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Three top commanders of a US Navy Construction Battalion (SeaBee) unit were dismissed last week due to “a loss of confidence in their abilities” following an investigation. The triad of officials overseeing Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 — commanding officer Capt. Jeffrey Lengkeek, executive office Cmdr. Michael Jarosz, and command master Chief Matthew Turner — were fired Friday, with the service citing a “loss of confidence in their abilities to effectively perform their leadership roles” in a press release. Lt. Cmdr. Paul Newell, a spokesman for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, told Navy Times that the three men’s ouster followed “a formal...

We build! We Fight!

Thirty-seven years old. By the time most American men reached that age back in 1941, they had already started families, bought their own homes, and had settled into their careers. In fact, with life expectancy being a mere 61 years old back then, they were already past the point of mid-life. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 of that year and the United States was thrust into war, the call went out for skilled tradesmen to join the Navy, so as to become part of the sea service’s first construction battalions. These battalions would be used...

BUELLTON, Calif (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 and the 31st Seabee Readiness Group (SRG) helped to rescue a family involved in a car wreck on Highway 101 in Buellton, Calif., Jan. 12.

Seabees are still making history: Seabees from Port Hueneme, California helped save a mother and her two children after their car was hit by a truck and left dangling over the edge of a bridge. Seabees are always ready to help!

KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 8) – Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 18 and 40, assigned to Task Force Raider, concluded a donation drive Jan. 5 at Camp Nathan Smith to benefit the Kandahar Department of Women’s Affairs. They raised more than $8,000 in clothes, school supplies, food, hygiene products and toys for women in need in Kandahar province. “The donations were extra special because they came from our families and friends back home,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Carolina Forero from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40. “This is just another example of how the American people are helping and showing...

GULFPORT -- Jayden Egger had been writing in his journal in Kristina Kovacevich's class that he hoped his dad would be home for Christmas. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 helped make that wish come true Friday when Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Egger and his wife, Angie, surprised Jayden, 7, and his sister Kylie, 5, at Anniston Elementary this afternoon. Egger was among the final group of Seabees from NMCB 7 to arrive home today, giving the entire battalion Christmas at home this year after a 10-month deployment.

GULFPORT -- It’s Christmas … Baby, please come home. Two hundred Seabee families had that wish granted Friday when the advance party for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 returned to Gulfport after a 10-month deployment. The battalion of 600 has been working from Spain and the Horn of Africa to Djibouti, Cuba, Ethiopia, Romania, Suriname, Liberia, Poland and Haiti.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, June 5, 2009 – The last time the 25th Naval Construction Regiment had a mission even remotely approaching the scope of its task in Afghanistan, was during its last deployment, preparing for the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Navy Seabees position a truss for the new "Noah's Ark" headquarters and operations center under construction at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Rooks  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. So 65 years later, Navy Capt. Jeff Borowy recognizes the symbolism as he borrows words from Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to tell...

Tashiana Johnson, 8, holds a sign for her father,Gerard Johnson of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 ________________________________________ GULFPORT — A plane carrying 310 Seabees was greeted by jubilant family members Saturday afternoon when about half a contingent of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 returned from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A unit spokesman said no casualties occurred among the Gulfport-based Seabees during their battle-zone tour. They were part of 600 Seabees from NMCB 7 deployed to the Middle East. The remainder are expected to return home in mid-March. --------- Snip The Seabees had originally deployed to Iraq, but later...

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan (NNS) -- Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7 have redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan. The move repositioned the battalion to build bases for additional U.S. forces already flowing into southern Afghanistan to reinforce the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "Our engineering services are needed here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to construct a number of new forward operating bases (FOB) in support of the much publicized 20,000-plus troop surge into southern Afghanistan," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Brown, NMCB 7's operations officer. "We had a very important mission in Iraq supporting the First Marine...

When officers from the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio arrived last Monday at the Manna Storehouse food cooperative in LaGrange with weapons drawn and trained on Katie Stowers and her children, along with her in-laws, there was one member of the family missing. Katie’s husband, Chad, is a U.S. Navy Seabee, helping in construction projects in the midst of combat in Iraq. He’s been there, separated from his family, for the last five months, supposedly protecting our rights from abuse—the sort of abuse that appears to be taking place on an ever-more-frequent basis at farms and food outlets around...

Jacqueline Stowers husband is currently serving in Iraq and unable to protect his family from predatory government on the homefront. Contact the “Vote Freedom First” President George W. Bush and ask him how this will look on his legacy!

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, July 17, 2008 – The Navy’s amphibious construction battalions usually build water structures such as piers and bridges. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Collier, a steelworker with Team 2, Detachment India, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, prepares wood for the 41st Fires Brigade tactical operations center annex. The Seabees also built the brigade's TOC. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Allison Churchill, 41st Fires Brigade  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In just over six months, Seabees from Team 2, Detachment India, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, completed more than seven projects and lent their talents...

CAMP AR RAMADI, Iraq (NNS) -- Three Seabees attached to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 returned from Iraq Jan. 5 after serving as a part of the Lioness program for a month. While serving alongside the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, the three women served in roles unusual to their specific ratings within the Seabee community, but critical to the success of current operations in theater. They were not only able to aid the interests of our country and allies, but they helped to make a connection between our two cultures by respecting the differences between the two. Muslim...

Cmdr. Frost chats with families at a newly opened primary healthcare clinic. USACE photo by Norris Jones. BAGHDAD — Using his skills as a Navy Seabee, he successfully managed construction projects in some of Baghdad’s most turbulent neighborhoods. Navy Cmdr. Steven Frost is concluding a year-long deployment as the Deputy Commander with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Central district. His staff oversaw hundreds of construction projects including a new $50 million water treatment plant for Sadr City, hospital and school renovations, new courthouses, fire stations, sewer and water line installations, and road paving. But the work Frost...

GULFPORT --Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead conducted an all-hands call at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport on Friday. Roughead was on the Coast as part of an eight-day trip to visit shipbuilders, Seabees, sailors and academics throughout the United States. Roughead noted the importance of the Seabees and the invaluable resources they provide not only to the Navy, but also to other maritime activities and joint commands the world over. "I've seen the Seabees not just here but in Iraq and in Kuwait. I've seen the work that they do and it is superb," he said....

CAMP AL TAQADDUM — The Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, currently deployed to several locations in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Micronesia, recently made the final concrete placement marking the completion of an overhaul of the runway system at Camp Al Taqaddum. Already one of the largest logistics hubs in the region, the airfield transfers passengers and millions of pounds of cargo daily. Upon completion of the project, Camp al Taqaddum’s airfield will be fully-operational for the first time since the Coalition air strikes of Operation Desert Storm. NMCB 1 is the fifth battalion to tackle the...

Our WWII Veterans are dropping like flies. I lost my Dad in February. I thought I would pass on some of the information that I found when I inherited a photo album of his experiences. He was stationed on Guam in 1944 and 1945. He arrived on the day the Staff declared the island won, when there were still 5000 hostile Japanese on the Island. This album is amazing--it shows an accurate picture of that conflict (about 300 photos.) He was a SeaBee and apparently spent most of his time at Agana. There was a poem that he posted at...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2007 — Every action taken by coalition forces in Iraq is leading toward the ultimate goal of accomplishing Provincial Iraqi Control. "I hope the Iraqis take our training and run with it. They have the opportunity to make a real difference in their country after we are gone." U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Marlon Romero construction electrician. Whether it’s routing out insurgents alongside the Iraqi Army or helping Iraqi police maintain peace, much of the recent success in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq can be attributed to Americans and Iraqis working together....