| Naval Construction Battalions | |
|---|---|
 The Seabee logo | |
| Founded | 5 March 1942 (formation authorized) |
| Country | U.S. |
| Branch | U S Navy |
| Role | Militarized construction |
| Size | 258,000 |
| Nickname(s) | Seabees |
| Motto(s) | "Can Do" |
| Colors |  United States Navy |
| Mascot(s) | Bumblebee |
| Engagements | Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Normandy landing, Sicily, Anzio, North Africa |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Admiral Ben Moreell |
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (June 2024) |
When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done was build staging bases to take the war to the enemy, across both oceans, and create the construction force to do the work. Naval Construction Battalions were first conceived at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s. The onset of hostilities clarified to Radm. Moreell the need for developing advance bases to project American power. The solution: tap the vast pool of skilled labor in the U.S. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train it. The first volunteers came skilled. To obtain these tradesmen, military age was waived to age 50. It was later found that several past 60 had managed to get in. Men were given advanced rank/pay based upon experience making the Seabees the highest paid group in the U.S. military.[1] The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.
"December 1942 saw voluntary Seabee enlistments cease per presidential order. For the next year the Selective Service System provided younger unskilled recruits."[2] The Seabee solution were Construction Training Centers with courses in over 60 trades. In the field seabees became renowned for the arts of obtaining materials by unofficial and unorthodox means,[note 1][3] and souvenir making. Bulldozers, steel pontoons, steel mat, and corrugated steel, combined with "ingenuity and elbow grease became synonymous with Seabees.[4] Nearly 11,400 became officers in the Civil Engineer Corps of which nearly 8,000 served with CBs. During the war the Naval Construction Force (NCF) was simultaneously spread across multiple projects worldwide. On 13 February 1945 Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, made the NCF a permanent Naval element.[5] Before that happened Seabees had volunteered for many tasks outside the NCF: Naval Combat Demolition Units, UDTs, Marine Corps Engineers/Pioneers and the top secret Chemical Warfare Service Flame tank Group. While the Seabees had many unit types and had their tasks outside the NCF, other services, and the rest of the Navy itself, made no distinction, they all were simply "Seabees".[6]
- ^ Rogers, J. David. "USN Seabees During World War II" (PDF). Missouri University of Science and Technology. p. 8. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CBHistorywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 105th NCB, BuDocks, Dept. of the Navy 1946, Seabee Museum, Port Hueneme, CA.
- ^ Henry, Mark (2002), The U.S. Navy in WWII, Elite 80, Osprey Publishing, p. 24
- ^ "This Date in Seabee History", Seabee Online Magazine, 11 February 2018
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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