Ask Stormin'

Have a SEABEEs question you’d like answered? Retired SEABEE chief “Stormin’ Normand” is at your service!

Anything of general interest that involves SEABEES is welcome. From fun trivia to serious business, e-mail your questions to askstormin@seabeesinfohq.org for consideration. Due to the volume of questions received, individual submissions cannot be acknowledged. Selected questions will be answered by “Stormin’” in this section. Check frequently for new questions and to see if yours is chosen. All selected questions will be archived for future reference.

Disclaimer Notice: Do not include any copyrighted material. All submissions are subject to editing as deemed appropriate by the site content editors. There is no guarantee of inclusion on this Web site.

Example:

Q: What branch of the military are the SEABEES in, and how were they created?

A: By “Stormin’ Normand -- Sometimes even the SEABEES wonder about that! Fact is, it’s the U.S. Navy, but that’s not the whole story. In the very beginning, early in World War II, there were no SEABEES at all. The need for combat trained fighting men able to perform construction work at far-flung locations while under fire materialized suddenly, as soon as the United States entered the war after the Pearl Harbor attack. Our military had previously relied on highly paid civilian workers to volunteer for this type of remote overseas work. War changed all that immediately! Civilians could not legally offer resistance to enemy attacks and no amount of pay can turn a civilian into the trained fighter needed to turn back enemy attacks and then get right back to work on the important job at hand. Creating the SEABEES was the answer, but it had to be done fast! The bulk of the work that needed to be done related to operating great fleets of naval vessels and aircraft over the vast expanses of the world’s oceans. That naturally fell to the Navy, and the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks. The first SEABEE units were created by hurriedly transferring Navy personnel in general service rates into the forming Construction Battalions, and then accepting highly skilled civilian construction workers who volunteered to serve in uniform, usually leaving behind high paying war work at home. They generally were not subject to the draft due to age or war-related work but patriotically volunteered anyway!

The need for the Construction Battalions was so great that the first six formed left the United States with almost no military training and very little equipment. Lack of preparations for this unforeseen type of unit meant that no uniform allowances had been provided. The SEABEES had to make do with whatever was scrounged up from existing military stockpiles. They got an uneven mixture of uniforms and equipment from the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. Weapons were obsolete World War I leftovers and not enough of them for every man to get a personal weapon. This is how the first SEABEES started off to create legends! “Make Do” quickly evolved into “CAN DO” as the SEABEES astounded all observers with their accomplishment of what were considered “impossible” construction feats by both military and civilian standards. The SEABEES combined the best of both, and kept that “CAN DO” spirit through the toughest fighting and construction work imaginable in the entire war!

Further compounding the identity issue was the practice in some Pacific amphibious campaigns of redesignating entire SEABEE battalions as Marine Engineer Combat Battalions, including temporary issue of Marine uniforms and equipment, and operating within Marine regimental structure while taking part in beach assaults of enemy held islands! The uniforms of today’s SEABEES have since been standardized to closely match the current USMC issue. It takes close examination to spot the minor but important distinctions between SEABEES and U. S. Marines in combat uniform. The same applies to appearance similarities with the U. S. Navy SEALs, another prominent community of Navy members who wear the same combat uniform as Marines and SEABEES. Could it get more confusing? Oh yes, it can, and does.

As if uniform similarities aren’t enough cause for confusion, organizational structures for mission deployments make it worse! As a vital part of the total military engineering complement, SEABEES serve with the other branches while deployed in combat operations and other joint military operations. Does the name Marine Engineering Group even hint that it is commanded by a top SEABEE admiral, or that active and reserve SEABEE battalions are the backbone of the entire effort? Of course not, but all that is still true in spite of the misleading name! That organization bears major responsibilities for accomplishing whatever is needed to aid the mobility and sustainability of a deployed Marine Expeditionary Force in high-tempo combat operations, and did exactly that with great distinction in the campaign to reach and take Baghdad in “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

The short answer is: “SEABEES have always been NAVY!” No matter what they may look like, or the exact circumstances under which they serve, they are the U. S. NAVY SEABEES! “CAN DO”

Ask Stormin' TABLE OF CONTENTS:

"Latin Motto" for the Seabees?

What Seabee units were attached to Acorn 14?

SEABEE instructor requests help to inspire students

How do I find records on grandpa/dad/uncle/brother?

Mabey-Johhson Bridges Specs and Availability?

Ask Stormin':

TABLE OF CONTENTS for Ask Stormin' Q&A

OPERATION SEABEES KNOWLEDGE seabeesinfohq.org E-Mail seabees@seabeesinfohq.org