DILI, Timor-Leste — As part of the Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26) Timor-Leste mission stop, U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 and Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 1 are working shoulder-to-shoulder with Timor-Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) engineers, undertaking two engineering projects that will improve the infrastructure and quality of life for two schools and make a lasting impact in the local Dili community.
Pacific Partnership is the U.S. Navy’s largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. The two-week stop in Timor-Leste, running from Aug. 12 to 26, 2026, marks the eighth iteration of Pacific Partnership in the country, going back as far as 2008. It is a critical milestone highlighting almost two decades of friendship.
“Since 2009, the Seabees have maintained a continuous presence in Timor-Leste,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Hamilton, the mission engineer for PP26. “They’ve completed over 100 projects, embodying resilience and commitment as they contribute to infrastructure development and strengthening partnerships through service and construction.”
This cooperative spirit will soon be on display in the communities surrounding Dili. Construction at the Escola Básica Filial (EBF) Mota Ulun is scheduled to begin Aug. 31. The school currently operates in two shifts, with half of its students attending classes in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Once the groundbreaking begins, combined crews will build a new two-classroom schoolhouse from the ground up, helping expand the school’s capacity to serve its students.
Just a short drive away, work is already in progress at the EBF Kasnafar, where Seabees are conducting targeted renovations.
To combat the moisture causing the schoolhouse walls to peel, the joint crew dug out approximately six feet of dirt and rubble behind the building. They stripped the old paint, poured a concrete bond beam around the top of the structure, and prepared to install a brand-new roof. Beyond structural repairs, the team is also refurbishing a water tower, installing a new water tank and plumbing it directly into a newly repaired water trough.
According to Hamilton, the projects are designed to enhance the educational environment while improving infrastructure, safety, and quality of life for both students and staff.
These local construction efforts serve a purpose far greater than individual builds. Hamilton explained the hands-on engineering work helps strengthen bilateral relationships by allowing the U.S. Navy and F-FDTL to share technical skills, enjoy cultural exchanges, and build tangible, lasting infrastructure. He noted these efforts build on a foundation of cooperation and directly enhance Timor-Leste's resilience and capacity for disaster preparedness.
With roots dating back to World War II, U.S. NavySeabees were formally establishd on March 5, 1942, to meet the Navy’s growing need to build bases, camps, and other structures as part of the war effort. Thenickname "Seabee" comes from the first letters of the words of the unit’s formal name, “construction battalion.”
Meeting the project's tight deadlines has required the Seabees to tap into their historic ingenuity, especially when faced with challenges.
"Being a Seabee to me means getting things done even when we don’t have what we need,” said Tourtillott.
For Tourtillott, overcoming these constraints is the very definition of what it means to have a “Can Do” attitude.
“There is a motto that says, ‘The difficult, we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer,’ [which] suits us well," said Tourtillott.
When the correct screws for the concrete bond beam forms were delayed, the crew adapted on the fly. They used two-by-fours and concrete nails to support the forms and secured the tops with wire and nails to keep them from flexing outward.
Despite the hard physical work and supply chain challenges, the opportunity to work alongside F-FDTL has been incredibly rewarding, Hamilton said. He shared it has been fantastic working together, noting the teams have learned from one another and forged lifelong friendships that will endure long after PP26 wraps up.
Tourtillott echoed this sentiment, calling Timor-Leste his favorite stop of the deployment so far and highlighting the deep, unspoken connection built with the local community.
"If I could take the public to the job site for one day, I would want them to see how hard my crew works,” said Tourtillott. “They just get things done. I would also like to show them the relationship we have with the local children. We don’t speak the same language, but we can both argue who’s better, Messi or Ronaldo, or proclaim ‘Viva Timor-Leste!’ It’s a really cool thing to see."
As the PP26 mission stop wraps up in Timor-Leste and the Seabees’ construction efforts continue, the physical structures they leave behind will stand for decades as lasting representations of partnership. The schools at Mota Ulun and Kasnafar will remain a testament to a shared vision of a brighter, safer, and more resilient future for the youth of Timor-Leste.
Now in its 22nd iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the region. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific.
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