CAMP SHIELDS, OKINAWA, Japan -- U.S. Navy Seabees and the Civil Engineer Corps celebrated their service anniversaries March 8 at the Crow’s Nest on Camp Shields.
This year marks the 72nd Seabee and 147th CEC anniversary.
“Anniversaries and birthdays are important because they remind us of who we are, where we come from, and what our values are,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Michael P. Manzano, the resident officer in charge of construction and construction manager with Facilities Engineering, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Marine Corps Installations Pacific. “That history, legacy, and embodiment of our values is what guide us to the future and instills in us the pride and sense of purpose to continue in our mission the best way possible.”
The evening’s celebration included many naval traditions including the chaplain’s invocation, celebratory and traditional toasts, homage to fallen Seabees and remembrance of naval history.
“Birthdays always provide an occasion to reflect upon what we’ve done in the past and to contemplate where we’re heading,” said Brig. Gen. Niel E. Nelson, the guest of honor for the ceremony and the commanding general of 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “The Seabees are very unique (because they) are warfighters first (and) builders second."
“In the Solomon Islands (during World War II), the Marines were attacking and the Seabees were coming ashore,” recounted Nelson. “There were machine gun nests just tearing everybody up on the shore. A young Seabee bulldozer operator drove his bulldozer ashore, dropped its blade, protected himself, and took out the gunfire. The Marines were able to advance. That’s what makes your motto, ‘we build, we fight.’”
CEC officers are the Navy’s uniformed professional engineers and architects who are billeted to and command Naval Construction Force units. Seabees are comprised of builders, construction electricians, construction mechanics, engineering aides, equipment operators, steelworkers and utilitiesmen.
Before 1941, the CEC used private contractors to accomplish all overseas construction, according to Chief Petty Officer Victor Olivo, a construction electrician with FE, MCB Camp Butler. The Navy soon realized that, in the event of open conflict, civilian contractors could not be expected to continue working outside the U.S.
March 5, 1942, all Construction Battalion personnel were officially named Seabees by the Navy Department, according to the Seabee Combat Handbook. The U.S. Navy Seabees were formed during World War II shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Created by Adm. Ben Moreell, chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks in 1942, the Navy’s Seabees were founded on the premise that experienced, armed construction workers were critically needed in combat areas of World War II to support the need for massive military construction.
“Since 1942, most of our changes have come in the dynamic changes of the battle space,” said Manzano. “Gone are the days of island hopping in the Pacific and building advanced bases in the middle of nowhere. Our value-added today comes from our technical skill as expeditionary builders, mobility and speed in humanitarian response, and our self-sufficiency as a unit that can sustain and defend itself with minimal support.”