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Mottos
The official motto of the Seabees is "Construimus, Batuimus" – translated into English as "We Build, We Fight." The Seabees have several unofficial mottos as well. Their best known unofficial motto is the simple phrase "Can Do!", featured on much of their promotional material. The "Song of the Seabees" was written in 1943. The lyrics were composed by Sam M. Lewis and the musical composition was written by Peter DeRose. The first verse of the song, however, is usually the only verse to be sung or played at official functions.
History
World War II
In December 1941, with U.S. involvement in war soon expected on both oceans, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks, recommended establishing Naval Construction Battalions at a newly constructed base at Davisville, R.I. (now part of North Kingstown). With the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entrance into the war, he was given the go-ahead. The earliest Seabees were recruited from the civilian construction trades and were placed under the leadership of the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps. Because of the emphasis on experience and skill rather than physical standards, the average age of Seabees during the early days of the war was 37.
More than 325,000 men served with the Seabees in World War II, fighting and building on six continents and more than 300 islands. In the Pacific, where most of the construction work was needed, the Seabees landed soon after the Marines and built major airstrips, bridges, roads, gasoline storage tanks, and Quonset huts for warehouses, hospitals, and housing.
The Seabees were officially organized in the Naval Reserve on December 31, 1947.
With the general demobilization following the war, the Construction Battalions were reduced to 3,300 men on active duty by 1950. Between 1949 and 1953, Naval Construction Battalions were organized into two types of units: Amphibious Construction Battalions (NACBs) and Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs).
Korean War
The Korean War saw a call-up of more than 10,000 men. The expansion of the Seabees came from the Naval Reserve Seabee program where individuals volunteered for active duty. The Seabees landed at Incheon with the assault troops. They fought enormous tides as well as enemy fire and provided causeways within hours of the initial landings. Their action here and at other landings emphasized the role of the Seabees and there was no Seabee demobilization when the truce was declared.
Following Korea, the Seabees embarked on a new mission. From providing much needed assistance in the wake of a devastating earthquake in Greece in 1953 to providing construction work and training to underdeveloped countries, the Seabees became "The Navy's Goodwill Ambassadors." Seabees built or improved many roads, orphanages and public utilities in many remote parts of the world.
Vietnam War
Seabees were deployed to Vietnam throughout the conflict beginning in small numbers in June 1954 and extending to November 1972. By 1962 they began building camps for Special Forces. In June 1965, Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Marvin G. Shields, part of Seabee Team 1104, was actively engaged at the Battle of Dong Xoai and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions there. Shields remains the only Seabee ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. These "Civic Action Teams" continued into the Vietnam War where Seabees, often fending off enemy forces alongside their Marine and Army counterparts, also built schools and infrastructure and provided health care service. Beginning in 1965 full Seabee battalions (MCBs) and Naval Construction Regiments (NCRs) along with other unit types were deployed throughout Vietnam. Seabees from the Naval Reserve provided individual personnel early on to augment regular units such as battalions and regiments.
After Vietnam, the Seabees built and repaired Navy bases in Puerto Rico, Japan, Guam, Greece, Sicily, and Spain. Their civic action projects focused on the Trust Territories of the Pacific.
In 1971, the Seabees began their largest peacetime construction on Diego Garcia, a small atoll in the Indian Ocean. This project took 11 years and cost $200 million. The complex accommodates the Navy's largest ships and the biggest military cargo jets. This base proved invaluable when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were launched.
Gulf War
During the Gulf War, more than 5,000 Seabees (4,000 active and 1,000 reservists) served in the Middle East. Other units, including mobilized construction units under the command of Dave Hartman served for those deployed forward. In Saudi Arabia, Seabees built 10 camps for more than 42,000 personnel; 14 galleys capable of feeding 75,000 people; and 6 million ft² (600,000 m²) of aircraft parking apron and runways as well as 200+ Helo landing zones.
Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Seabees continue to provide critical construction skills in connection with the effort to rebuild the infrastructure of both Iraq and Afghanistan. All Active and Reserve Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) and Naval Construction Regiments (NCRs) have deployed to Iraq.
Organization
Training
The newcomers begin “A” School (preliminary training) fresh out of boot camp, or they come from the fleet after their service term is met, spending about 75 percent of the twelve weeks immersed in hands-on training. The remaining 25 percent is spent in classroom instruction. From “A” School, new Seabees most often report to an NMCB command for their first tour of duty. For training, the new Seabees go through either two weeks of Seabee Replacement Training (SERT), or Expeditionary Combat Skills (ECS) which is a four week long course. As of August 2008, Seabees reporting for duty in Port Hueneme, California go through SERT, while those reporting to Gulfport, Mississippi go through ECS. SERT/ECS are basic combat skills courses where the students will spend time in a classroom environment learning map reading and land navigation, battlefield first aid, how to lay out defensive plans, conduct patrols, vehicle egress, and many other combat related skills. Half of each course is spent at a rifle range where students will learn basic rifle marksmanship and then qualify with the M16 service rifle. ECS students will also learn fundamentals of the M9 service pistol and qualify. At the end of training, new Seabees are ready to perform with their new battalion. During their tenure with an NMCB, personnel may be assigned to a crew-served weapon, such as the Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher, the M2HB .50-caliber machine gun, or the M240 machine gun.
About one third of new Seabees are assigned to Public Works Departments at Naval installations both stateside and overseas. While stationed at a Public Works Department, a Seabee will have the opportunity to get specialized training and extensive experience in one or more facets of their rating.
