Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Heather Salzman | 200305-N-MW964-1062 PORT HUENEME, Calif. (Mar. 05, 2020). Seabees (left to right)...... read more read more
PORT HUENEME, Calif. (NNS) – This week members of the Naval Construction Force around the world will pause to celebrate and reflect on the birth of one of the most unique and renowned additions to the United States Navy, the Navy Seabees.
This year marks seventy-eight years that the Seabees have been providing service at home and to countries throughout the world.
On March 5, 1942 the Department of the Navy granted permission for use of the term “Seabee” for all construction force personnel. Today there are seven rates that make up this historical force: the builder, the utilitiesman, the construction mechanic, the construction electrician, the equipment operator, the steelworker and the engineering aide. The term “CB” in its original state is abbreviated from the Latin phrase Construimus, Batuimus meaning “We Build, We Fight” and is the official Naval Construction Force motto. The nickname “Seabees”, as we use it today, originated from “CB” and incorporates a more naval connotation.
Since WWII, Seabees have deployed to fight in some of the largest battles in U.S. history. Navy Seabees were some of the first Americans to hit land on D-Day and have served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to name a few. The men and women of the Seabees have been deployed globally in every theater around the world constructing bases, building airfields, conducting underwater construction, and building roads, bridges and other support facilities while providing protection for themselves and those around them. Whether building a children’s school in the Philippines or an airfield in Timor Leste, the significance of the Seabee mission is as important today as ever.
“The Civil Engineer Corps and the Seabees have a tremendous amount to be proud of as we look back on our prestigious history of achievements, particularly in the Pacific,” said Capt. David McAlister, commodore, Naval Construction Group 1. “We have begun to re-posture our forces throughout the Pacific aligning with United States Indo-Pacific Command [INDOPACCOM] and Pacific Fleet strategic objectives, but also through the introduction of new innovative technologies and techniques ultimately increasing our effectiveness.”
It is human nature to build relationships and work together to accomplish our needs and wants in life. These two things are the foundation of the Seabees whose mission is based on a “Can Do” attitude. Continuing their focus on building partnerships for a stronger Navy, they have fostered relationships and created unbreakable bonds, developing some of the most valued international partnerships we could imagine. Seabees today are deployed around the world in places like the Philippines, Federal States of Micronesia, Africa, Japan, Tinian and Thailand. This allows them to work and live right alongside our partner countries, often immersing themselves in the culture and developing the shared experience that our nature requires of us.
“However, with any great achievement comes great sacrifice,” said McAlister. “In Port Hueneme, California, today, the Sunkist Gate will officially be renamed to the Knott Gate. Petty Officer Knott was killed in Fallujah, Iraq on September 4, 2004 and honoring service members like him for what they do for our country is how we give back to the Seabee legacy, our camaraderie and our mission to our country.”
Today the Seabees hold on to their legacy saying, “The difficult we do at once, the impossible takes a little longer.”
Deployed throughout the world, Seabees continue to prove the value of a Bee. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22, Underwater Construction Team 1 and 2 are all currently deployed, constructing naval shore establishments, supporting expeditionary warfare construction as well as providing disaster recovery and humanitarian assistance within the context of larger American foreign policy if called upon, while playing a significant role in the Pacific Fleet strategic objectives.
Today, March 5, 2020, Seabees everywhere will be enjoying stories of the past and memories of those left behind. They will honor their heritage through formation runs, deployment stories and celebrations at Seabee Balls everywhere; they will embrace laughter through camaraderie and reflection. Seabees everywhere today will remember, and they will look forward to the future of the United States Seabees, while emulating the greatness of seventy-eight years of Seabees past. General MacArthur himself said, “The only trouble with Seabees is that you don’t have enough of them.”
“With Compassion for others, we build, we fight, for peace with freedom.” – United States Seabees
Naval Construction Force (Seabees) provide a wide range of construction in support of operating forces, including roads, bridges, piers, bunkers, airfields, and logistic bases.
For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.
For more news from Naval Construction Group 1, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/ncg1/
https://www.facebook.com/NCGONE
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2020 18:37 |
| Story ID: | 364591 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 703 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Value of a BEE: Seabees Celebrate Seventy-Eight Years of Heritage and Tradition, by PO1 Heather Salzman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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