Calumet City, Ill. Native Serves with Naval Beach Group TWO

Petty Officer 2nd Class Bianca Urbina
Petty Officer 2nd Class Bianca Urbina

NORFOLK – A 2009 Thornton Fractional North High School High School graduate and Calumet City, Illinois native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Naval Beach Group TWO (NBG 2).

Petty Officer 2nd Class Bianca Urbina is an engineman with the beach group operating out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

A Navy engineman is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the diesel engines and auxilliary equipment onboard.

“It is very different from anything I have previously done” said Urbina. “It is pretty cool that I have learned a lot that I can use in my personal life.”

Commissioned in 1948, NBG 2 is designed to organize, man, train and equip forces to execute, combat support, and combat service support missions.

NBG 2 is made of four commands, Assault Craft Unit TWO (ACU 2), Assault Craft Unit FOUR (ACU 4), Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO (PHIBCB 2), and Beach Master Unit TWO (BMU 2); who have their own individual missions that assist to ensure the overall mission of NBG 2 is complete.

Urbina serves with ACU 2 who operate the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) and provide combat ready craft that fully meet operational tasking worldwide, on time, every time.

“I am able to work with a variety of different people and jobs,” said Urbina. “I am able to learn about every rate in our tight-knit community.”

Approximately 30 officers and 300 enlisted men and women make up the beach group. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the command running smoothly. The jobs range from operating boats to maintaining engines and handling weaponry.

"The Sailors here never cease to impress me with the effort they put into their daily work," said Capt. Jeffrey Hayhurst, commodore commander of NBG 2. "Their dedication and hard work make me proud to be in command of Naval Beach Group Two."

Although NBG 2 is made up of four separate commands, they all work together to complete their mission of providing the Navy personnel and equipment to support an amphibious operation or exercise.

These exercises can include evacuation of American citizens from a hostile territory, delivery of food and medical supplies after a natural disaster, the bulk delivery of fuel or fresh water from a ship anchored off the coast through a pipeline to a shore facility, and nearly any other task that involves moving from ships offshore to the beach.

“I have become a lot more independent since joining the Navy,” said Urbina. “I have been able to travel to places I would never have imagined, so it's been an amazing experience.”

As a member of the one of the U.S. Navy’s most unique commands, Urbina and other NBG 2 Sailors understand that they need to have the ability to complete a variety of missions to help keep America safe from enemies foreign and domestic.

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