Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 302 Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit THREE ZERO TWO ( CBMU - 302 ) of the U . S . Navy was commissioned on March 31 , 1967 . Along with CBMU - 302 , sister unit CBMU - 301 was also commissioned . The first of their kind since Korean War . The official commissioning ceremony of CBMU - 301 and CBMU - 302 was held at the U . S . Naval Construction Battalion Center , Port Hueneme , CA on April 7 , 1967 ( LT Mel Harper was the first Commanding Officer ) . On August 16 , 1967 , CBMU - 302 ' s Advance Party of fifty men were deployed to Cam Ranh Bay , Republic of Vietnam ( RVN ) . On Sept . 15 , 1967 , the Main Body of the Battalion flew to the U . S . Naval Support Facility , Cam Ranh Bay , Vietnam . Two Details were soon deployed to Nha Trang and Qui Nhon to support Navy units there . During this time , the Battalion was waiting for the arrival of a ship that contained the unit ' s building supplies , vehicles , and construction equipment . The ship arrived Oct . 7 , 1967 with offloading proceeding immediately . The main mission of CBMU - 302 was to perform base maintenance and public works functions at the various U . S . Navy and Vietnamese Navy sites in the lower two - thirds of the country . CBMU - 302 also sent out short - term special mission Teams to perform specific tasks . These small groups were called Special Teams . In September 1969 , the battalion ' s mission was expanded to include The Dependent Shelter Program . This effort involved the construction of permanent structures to house Vietnamese Navy Sailors and their families at naval facilities in II , III , and IV Corps . In Sept . 1970 , CBMU - 301 began leaving Vietnam for decommissioning ( they too were engaged in the Dependent Shelter Program in I Corps ) . At that time , CBMU - 302 moved up into I Corps to take over CBMU - 301 ' s job sites ( notably at DaNang with a further site at Tan My Island near Hue and eventually one at Chu Lai ) . By now , the Dependent Shelter Program became the principle mission for CBMU - 302 . The remote units of the Dependent Shelter Program to which those Seabees and non - construction U . S . Navy personnel were assigned were soon referred to as Naval Construction Action Teams ( NAVCATs ) . Given the huge expanded role of both battalions due to the Shelter program , general labor personnel were needed since there were not enough trained Seabees available . U . S . Navy Sailors from the other three Navy communities ( Airmen , Seamen , Firemen ) were assigned to both units . Having limited , or no construction skills , these men quickly learned their jobs of mixing mortar , laying block , placing concrete , stringing electrical lines , carpentry , etc . Many went into the construction field after their military service . Their effort was needed and appreciated , especially considering they served in a combat zone heroically and faithfully . During the battalion ' s time in Vietnam , it became the first Seabee battalion to operate in the three lower divisions of the Republic of Vietnam ( Corps Tactical Zones II , III , IV ) ; became the largest Seabee battalion since WWII ; as of Oct 1970 , the only Seabee battalion to operate in all four Corps Tactical Zones at the same time ; the only Navy Construction Battalion to wear an authorized shoulder patch ( Naval Construction Action Team [ NAVCAT ] patch ) ; the longest serving Seabee battalion in Vietnam ( over 4 . 5 years ) . In April 1971 , the battalion ' s headquarters relocated from Cam Ranh Bay to the large Army base at Bien Hoa . CBMU - 302 was the last Seabee battalion to leave the Vietnam war zone , folding its colors at its basecamp in Bien Hoa , RVN on January 22 , 1972 then redeploying back to Port Hueneme , CA . During the unit ' s short stay in Port Hueneme , it was downsized and fitted out with new personnel for its new role of maintenance for a single navy base . April 1972 CBMU - 302 deployed with one officer and twenty - five enlisted men to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Republic of the Philippines . CBMU - 302 performed construction and maintenance on base and served the local communities with civic action projects and educational programs . CBMU - 302 constructed Camp Jefferies to support Construction Battalion Detachments deployed to the Subic Bay and Cubi Point Naval Air Station . CBMU - 302 personal maintained Camp Jeffries to allow Battalion Detachment personnel to focus on construction activities . This provided on the job training for CBMU - 302 personnel who would be deploying to Detail Paradise on Diego Garcia . CBMU - 302 provided facilities support to the USN Base at Yokohama and Yosuka , Japan when local workers went on strike in 1975 . Local national workers went on strike for several days in Subic Bay , Pi . during 1979 . CBMU - 302 personnel operated critical facilities to include power plants , telephone exchanges , water and sewage treatment plants in support of US Navy fleet operations . Seabees from CBMU - 302 provided support to ‘ Project Newlife ’ following the fall of South Vietnam by building facilities on Grande Island to house , feed , and provide necessary services to the refugees . Facilities were also constructed at the lower MAU Camp and All Hands Beach . Repairs to the upper MAU facilities were also made in the mid 80 ' s . Camp Jeffries was closed March 1992 . The unit was transferred to Guam from Subic Bay to perform the same overall mission of facilities support . CBMU - 302 was decommissioned on Guam in 1994 . Vietnam deployments . The first teams deployed were called Details or ' Dets ' The following is a list of locations and which Corp Tactical zone it is located in . Starting in 1970 , President Richard M . Nixon started the Vietnamization program . This resulted in CBMU - 302s participation in the Dependent Shelter Construction Program . To accomplish this large task the Navy reassigned sailors from the Fleet . These men came from ships , shore installations , air stations , etc . They were assigned to detachments called Navy Construction Action Teams or NAVCATs . With the decommissioning of CBMU - 301 , some of their men wanted to remain in Vietnam to finish out their assignment . Their unfinished projects were turned over to CBMU - 302 . The following is a list of locations and which Corp Tactical zone it was located in . Further reading . • Southeast Asia : Building the Bases the History of Construction in Southeast Asia by Richard Tregaskis , ISBN 9781456317799 , 2010 copyright by Binhhamus Press , 2010 Edition . CBMU - 302 material can be found on pages 172 , 358 , 436 .