Photo By Sgt. Antonio Rubio | Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlos A. Saldana, a construction builder with Headquarters...... read more read more
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IWAKUNI, Japan - The United States Navy needed an alternate source of construction and maintenance workers for various projects because of the civilian contractors incapability to protect themselves and unwillingness to work under dangerous conditions. Thus, Adm. Ben Moreel, U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps, with given authorization from the Bureau of Navigation, created the first three combat ready Construction Battalions, known as Seabees, Jan. 5, 1942.
Rounds fly down range, explosions are within sight, the fog of war is all around and not being able to be armed, civilian contractors can no longer tolerate the inevitability of their imprisonment by Japanese military during World War II.
The United States Navy needed an alternate source of construction and maintenance workers for various projects because of the civilian contractors incapability to protect themselves and unwillingness to work under dangerous conditions. Thus, Adm. Ben Moreel, U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps, with given authorization from the Bureau of Navigation, created the first three combat ready Construction Battalions, known as Seabees, Jan. 5, 1942.
“We go in hostile areas outside the wire, so we’re trained to build in a hostile area,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Joanna Iglesias, a steel worker with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron.
Approximately 325,000 Seabees served in World War II, with more than sixty skilled trades working on six continents and roughly 300 islands, mostly in the pacific. Seabees primary objectives included capturing, designing and building airstrips, bridges, roads, fuel storage depots and Quonset Huts for warehouses, hospitals and housing, as well as frequently engaging in combat.
A major obstacle for the Seabees when completing their mission, not including combat, was an inadequate amount of supplies.
“We do with what we have,” said Iglesias. “We make things happen without budgets. We work with what we got. We fix the tools that we have to make the tools work the way we need them. We scrap materials together to get the job done. We get the job done to standards and we get a job done just as good, or better, than anybody else.”
Seabees are known to accomplish a mission before their allotted time. Iglesias said she was with a crew in Kandahar, Afghanistan, tasked to build two case bins in three months, a deadline that seemed unattainable to crew leaders.
“According to our (Officer in Charge), it was impossible,” said Iglesias. “But, the Seabees motto is, ‘We build, We fight’ and we got it done. It was mission essential. We made the impossible possible.”
Seabees have two mission types; providing maintenance for units and supporting humanitarian assistance.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlos A. Saldana, a builder with H&HS, was part of the Kiritimati (Christmas) Island Project a humanitarian mission. Saldana contributed to social and economic growth for the Kiritimati citizens.
“We built four schools and a medical facility that had a maternity ward, which (was) one thing they didn’t have space for,” said Saldana. “All they had was a little tiny room and we went in there and built them a large structure.”
Seabees help units in any military branch with various assignments upon request. During peacetime, Seabees have more opportunities to contribute to countries with different types of humanitarian missions during those periods.
“I was in Africa and that was the first time I saw a school being built,” said Iglesias. “Usually, when you’re doing a project, you don’t see the aftermath of it, you just get told to build something and then you walk away, not seeing it for what it’s worth. For that project, I saw what it was worth. I got to see it built from the bottom up and got to see the kids look at their new school. That’s when you really feel like you did something that was worth something.”
William B. Huie, author of ‘The Story of the Seabees,’ wrote “It had been a source of wonder how the Seabees could accomplish so much, with so little, so quickly.”
Seabees during a particular assignment on the island of Guadalcanal mission included carving out an airstrip from a dense, enemy infested jungle in four weeks. The men completed the airstrip, four fuel farms and several small buildings in only 19 days, nine days ahead of schedule, while under constant attack from the Japanese. The Seabees forever earned the respect of their brothers in the Marine Corps for their actions in Guadalcanal
“It’s definitely recognized,” said Iglesias. “If you talk to anyone who has worked with a Seabee, they’ll know the great things that we have done working with their units or around their units.”
As bullets fly down range and any attempt to communicate is futile as they are drowned out by explosion nearby, Seabees construct outstanding facilities, for either medical or operational functions whether it is to support units or for a humanitarian mission.
| Date Taken: | 09.27.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2013 01:54 |
| Story ID: | 115059 |
| Location: | IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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