page_title: Seabees in World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Seabees in World War II
caption_attribution_description: PNG version of official logo of the Seabees, adapted from https://www.seabee.navy.mil/. A slight variant of this image exists at [1].
context_page_description: When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions did not exist. The vast oceans between the U.S and the enemy on both sides made the logistics of war a major concern. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues at hand. What needed to be done was build staging bases and create a military construction force to do build them to take the war to the enemy. The concept of Naval Construction Battalions had been developing at Bureau of Yards and Docks in the 1930s. The onset of war clarified to Radm. Moreell the need to be able to develop advance bases to project American power. The solution was to tap the United States vast pool of skilled labor. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train them. The first volunteers were skilled at enlistment. To obtain these men, military age was modified to take up to 50 years old. 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. The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.
context_section_description: When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist.  The vast oceans between the U.S and the enemy on both sides made the logistics of war a major concern. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues at hand.  What needed to be done was build staging bases and create a military construction force to do build them to take the war to the enemy.  The concept of Naval Construction Battalions had been developing at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s.  The onset of war clarified to Radm. Moreell the need to be able to develop advance bases to project American power.  The solution was to tap the United States vast pool of skilled labor. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train them. The first volunteers were skilled at enlistment. To obtain these men, military age was modified to take up to 50 years old.  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.  The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.
  "In December 1942 voluntary Seabee enlistments ceased per presidential order. For the next year Seabees were picked by the Selective Service System.  Recruits were younger and came with only basic skills."  To address this issue the Seabees created training programs in more than 60 trades. They would become renowned for unofficial trades like souvenir making, and the arts of obtaining materials by unofficial and unorthodox means  Tools that became synonymous with the Seabees were bulldozers, steel pontoons, steel mat, and corrugated steel, combined with "ingenuity and elbow grease" Nearly 11,400 became officers in the Civil Engineer Corps of which nearly 8,000 served with CBs.  The Naval Construction Force (NCF) worked simultaneously on multiple islands, in multiple theaters supporting U.S forces. On 13 February, 1945 the Chief of Naval Operations,  Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, approved the retention of CBs as a permanent part of the Navy.  Before that happened the Seabees would provide the personal for multiple tasks outside the NCF: Naval Combat Demolition Units, UDTs, Marine Corps Engineers/Pioneers and the top secret Chemical Warfare Service Flame tank Group.
caption: The Seabee logo
exif: {}