Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One

World War II

By summer of 1941 civilian contractors were working on large naval bases at Guam, Midway, Wake, Pearl Harbor, Iceland, Newfoundland, Bermuda, and many other places. BuDocks decided there was a need to improve the Navy's supervision of these projects through the creation of "Headquarters Construction Companies". The men in these companies would report to the Officers in Charge of Construction and would be draftsmen and engineering aids needed for the administrative functions of the inspectors and supervisors overseeing the contracted work. These companies would consist of two officers and 99 enlisted men, but were not to do any actual construction. Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, authorized the formation of the first Headquarters Construction Company, on 31 October 1941. Recruitment started in November and as history would have it the company was formed on 7 December with the men undergoing boot training at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. By 16 December 1941, four additional companies had been authorized, but 7 December happened, plans changed and with them the ratings needed by a change in mission. The first Hq Construction Company provided the nucleus for the formation of the 1st Naval Construction Detachment sent to Bora bora. With the outbreak of war, Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of BuDocks, recommended creating three Naval Construction Battalions and on December 28 requested authority to carry this out. On 5 January 1942, he got the go-ahead from the Navy's Bureau of Navigation for the recruitment of construction tradesmen for those Battalions. When Admiral Moreell submitted his request to form those Battalions the other four Hq Construction Companies had been approved and authorized, so Hq Companies 2 & 3 were combined and enlarged to form the 1st Naval Construction Battalion.(and then were deployed as the 2nd & 3rd Construction Detachments) When those three Battalions were formed the Seabees did not have a base of their own yet. So, upon leaving Navy boot, the men were sent to National Youth Administration camps in Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Virginia to receive military training from the Marine Corps.^[3] Upon completion of training, NCB One was deployed to the South Pacific for 23 months, mostly in the vicinity of the Tonga and Samoan Islands. During this time, various detachments built runways, base facilities, gun emplacements, fuel and oil storage tank farms as well as various other projects. With operations in the South Pacific drawing down, the Battalion was sent home and decommissioned in June 1944.

Post-war

MCB 1 Sled train departing Little America for traverse to Byrd Station(646 miles) or the South Pole(850 miles). The Navy ordered SP-LGP D8s (SP=special) with the frames extended 4 feet and tracks 54 inches wide resulting in a ground pressure of 4.30 psi and blades 18.5 feet wide. There were two types of sleds: 10 ton or 20 ton that could be hitched in mulitiples.(U.S. Navy)

Nuclear Power Plant constructed by MCB 1. (U.S. Navy)

In 1949, the Navy began an intense reorganization that included the creation of a new type of construction unit – the Mobile Construction Battalion. On 8 August 1949, U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One (MCB 1) was established at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia and was formally commissioned on 28 October of that same year. Homeport changed for the Battalion in 1951 when it moved from Little Creek to Davisville, Rhode Island. During the ensuing years, the Battalion served at Puerto Rico; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Bermuda; Port Lyautey, French Morocco; Argentia, Newfoundland; and Rota, Spain. In 1956, the Battalion went to Antarctica and participated in Operation Deep Freeze II. During this time, NMCB One with its detachments was simultaneously employed on six continents. MCB One returned to Antarctica in 1961, this time to assemble a nuclear power plant^[4] for which the Battalion received the Navy Unit Commendation.^[5]

Vietnam

Ghost Battalion colors at Quang Tri. The Seabees had 11,000 graves to move in order to construct that airfield. (U.S. Navy)

NMCB One was the first Atlantic Fleet Battalion to take part in the Vietnam War. From 1966 to 1970, the Battalion made four consecutive deployments to Vietnam. During the second deployment an urgent airfield was needed at Quảng Trị. Battalions 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 74, 121, and 133 all sent detachments of men and equipment to get the job done. Those detachments dubbed themselves the Ghost Battalion and chose the Jolly Roger for the Battalion's colors^[6] While making those deployments four NMCB One members made the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. Their names were Constructionman Starkey, Steelworker 3rd Class Williams, Chief Builder McGinn, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Moscrip.

