contains two planned modifications and one option. One modification will purchase conservation banking credits. Conservation banking credits are approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that bank owners sell to developers or project proponents who need to compensate for the impacts their projects have on threatened or endangered species, wetlands, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, mudflats, sub-tidal areas, and less sensitive resources.

The second modification is to obtain furniture, fixtures and equipment necessary to support the facility’s function. The option is for building additional parking. The use of the modifications and option will increase the value of the contract to $451 million.

"In full swing, it is estimated that this project may employ between 700 and 1,000 construction workers daily, thus providing a large economic stimulus for the area," said Robinson. "The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, Navy Medicine West and the Officer in Charge of Construction, Marine Corps Installations West have assembled tremendously experienced project and construction management teams to preserve our commitment of providing absolutely one of the most relevant and sophisticated health care facilities possible for our Marines, Sailors and their families."

The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Since April 2009, NAVFAC Southwest has awarded 107 Recovery Act projects for more than $814 million including the Camp Pendleton hospital project.

SAN DIEGO – The disaster-preparedness exercise Citadel Rumble 10, which involved numerous Navy Region Southwest installations and personnel, concluded Sept. 2.

Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) and U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF) conducted the exercise to gauge the Navy’s preparedness in responding to disasters affecting personnel, family members and infrastructure.

Myriad outside agencies took part in the exercise, including the California Emergency Management Agency, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the American Red Cross, San Diego Gas and Electric, and the San Diego Humane Society.

Ed Caviness, Navy Region Southwest (NRSW) training and readiness program director, said the specific scenarios for the exercise involved two earthquakes threatening the Northwest and Southwest regions, as well as a wildfire and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive) event in the Midwest region.

Family member accountability also played a large part in the exercise, Caviness said. Sailors and their families should make sure their personal information is up-to-date by using the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS). Designed to assess disaster-related needs of Navy families, NFAAS can be accessed at https://www.navyfamily.navy.mil.

Jim Guerin, NRSW family emergency response coordinator, said Navy personnel and their families should take some basic steps to prepare for disasters and emergencies. He said Operation Prepare (www.cnic.navy.mil: search for Operation Prepare) is an invaluable resource because it teaches service members how to prepare with three simple steps: be informed, have a plan, and make a kit.

"Fleet and Family Support Centers have an Operation Prepare brochure that includes a blank family emergency plan and wallet-sized contact cards for each family member," Guerin said. "It also describes what needs to go into an emergency kit."

SAN DIEGO – More than 2,200 chief petty officers (CPO) and CPO selectees from commands throughout the San Diego area gathered Sept. 1 for the 7th annual CPO Pride Day aboard the USS Midway Museum.

The objective of CPO Pride Day is to partner with the city of San Diego and perform community relations projects to demonstrate the "Anchor Power" of Navy CPOs.

The location for the event has obvious significance for the CPOs.

"We are proud to carry our partnership for the seventh year with the USS Midway Museum," said Navy Region Southwest Region Command Master Chief David Chmielewski.

Honorary Master Chief and retired Adm. Mac McLaughlin, President and CEO of USS Midway Museum, gave opening remarks and shared his thoughts in regards to the importance of CPOs. Surface Force Master Chief Eric Page was the guest speaker, focusing his remarks around the collective power of the CPOs and their ability to set the standard for the fleet.

"Every time I participate in this event, I feel pride and joy," Chief Navy Counselor (AW) Jorge L. Arencibia said. "This day means a lot to me and the complete [CPO] community. It provides us with a great opportunity to learn from other [CPOs] in the region."

Another reason the event is held each year is to welcome the newest CPOs into the mess.

"Being a part of this event this year is such a tremendous and challenging feeling knowing that my fellow selectees and I will be entering a brotherhood rooted in history, tradition and pride. This is one of the biggest events in my Navy career," said Yeoman 1st Class Michael Trisler, recently selected for promotion to CPO.

Arencibia added that this event provides a great opportunity to network with all the other chiefs in the region.

Following the event on the Midway Museum, CPOs and selectees gathered at Balboa Park. The park is a significant location due to its Navy history as the first Basic Training Location in San Diego. Retired Force Master Chief Karen O’Conner, the founder of CPO Pride Day, and retired Chief Aviation Machinist Mate Pete Bilicki addressed the CPO mess with motivational speeches.

Following the speeches, the CPOs broke into working groups and provided more than 10,000 hours of community service to more than 40 different projects.

"As a chief petty officer you are considered the leader," Chmielewski said. "Your responsibility is to carry out the mission while maintaining the highest levels of standard. Today that is what we came together to do. Our mission was to give back to the San Diego community and train our future reliefs to lead by example."

Eighty-two personnel from Navy Medicine West (NMW) are scheduled to return to San Diego Sept. 2 following a four and half month deployment in support of Pacific Partnership 2010 (PP10) aboard USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).

The Pacific Partnership team conducted humanitarian and civic action activities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. Returning service members are from multiple Military Treatment Facilities across Navy Medicine West, to include: Naval Medical Center San Diego, Naval Hospitals Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, Lemoore, Oak Harbor and Bremerton.

Personnel include a broad range of specialties, including Medical Corps, Nurse Corps, Dental Corps, Medical Service Corps, Hospital Corpsmen, Culinary Specialists, Personnel Specialists, and Electronic technicians among others.

"Navy Medicine West medical and support staff along with other U.S. military services and non-government organizations, surely left a mutual lifelong impact on both those giving and receiving healthcare, humanitarian and civic services," said Commander, Navy Medicine West and Naval Medical Center San Diego, Rear Adm. C. Forrest Faison III. "Caring for people around the world builds relationships for the future while the medical collaboration helps our staffs grow in their professional skills and experience in preparing for that future."

The Pacific Partnership medical team was able to treat more than 101,000 patients both ashore and aboard the ship in the four countries.

Aboard Mercy, the surgical team performed 775 life-changing surgeries during the deployment, to include cataract removal, cleft palate/lip repair, and orthopedic surgeries.

As part of the medical outreach effort, more than 58,000 pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses were distributed at medical civic action projects.

The dental services provided on board Mercy and at the clinical outreach sites provided care for 1,505 patients. The Biomedical Equipment Repair team repaired 124 pieces of equipment, an estimated repair value of $5.8 million.

Pacific Partnership Mercy was comprised of Military Sealift Command civilian mariners, more than 1,000 personnel from all four U.S. military services and 10 partner nations, including Australia, Canada, Cambodia, France, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. In addition, nine non-governmental organizations were embarked and contributed to PP10. The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship Kunisaki and Royal Australian Navy HMA Ships Labuan, Tarakan, and Tobruk also participated in various phases of Pacific Partnership.

Pacific Partnership 2010 is the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors aimed at strengthening regional partnerships among host nations, partner nations, U.S. government organizations, and international humanitarian and relief organizations.

For more information on Pacific Partnership 2010 visit:

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=55603;

http://www.navy.mil/local/pacificpartnership/