Seabees After World War II

Cold War Era

When World War II ended the Cold War began. Seabee service during this period supported a broad spectrum of the national interest; nuclear testing, two wars, embassy security, space race, CIA, military communications, international relations, pure science, and Camp David.

Postwar interlude: Siberia-China

On V-J-Day CB 114 was in the Aleutians. In September 1945 the battalion sent a detachment to the USSR to build a Fleet Weather Central. It was located 10 miles outside Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The original agreement gave the Seabees 3 weeks to complete the base. Upon arrival the Russians told them they had 10 days and were amazed it was done in 10. It was one of two that Stalin agreed to.

V-J-Day brought about Operation Beleaguer and the repatriation of the Japanese Army from China. Elements of the 33rd CB Regiment were involved: CBs 83, 96, 122 and 32nd Special. These units landed at Tsingtao and Tangku in November 1945 attached to the 6th Marine Division. CB 42 and A Co. 33rd Special landed at Shanghai with Naval Advance Base Unit 13. With the war over, the ongoing discharge men eligible left only enough for one CB and the two CB Specials. The men were consolidated in the 96th with the other CBs decommissioned. In December the 96th started airfields at Tsingtao and Chinwangtao in support of III Marine Amphibious Corps operations. May 1946 CB III Marine Amphibious Corps was ordered to inactivate the 96th CB on 1 August. The 96th was transferred to the 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division and deactivated from them.

Nuclear Tests

In early 1946 the 53rd NCB was deployed with Operation Crossroads for the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. It was designated Task Unit TU 1.8.6. 53's project list included observation, instrument and communication towers, radio beacons, seismic huts, photo reference crosses, general base and recreational facilities, as well as dredging the lagoon. In addition, recreational facilities were constructed on Japtan Island for the ships crews of the Operation. The Battalion also assisted the relocation of the natives. They disassembled both the Community center and church for reassembly on Rongerik Atoll. In August the battalion was decommissioned with men transferred to CBD 1156 that was then commissioned on Bikini.[144] The TU 1.8.6 designation transferred to the CBD. CBD 1156 remained for nine days after the second test.

UDT 3 was designated TU 1.1.3 for the operation. On 27 April 1946, seven officers and 51 enlisted embarked at CBC Port Hueneme for Bikini. Their assignment was to retrieve water samples from ground zero of the Baker blast. In 1948, the displaced bikinians put in a request that a channel to the island Kili where they had been relocated be made. This was given to the Seabee detachment on Kwajelin who requested UDT 3 assist.

The 121st CB was decommissioned in December and re-designated CBD 1504. In January 1947 CBs 104 and 105 were reactivated. The 30th NCR was home-ported on Guam composed of CBDs 1501-13 and NCB 103. In 1949, the 103rd was made a Mobile Construction Battalion (MCB) while CBs 104 and 105 were made Amphibious Construction Battalions(ACBs). From 1949 until 1968 CBs were designated MCBs. In 1949, MCB 1 was reactivated at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA. In June 1950 the NCF totaled a few thousand.

Korean War

The outbreak of the Korean War led to a call-up of 10,000 from the Seabee Reserve. Seabees landed at Inchon during the assault, installing causeways dealing with enormous tides and enemy fire. Their actions there and elsewhere underscored the necessity of having CBs. During that war the authorized size of a CB was 550 men. When the truce was declared there was no CB demobilization as there had been at the end of World War II.

During the Korea, the U.S. realized the need of an air station in the region. Cubi Point in the Philippines was selected. Civilian contractors were approached for bids. After seeing the Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle, they claimed it could not be done. The Navy then turned to the Seabees. The first to arrive was CBD 1802 to do the surveying. MCB 3 arrived on 2 October 1951 to get the project going and was joined by MCB 5 in November. Over the next five years, MCBs 2, 7, 9, 11 and CBD 1803 all contributed to the effort. They leveled a mountain to make way for a nearly 2-mile long runway. NAS Cubi Point turned out to be one of the largest earth-moving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal. Seabees there moved 20 million cubic yards of dry fill plus another 15 million that was hydraulic fill. The $100 million facility ($1 billion in 2021 dollars) was commissioned on 25 July 1956, and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers.