Ratings
There are seven source ratings for the Seabee community:1
- Construction Mechanics (CM) maintain and repair the construction machinery used by the Seabees, such as power tools and heavy equipment.
- Equipment Operators (EO) operate heavy construction equipment and coordinate rigging operations.
- Utilitiesmen (UT) install, maintain, and operate a building's mechanical and fluid systems.
- Construction Electricians (CE) install a building's electrical distribution and emergency power systems.
- Builders (BU) are responsible for general construction, including carpentry, concrete, masonry, and finish work.
- Steel Workers (SW) are responsible for erecting structural steel and reinforcing steel in concrete construction.
- Engineering Aides (EA) are responsible for construction surveying, drafting, and project estimation.
At the Master Chief Petty Officer level, each of the ratings merge with at least one other ratings.
- Construction Mechanics and Equipment Operators become Equipmentman Master Chiefs (EQCM).
- Construction Electricians merge into the Utilitiesman rating, although the rating's abbreviation is changed to UCCM.
- Builders, Steel Workers, and Engineering Aides become Constructionmen Master Chiefs (CUCM).
Miscellany
- The military qualification badge for the Seabees is known as the Seabee Combat Warfare Badge (SCW). It is issued to both officers and enlisted personnel and recognizes those who have been fully trained and qualified as a member of the various Naval Construction Force (NCF) units. Only members attached to a qualifying NCF unit are eligible for the SCW pin. The qualifying units include: Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCB), Amphibious Construction Battalions (ACB), Construction Battalion Maintenance Units (CBMU), Naval Construction Force Support Units (NCFSU), and Underwater Construction Teams (UCT).
- The ranks of E-1 through E-3 in the Navy include Seaman (white stripes), Airman (green stripes), and Fireman (red stripes). E-1 through E-3 Seabees use the designation Constructionman, and wear sky blue stripes on their dress and service uniforms.
- There are also three special Navy Units that are primarily Seabee Units: Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) units deploy worldwide to provide power, water purification and technical support at moments notice for military and humanitarian missions. Naval Support Unit State Department where Seabees work, rehab and maintain security areas at US Embassies and Consulates overseas and Presidential Support Duty which is located at Camp David. While assigned to the State Department, a Seabee reports to a Department of State Security Engineering Officer or directly to a Department of State Regional Security Officer, who both work for the Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Along with the Marine Security Guard (MSG) program, this is a rare example of an active duty uniformed member of the U.S. armed forces who is operationally controlled through a civilian, albeit law enforcement, head.
- There are currently around 17,000 Seabees, active and reserve, serving in the U.S. Navy.
- In the late 1990s, a group of former Seabees opened the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park in Davisville, Rhode Island, the original home of the Seabees. The Fighting Seabee Statue is located here. There are also U. S. Navy Seabee Museums at the Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, California and at Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi.
- Navy diver Robert Stethem was murdered by the radical Muslim terrorist organization known as Hezbollah when they hijacked TWA Flight 847 in 1985. Stethem was a Steel Worker Second Class (SW2), a Seabee diver and member of Underwater Construction Team ONE. The USS Stethem (DDG-63) is named in his honor. Fittingly, the vessels's nickname is "The Steel Worker." The sailors stationed aboard the ship commonly and proudly refer to themselves as "Steel Workers" also.
- Seabees say "Oorah!" as a war-cry or spirited shout as an expression of motivation. It is taken from the Seabee's close association with the U.S. Marine Corps, where the term originated. Oorah is also an enthusiastic reply or an acknowledgment to carry out an order, similar to "Aye, aye" in the fleet Navy. It is comparable to the U.S. Army's "Hooah" and the Navy SEAL's "Hooyah".
Logo
Frank J. Iafrate, a civilian plan file clerk at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, R. I., was the originator and artist who designed the original Seabee logo ("Fighting 'Bee") in early 1942. In late 1942, after designing the logo, he enlisted in the Seabees.2
During World War II, artists working for Walt Disney created over a thousand military insignia, which were used as "nose art" for bombers and as unit logos. Disney artists designed logos for about ten Naval Construction units, including the 60th Naval (Canal) Construction Battalion3 and the 133rd Naval Construction Battalion4 in 1943.
In popular culture
- The Fighting Seabees (1944), starring John Wayne, is a fictionalized portrayal of the beginning of the Seabees.
- Seabees feature prominently in the musical South Pacific.
- Ward Cleaver, the fictional father from Leave It To Beaver, was a Seabee.
- Al Borland, the fictional sidekick of Tim Taylor on Home Improvement was a Seabee and stationed in Nevada. Borland was portrayed by actor Richard Karn. Coincidentally, Karn's father, Gene, was a Seabee in real life and served in World War II.
- Literal "seabees" (similar to the bee depicted on the badge) appear in the computer game Grim Fandango.
- Tom Cruise, portraying "Maverick" in the 1986 movie Top Gun, had a Seabee patch on the left front breast area of his flight jacket.
See also
- Amphibious Construction Battalion One
- Military engineer
- Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme
- NMCB
- Seabees in World War II
- United States Navy Seabees Bridge - bridge named for Seabees
References
- ^ "Navy enlisted manpower and personnel classifications". Bureau of Naval Personnel. US Navy. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ The Fighting Bee
- ^ Toons at War
- ^ Toons at War
- Huie, William Bradford (1997). Can Do!: The Story of the Seabees (Bluejacket Books Series). Naval Institute Press. (Original text: chinfo.navy.mil)
External links
- Official Website
- Seabees During World War II
- Navy.com
- Seabee Museum & Memorial Park in Davisville, RI
- US Navy Seabbee Yahoo Group