One's Seabee Teams

• 0101 1968 Chau Phu
• 0102 1968 Phu Vunh
• 0103 1969 My Tho
• 0104 1969 Xuan Loc
• 0105 1970 Bac Lieu
• 0106 1970 Ham Tan
• 0107 1970 Tam An

1970s through present

US Navy 050403-N-0577F-001 Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction battalion One (NMCB-1), Air Detachment, work to construct a canopy for the Fallujah Surgical Facility at Camp Fallujah, Iraq

US Navy 070924-N-3857R-003 Chief EO Orlando Phillips, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 gives instruction

From the fall of 1971 through early summer of 1972, NMCB 1 was the second battalion to occupy and construct the BOIT station on Diego Garcia. They relieved Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40, who had landed, nine months earlier, on the island by LSDs and LSTs. They constructed the facilities that MCB 1 would complete over their nine-month deployment. The runway that MCB 1's advanced party landed on in C130's was 3000 feet long. When MCB 1 left, the island the runway was 11,500 feet long and at final grade and compaction for the incoming MCB 62 to pour the 50-foot wide, 12-inch deep and 11,500-foot long final concrete runway. MCB 1 also constructed the concrete silos for the cement, that came in by ship, to pour the runway. MCB 1 also finished the aggregate piles by blasting the coral reef and mining the rock, crushing it and stock piling it for 62's use. The pile was over 500 feet tall, creating a mountainous hill on the island, whereas the average elevation had originally been 6.5 feet above sea level. The commanding officer for the unit then was P. Oliver Jr. and the XO was Comdr.. Perez. The main camp, CAMP Cushman, was named after the sailor who was standing watch at the water desalt barge when the steel plate cracked and dumped water on the red hot heater turning it into steam. Seaman Cushman was severely burned by the steam,and was air lifted out by British pilots at great risk. The camp was named for him posthumously .

In 1974 NMCB One was the last Battalion to deploy from Davisville. When the Battalion returned from Rota, it was to Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi.

1983 Beirut barracks bombing: On 23 October 1983 a truck laden with explosives was driven into the U.S. Marine's peacekeeping force Barracks in Beirut. Killed were: 220 Marines, 18 USN, 3 U.S. Army with 80 seriously wounded^[7]. NMCB 1 quickly deployed a 42 man detachment to construct underground bunkers for the Marines. An additional 40 men were sent to get the job done^[7]

NMCB One sent two details in 1990 to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. The following year, the Battalion provided disaster relief following super typhoons on Guam and American Samoa. Upon returning to homeport in May 1992, the Battalion was again providing disaster relief, this time in South Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. In December 1992, NMCB One redeployed from Rota to Somalia to conduct construction in support of Operation Restore Hope.

A 180-person detachment from NMCB One deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in December 1997 to support Operation Joint Guard. NMCB One returned to the Balkans when a 97-person detachment deployed to Kosovo in December 1999 as part of Task Force Falcon. During their 2000 European deployment, Detail Souda Bay conducted disaster recovery operations in remote Crete villages following torrential rains.

In June 2002, the Battalion deployed to Okinawa, Japan for the first time since 1987, where it performed various peacetime construction operations across the Pacific. Upon arriving in Okinawa, the Battalion immediately redeployed a 102-person Air Detachment to Basilan Island, Republic of the Philippines, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Under hostile conditions, the Air Det improved roads, drilled water wells, built bridges and base camps and rebuilt a dilapidated timber pier.

During its 2003–2004 Pacific Deployment, "The First and The Finest" made history by being the first NMCB to have deployed to two main-body deployment sites in Rota, Spain and on Guam. NMCB One performed peacetime construction operations in the Atlantic, European, Pacific and Central Command Areas of Responsibility, while simultaneously deploying its Air Det to Iraq in support of Iraqi Freedom. In September 2004, NMCB One performed disaster recovery operations at NAS Pensacola following Hurricane Ivan.

For its 2005 European deployment NMCB One and its details served in twelve countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, and once again deployed its Air Det to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Immediately upon returning to homeport in August 2005, the Battalion commenced substantial disaster recovery operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In June 2006, NMCB One deployed to 20 sites in 9 countries as part of their Pacific deployment. The Battalion performed peacetime construction operations in Okinawa, Atsugi, Sasebo, Yokosuka, Iwakuni, Fuji, Chinhae, Pohang, Diego Garcia, Camp Pendleton, and San Clemente Island, contingency operations in Pohnpei, Indonesia, Philippines, and Afghanistan, and prison detainee operations in Iraq.

In September 2007, following a successful homeport, the Battalion deployed to 16 different sites throughout CENTCOM, PACOM, and NORTHCOM. NMCB One provided contingency construction and engineering in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom II and Operation Enduring Freedom, in Iraq and Afghanistan. While supporting the mission in CENTCOM, the Battalion also conducted peacetime construction operations in Guam and San Nicolas Island (SNI), CA. Notably, the 120 Seabees in Guam and SNI redeployed to join the rest of the Battalion in support of the CENTCOM missions midway through deployment.