Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seven Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN ( NMCB 7 ) was a Navy Seabee battalion based out of Naval Construction Battalion Center ( Gulfport , Mississippi ) . History . United States Naval Construction Battalion SEVEN ( NCB 7 ) was commissioned on June 17 , 1942 at the Naval Construction Training Center , Camp Allen , Norfolk , Virginia , under the command of Commander Julius L . Piland , Civil Engineer Corps , U . S . Naval Reserve . 1940s through 1970s . During World War II , NCB 7 saw deployments to Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides ; Iroquois Point , Hawaii ; Marianas Islands ; and Okinawa , Japan . NCB 7 was decommissioned for the first time on October 30 , 1945 in Okinawa . On August 22 , 1951 , MCB 7 was commissioned for a second time at the U . S . Naval Yards and Docks Supply Depot in Davisville , Rhode Island , under the command of Lieutenant Commander Robert F . Smart , Civil Engineer Corps , U . S . Naval Reserve . From October 1957 to August 1959 , MCB 7 set a record by remaining deployed to three isolated islands in the West Indies , completing the largest construction project ever undertaken by a peace time Atlantic Construction Battalion . This project consisted of two complete Coast Guard LORAN Stations . In 1961 the battalion was ordered to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba in support of the base ' s ground defense force . In addition to the defense mission , MCB 7 , together with her sister battalion MCB 4 , constructed more than 20 miles of perimeter roads and other base facilities in record time . NMCB Seven was selected " Best of Type " in the Atlantic Fleet and awarded the Battle Efficiency " E " for fiscal year 1963 . In 1966 , MCB 7 was deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam , until her decommissioning at the Construction Battalion Center , Davisville , Rhode Island , in August 1970 . 1980s through 2010s . NMCB 7 was commissioned for a third time on August 1 , 1985 aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport , Mississippi under the command of CDR C . David Binning , Civil Engineer Corps , U . S . Navy . The commissioning marked the first time in over 17 years that a new construction battalion had been brought on line . In December 1985 , following the completion of a rigorous homeport training program , NMCB Seven made preparations for their first deployment as a newly recommissioned Battalion . The main body deployed to Naval Station Rota Spain with details sent to Bermuda , Greece , Crete , Scotland , Italy , and Germany . On August 8 , 1990 , the Battalion was ordered to mobilize for redeployment to the Middle East in direct support of Operation Desert Shield . All details except for the Civic Action Team were rolled back to Okinawa within 72 - hours . On September 10 , the Air Detachment departed Kadena Air Force Base , Okinawa for the Middle East to begin setting up Camp Sierra India Bravo , followed by the Advance Party on September 29 , and the Main body on October 10 . From 1991 through 2002 NMCB Seven completed ten deployments to Rota , Spain ; Roosevelt Roads , Puerto Rico , Okinawa , Japan In 2003 , NMCB Seven deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The Battalion supported Marine units by constructing roads and maintaining camps throughout Kuwait and Iraq . NMCB Seven supported combat operations by maintaining main and alternate supply routes and jointly constructing the longest ever NCF Mabey - Johnson span bridge at Az Zubidayah . For its extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against enemy forces from March – April 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom , NMCB Seven was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation . In 2005 NMCB Seven provided the initial response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first unit to provide disaster recovery support . In the aftermath of Katrina , NMCB Seven was tasked with many key projects assisting the Mississippi Gulf Coast recovery from the massive devastation . The Battalion assisted the Coast Guard , Gulfport Sheriff ’ s Department , and Fish and Wildlife Commission gaining access to water assets in order to conduct search and rescue operations . The scope soon expanded to include demolition of old buildings , clearing railroad tracks around the Port of Gulfport , and building temporary shelters for fuel tanks . In all , NMCB Seven removed 250 damaged trees , 3000 tons of steel and scrap metal , and 600 tons of other debris . NMCB Seven was selected as the Atlantic Fleet Naval Construction Force Battle Efficiency " E " winner . In February 2006 NMCB Seven deployed to Kuwait , CENTCOM AOR , and other locations in direct support of the Global War on Terrorism ( GWOT ) . The battalion was spread over 4 continents and 13 countries in 25 locations . In June 2007 , NMCB Seven deployed to Okinawa , Japan operating the main body from Camp Shields . The majority of NMCB Seven ' s Seabees were located in the U . S . Pacific Command ( PACOM ) area of operations , from San Clemente Island on the California coast to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean . An additional 50 Seabees from NMCB Seven were detached to the U . S . Central Command ( CENTCOM ) in Afghanistan . On October 1 , 2008 , NMCB Seven deployed to Al Taqaddum , Iraq and various other locations , including some smaller detachments in Afghanistan . From there , they began the turnover process once again with NMCB Three . In December 2008 , NMCB Seven received orders to redeploy to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province , Afghanistan to construction the new base code named Tombstone 1 which eventually became Camp Leatherneck , the headquarters of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade . NMCB Seven also pushed out multiple detachments in preparation for joint Spring offenses including Camp Dwyer . In January 2010 , NMCB Seven Air Detachment was dispatched to Port - au - Prince , Haiti to assist with disaster relief amidst the devastation 7 . 0 earthquake that struck the country . A month later , the battalion deployed to various locations throughout Europe , Africa , and South America as part of its regularly scheduled 2010 deployment to provide contingency construction , humanitarian and civic assistance and exercise related construction projects . By the end of deployment , the battalion had successfully completed construction and contingency projects in 33 separate locations in Africa , Eastern Europe , the Mediterranean , Central and South America , with more than 120 Seabees continually assigned to Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa ( CJTF - HOA ) at Camp Lemonnier , Djibouti , as an enduring Detachment , with smaller Detachments completing projects in Kenya , Comoros , Ethiopia , and the Djiboutian countryside . Decommissioning . On September 5 , 2012 , Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN was decommissioned at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport , Mississippi . In addition to its last commanding officer , CDR James G . Meyer , in attendance was Commander FIRST Naval Construction Division ( 1 NCD ) RADM Mark A . Handley and Commander Naval Facilities Engineering Command ( NAVFAC ) RADM Christopher J . Mossey .