Each man was cross-trained in at least three trades with some qualified as corpsmen and divers. During Vietnam the requirement of being skilled in three trades was continued. The first Seabees referred to as "Seabee Teams" were CBDs 1802 and 1803. They were followed by Detachments Able and Baker. The U.S. State Department learned of the teams and concluded they could have a Cold War purpose. They could be U.S. "Good Will Ambassadors" to third world countries to counter the spread of Communism, a military version of the Peace Corps. These 13-man teams would construct schools, drill wells or build clinics creating a positive image for the U.S. They were utilized by the United States Agency for International Development and were in S.E. Asia by the mid-1950s. Then in the early sixties, the U.S. Army Special Forces were being sent into rural areas of South Vietnam to develop a self-defense force to counter the Communist threat and making use of the Seabee teams at these same places made sense to the CIA. To start, twelve "Seabee teams, with Secret Clearances, were sent with the Army's Special Forces in the CIA funded Civilian Irregular Defense Group program (CIDG)" in the years 1963–1965. By 1965 the U.S. Army had enough engineers in theater to end Seabee involvement with Special Forces. At first teams were called Seabee Technical Assistance Teams (STAT) and were restricted to two in theater at a time. Teams after STAT 1104 were renamed Seabee Teams and by 1969 there were 17 in theater. As a military force Seabee Teams received many awards for heroism. Teams were sent to other nations as well. The Royal Thai government requested STATs in 1963 and ever since the Seabees have continued to deploy teams.

Construction Civic Action Details or CCAD CCADs or "See-Kads" are larger civic action units of 20–25 Seabees with the same purpose as Seabee Teams. The CCAD designation is not found in the record prior to 2013.

Camp David

Camp David is officially known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont, as it is technically a military installation. The base is staffed by the CEC, Seabees, and Marines. "In the early 1950s, Seabee BUs, UTs and CEs took over routine maintenance of the base and additional rates were added for administrative functions. Today Seabees still man the base public works and see that the grounds are in an impeccable condition." "Selectees undergo a single scope background investigation to determine if they qualify for a Top Secret Sensitive Yankee White (YW) clearance. All personnel in Presidential support activities are required a "Yankee White" security clearance. The tour lasts 36 months." When the base has a larger construction project a Construction Battalion from the fleet can be tasked. NMCBs 5 and 133 have drawn these assignments.

Antarctica: Science

• Operation Highjump

In December 1946, 166 Seabees sailed from Port Hueneme on the USS Yancey and USS Merrick assigned to Operation Highjump. They were part of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expedition. The U.S. Navy was in charge with "Classified" orders "to do all it could to establish a basis for a (U.S.) land claim in Antarctica". The Navy sent the Seabees to do the job starting with the construction of Little America (exploration base) IV as well as a runway for aerial mapping flights. This Operation was vastly larger than IGY Operation Deep Freeze that followed.

Operation Deep Freeze

The Navy special ordered SD-LGP D8s (SD=stretched dozer, LGP=low ground pressure)[164] with the frames extended 4 feet and tracks 54 inches wide[164] 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 multiples. (U.S. Navy).

In 1955, Seabees were assigned to Operation Deep Freeze making Antarctica an annual deployment site. Their task was the construction and maintenance of scientific bases for the National Science Foundation. The first "wintering over" crew included 200 Seabees. They cleared an 6,000-foot ice runway at Mcmurdo for the advance party of Deep Freeze II to fly to South Pole Station. MCB 1 was assigned for Deep Freeze II.

Bases built: McMurdo Station, South Pole Station, Byrd Station, Palmer Station, Siple Station, Ellsworth Station, Brockton Station, Eights Station, Plateau Station, Hallett Station, and Little America IV and Little America V

MCB 1s construction of a nuclear power plant which got them a Navy Unit Commendation.
NMCB 71s construction of a Buckminster Fuller Geodesic dome at So. Pole Station. It became a symbolic icon of the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP).

Vietnam War

Seabees were in Vietnam twice in the 1950s. First in June 1954, as elements of Operation Passage to Freedom and then two years later to map and survey the nation's roads. Seabee teams 501 and 502 arrived January 1963 and are recorded as the first Seabees of the Vietnam War. They went to Dam Pau and Tri Ton to build Special Forces camps. In 1964, ACB 1 was the first CB in the theatre. In 1965, Marines and Seabees made an amphibious landing at Chu Lai and entire Naval Construction Regiments followed. Seabees supported the Marines at Khe Sanh and Chu Lai combat bases in addition to building numerous aircraft-support facilities, roads, and bridges. Every mile of road improved equated to 100' of bridgedeck constructed. They also worked civic action projects throughout the country. In June 1965, Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Marvin G. Shields of Seabee Team 1104 was at the Battle of Dong Xoai. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and is the only Seabee to receive the award. Seabee Teams were deployed throughout the War. They typically built schools, clinics, or drilled wells. In 1966, Seabees repaired the airfield at Khe Sahn laying aluminum matting covering 3,900'x60' in four days. General Westmoreland "called it one of the most outstanding military engineering feats of the war." MCB 4 had a det at Con Thien whose actions were a near repeat of Dong Xoai.

