Naval History

Front 1

101.1 Discuss the conditions that led to the formation of the U.S. Navy. [ref. a, ch. 1]

Back 1

• General George Washington initiated America’s first sea-based offensive against the British. Washington’s armed vessels provided significant support to colonial efforts, demonstrating the value of military operations at sea
• The initial continental fleet was comprised from converted merchantmen
• As Congress continued to commission ships, notable leaders such as John Paul Jones helped to develop a proud and capable Navy.
• Early fleets were manned by Marines as part of their ships’ crews.
• In essence, the first Marines were soldiers detailed for sea service.
• Congress continued to provide for Marines as long as there was one Navy ship still at sea.

Front 2

Post Revolutionary War

Back 2

• Both the Continental Navy and Marine Corps were disbanded.
1790
• A fleet of “ten boats for the collection of revenue” was authorized and became commonly known as the Revenue Marine.
1794
• Congress authorized the Department of War to construct six frigates, for the protection of American merchantmen against the Barbary corsairs.
1798
• Four years later, in response to renewed aggression by France during its war against Great Britain, Congress finally established the Department of the Navy, authorized the Marine Corps, and began the first significant buildup of naval forces as we know them today.

Front 3

Three maritime services of today

Back 3

• Navy
• Marine Corps
• Coast Guard

Front 4

101.2 State the qualities that characterize the Navy/Marine Corps team as instruments to support national policies. [ref. a, ch. 1]

Back 4

• The qualities that characterize most modern naval forces as political instruments in support of national policies are the same as those that define the essence of our naval services today. These qualities are READINESS, FLEXIBILITY, SELF-SUSTAINABILITY, and MOBILITY.
• These qualities permit naval forces to be expeditionary in nature.
• Naval expeditionary forces draw upon their readiness, flexibility, self-sustainability, and mobility to provide the National Command.

Front 5

101.3 Discuss the conditions that led to the creation of the Seabees. [ref. d, ch. 1]

Back 5

• Prior to 1941, the Civil Engineer Corps used private contractors to accomplish all overseas construction.
• The contractors, in turn, hired steelworkers, electricians, carpenters, draftsman, and mechanics from private industry.
• The Navy realized that, in the event of war, civilian contractors and construction workers could not be used very well outside our own country.
• As World War II drew near, there was an urgent need for more overseas bases.
• It became clear there was an urgent need for a combat trained Military Construction Organization.
• The first constructions units were organized early in January 1942.

Front 6

101.4 Discuss the significance of March 5, 1942 as it pertains to the Seabees. [ref. c, ch. 1]

Back 6

• The name Seabees is derived from the first construction battalions (CB’s) that were organized early in January 1942.
• Officially, permission to use the name “Seabee” was granted on 05 March 1942.

Front 7

101.5 Discuss the significance of the following personnel:
• Admiral Ben Moreell [ref. d, ch. 1]

Back 7

o Father of the Seabee’s: Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, decided to activate, organize and man construction battalions after the attack of Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941. He requested specific authority to carry out his decision.
o On 5 January 1942 he gained the authority for the Bureau of Navigation to recruit men for the construction trades for assignment to the Naval Constructions Regiment composed of three Naval Construction Battalions. This was the beginning of the renowned Seabees.

Front 8

101.5 Discuss the significance of the following personnel:
• CM3 Marvin Shields [ref. d, ch. 1]

Back 8

o Medal of Honor recipient. He is the first Seabee in history to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts in defense of a Special Forces Camp and Vietnamese District Headquarters at Doug Zoai.

Front 9

101.5 Discuss the significance of the following personnel:
• SW2 (DV) Robert Stethem [ref. e]

Back 9

o Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient
o Executed in June 1985 during the hijacking of a TWA jet in Lebanon after being singled out by terrorists for being in the military. “Throughout his ordeal, Petty Officer Stethem did not yield, instead he acted with fortitude and courage and helped his fellow passengers to endure by his example” VADM David Robinson

Front 10

101.6 State the importance of planning to naval operations. [ref. b, ch. 1]

Back 10

• Naval planning is fundamental to leadership. Planning provides the discipline to focus on the objectives, intentions, capabilities, and resources required to accomplish assigned missions. Planning also requires commanders to estimate the capabilities of a potential adversary and to evaluate options.

Front 11

101.7 Discuss the significant contributions made by the Seabees during the following: [ref. d, ch. 1]
• World War II

Back 11

o Created by Admiral Ben Moreell in 1942, the Navy’s Seabees were founded on the premise that experienced armed construction workers were critically needed in the combat areas of World War II. The construction accomplishments of the Seabees throughout the Pacific theater, in particular, are quite legendary. Using 20-ton bulldozers as wands, Seabees magically reshaped the coral-pocked face of many a Pacific island. Landing shortly after the assault waves, they blasted reefs to make channels for the fleet; leveled hills and laid down landing strips; lashed together pontoons to create artificial docks; and brought to many a remote Pacific island its first roads, storage facilities, and hospitals. On more than one occasion, the Seabees used their bulldozers to entomb nests of enemy snipers and machine gunners menacing Marine or Army forces.
o During the war’s Pacific island-hopping campaigns, over 10,000 Civil Engineer Corps officers and 240,000 enlisted men served in the Seabees, mostly in NCBs that were c

