Contact: Antonia Ferrier (202) 224-5344
Tuesday, March 7, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today applauded the Navy’s decision to help the Georgetown Historical Society Museum construct a new structure as part of their training program. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26 of Brunswick will provide the carpentry, plumbing, and electrical labor for a 3,000 square foot wood frame structure for the museum. Snowe requested aid for this project in a letter to the Navy on April 29, 2004.

“The Navy’s announcement that they will help the Georgetown Historical Society Museum construct a much-needed building as part of their naval training program is a welcome one,” said Snowe. “Without the help of this elite naval construction force, Georgetown would face fiscal constraints that might sideline plans for the construction of this building. I applaud the Navy’s decision as it will provide support for a public project in the town of Georgetown as well as give naval reservists vital readiness training.”

At 12:30 on Saturday, March 18th, the award will be officially announced at the Georgetown Center. The construction of the Georgetown Historical Society Museum structure will be the largest naval construction training program in the country this year.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) provide responsive military construction support to Navy, Marine Corps and other forces in military operations, construct base facilities and conduct defensive operations. In addition to standard wood, steel, masonry and concrete construction, NMCBs also perform specialized construction such as water well drilling and battle damage repair. They are able to work and defend themselves at construction sites outside of their base camp and convoy through unsecured areas. In times of emergency or disaster, NMCBs conduct disaster control and recovery operations. There are Eight active duty and Twelve reserve NMCBs.

The text of the letter Snowe sent in April 2004 is below:

Capt. Mike Vitale

Department of the Navy

182 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mike:

I am writing to express my strong support for the request submitted to the U.S. Navy by the Commanding Officer, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26 of Brunswick, Maine for approval to conduct an IRT Program (Ref: 3500, Ser 0/00/5).

The Georgetown Historical Society Museum, a non-profit educational organization, has been active in its efforts to undertake the task of constructing a 3,000 square foot wood frame structure to provide a new home for the storage of valuable historical documents in a climate controlled environment, a public library space and museum. The facility will also provide a meeting space to support community events for area residents, many of whom are attached to the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The Building Committee is to be commended for their commitment to preserving the history of Georgetown by securing the site, developing plans for the construction of a new building and fundraising. It is with this commitment in mind that I lend my support to their request.

It is my understanding that the Seabees participation is vital to the success of this project because of the fiscal and demographic constraints of small towns like Georgetown which are limited in their ability to raise the full amount necessary for such a project. Thus, I want to emphasize the importance of assistance from the Navy as to the ultimate success of getting this project off the ground and ultimately, construct the building with labor provided by the Naval Construction Battalion for carpentry, plumbing, and electrical. Further, I believe the Georgetown project is ideal for Seabee reservists as part of their readiness training, not to mention it is a significant public project in the home community of the air station in Brunswick.

Thank you for your time and effort on behalf of the Georgetown Historical Society. I trust your office will review their application carefully, and give it every consideration. Please keep me informed as to the status of their request.

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