Front 12

101.7 Discuss the significant contributions made by the Seabees during the following: [ref. d, ch. 1]
• Korea

Back 12

o By June of 1950, the Seabees all but disestablished as only 3,300 men remained on active duty. The Korean War, however, demanded the kind of civil engineering support that only Seabees could provide, and so they were mobilized and expanded to a force of 14,000 men. Seabees supported Marines in the famous Inchon and Wonsan amphibious assaults by constructing vital pontoon causeways within hours of the initial landings. As with their World War II predecessors, airfield construction was a specialty of the Seabees as they were soon found constructing, repairing, and maintaining the airfields’ of the Marine Air Groups, such as K-3 at Pohang, K-18 at Kimpo (Seoul), and K-2 at Taegu. Seabee relations with Marines were further cemented by a group of nine Seabees who kept open a 21-mile stretch of road between an isolated Marine intercept squadron and its sole source of supplies. Working around the clock in below-zero temperatures, they kept their promise to rebuild any damaged bridge within 6 hours.
o Also duri

Front 13

101.7 Discuss the significant contributions made by the Seabees during the following: [ref. d, ch. 1]
• Vietnam

Back 13

o During the Vietnam War, Seabees were employed extensively from the DMZ in the north to the Mekong Delta Region in the south, constructing Marine logistic complexes at Danang, Chu Lai, and Quang Tri to Special Forces camps and Army fire bases in the remote regions, as well as roads, bridges, airfields, warehouses, and hospitals elsewhere. At the initial Marine landings in Vietnam in 1965, there were nearly 10,000 active duty Seabees. At the War’s peak, the Seabee strength grew to 26,000 men organized in twenty-one naval construction battalions, two naval construction regiments, two amphibious construction battalions, two maintenance units, and many civic action teams.
o At Chu Lai, the first Seabee battalion arrived in May 1965 to construct a Marine expeditionary airfield within 23 days. Shortly thereafter, it was expanded by adding a parallel taxiway, four cross taxiways, parking aprons, two cantonments, warehouses, hangars, and many other critical facilities. At Phu Bai, the Seabees created an advanced

Front 14

101.7 Discuss the significant contributions made by the Seabees during the following: [ref. d, ch. 1]
• Post Vietnam

Back 14

o The Seabees distinguished themselves with the largest peacetime construction effort on the British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia. From 1971 to 1983, they built a remote forward logistic base and naval communications station thousands of miles from CONUS in support of U.S. military operations throughout the Southwest Asian Theater. The mission of the initial contingent, consisting of NMCB and PHIBCB personnel, was to build a temporary Seabee camp; water and electrical distribution systems; messing, laundry, refrigeration, and storage facilities; and a 3,500-foot airstrip. By 1983, the Seabees had completed 220 projects with a construction value well in excess of 220 million dollars. The early, austere airstrip has been expanded three times to a final 12,000-foot length with expanded taxiways, parking aprons, and several new hangars. Immense POL storage facilities for both the Navy and Air Force were also constructed, as were a fuel pier, general storage buildings, and expanded personnel support fac

Front 15

101.7 Discuss the significant contributions made by the Seabees during the following: [ref. d, ch. 1]
• Persian Gulf War

Back 15

o During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, nearly 5,000 Seabees from 6 NMCBs were employed in-theater. The Seabees constructed troop bed down facilities for 42,000 personnel, vast storage areas, aircraft parking aprons comprising millions of square feet, ASPs covering hundreds of acres, EPW camps housing up to 40,000 men, many ISBs, and hundreds of miles of roads. Base camps were constructed for the 3rd MAW; MAGs 11, 13, 16, and 26; and the 1st and 2nd MarDivs. In Bahrain, troop bed down and storage facilities, a munitions transfer road, and a 60,000-square foot aircraft parking apron were built for the Marines, Army, and Air Force. Major Seabee tasking included a headquarters complex for I MEF and a 15,000-man troop bed down camp for II MEF. The latter project (the largest wartime, multi-battalion Seabee project since Vietnam) consisted of six 2,500-man modules with each module providing berthing, showers, latrines, galley, office space, roads, and parking areas. PHIBCB personnel offloaded Marine C

Front 16

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• BU:

Back 16

Perform construction, maintenance, and repair of wood, concrete, masonry structures, and concrete pavement.

Front 17

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• CE:

Back 17

Install, operate, service, and overhaul electrical generating and distribution systems.

Front 18

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• CM:

Back 18

Perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul of automotive, material handling, and construction equipment.

Front 19

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• EA:

Back 19

Perform construction surveying, drafting, planning, estimating, and quality control.

Front 20

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• EO:

Back 20

Perform operation of automotive material handling, weight handling, and construction equipment.

Front 21

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• SW:

Back 21

Perform fabrication, assemble, erect, position, and join structural materials.

Front 22

101.8 Identify and explain the purpose of the following ratings: [ref. f, ch. 1]

• UT:

Back 22

Perform maintenance, and repair of plumbing, heating, steam, compressed air, fuel storage, water treatment and distribution systems, air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, sewage collecting and disposal facilities.

Front 23

101.9 State the purpose of the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC). [ref. c, ch. 1]

Back 23

• The CEC is composed of dedicated staff corps officers who are specialists in the field of civil engineering. A Civil Engineer is a professional engineer who performs a variety of engineering work in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of structures and facilities, such as roads, airports, bridges, harbors, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.