In 1968, the Marine Corps requested that the Navy make a change. The Marines were using "MCB" for Marine Corps Base while the Navy was using "MCB" for Mobile Construction Battalion, it was causing confusion in logistics. The Navy agreed and added "Naval" to MCB creating the NMCBs that now exist. During that year the 30th NCR had five battalions in the Da Nang area and two at Chu Lai. The 32nd NCR had three battalions tasked near Phu Bai and one at Dong Ha. In May 1968 two reserve battalions RNMCB 12 and 22 were activated, bring the total number of battalions in Vietnam to 21. Both ACBs were in theater as well as CBMUs 301 and 302. In 1968, NMCB 10 drew an atypical Seabee "task" supporting the 101st Airborne. It happened again in 1969 when CBs 10, 40 and 121 sent EOs to Fire base Fury. During 1969 the number of Seabees in theater reached 29,000, from there their draw-down began. The last battalion withdrew late 1971 with the last Seabee teams out a year later. When it was over they had sent 137 Seabee teams, built 15 CB camps, and deployed 22 battalions. CBMU 302 became the largest CB ever at over 1400 men and was homeported at Cam Rahn Bay. On 23 April 1975 it was announced that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was over. That day CB 4 started construction of a temporary camp for Operation New Life on Guam. In seven days 2,000 squad tents were erected and numbered 3,500 when done.

During Vietnam the Seabees had a few uniform variations. One was the stenciling of unit numbers across the back of the field jacket M-65. Another was the collar and cover devices for enlisted E4-E6. The Navy authorized that the "crow" be replaced by the rating insignia of each trade. Nametags were another, they started out white with a multicolored seabee. In 1968, the USMC OD green pattern was copied. The NAVCATs became the only Seabees to ever be authorized to wear a shoulder patch.

NAVCATs Naval Construction Action Teams

Many Seabees were exposed to the defoliant herbicide while in Vietnam. NCBC Gulfport was the largest storage depot in the United States for agent orange. From there it was shipped to Vietnam. In 1968, the NCBC received 68,000 barrels to forward. Long term barrel storage began in 1969. That lasted until 1977. The site covered 30 acres and was still being cleaned up in 2013.

Space Race: NASA/Tektite I

In 1960, a MCB 10 detachment built a Project Mercury telemetry and ground instrumentation station on Canton island.

On 28 January 1969 a detachment of 50 men from Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 plus 17 Seabee divers began installation of the Tektite habitat in Great Lameshur Bay at Lameshur, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Tektite program was funded by NASA and was the first scientists-in-the-sea program sponsored by the U.S. government. The Seabees also constructed a 12-hut base camp at Viers that is used today as the Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station. The project was a by product of the space race. It caused the U.S. Navy to realize the need for a permanent Underwater Construction capability that led to the formation the Seabee Underwater Construction Teams".

NASA is working on the Moon to Mars program. In 2015, ACB 1 was involved in moving the Orion's Boilerplate Test Article (BTA). ACB 1 was tasked in August 2019 in a test recovery exercise of the Orion spacecraft. ACB 2 was put through the same task a year later in August 2020.

CIA and Naval Intelligence/Communication Support

After the Seabees left Camp Peary the CIA moved into the base and now refer to it as "the Farm".
During World War II NAS Tanapag, Saipan was a "major propaganda site of the Office of War Information" (OWI). In 1947, CBD 1510 began maintaining NAS Tanapag for the NTTU (Naval Technical Training Unit). In 1948, CBD 1510's men were transferred to CBD 1504 when it was replacing CB 121 as island Public Works. That year the CIA created the NTTU as a "cover" and made access highly restricted to the base. The CIA station had Capitol Hill constructed to administer its operations at a cost of $28 million. The station covered the northern half of Saipan including, Kagman Field, Marpi Point Field, and the four radio towers. "Brig. Gen. Edward G. Lansdale, Pentagon expert on guerrilla warfare, shared with Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, President Kennedy's military adviser, on "Resources for Unconventional Warfare in SE. Asia."....that the "CIA maintains a field training station on the island of Saipan ... the installation is under Navy cover and is known as the Naval Technical Training Unit. The primary mission of the Saipan Training Station is to provide physical facilities and competent instructor personnel to fulfill a variety of training requirements including intelligence tradecraft, communications, counter-intelligence and psychological warfare techniques. Training is performed in support of CIA activities conducted throughout the Far East area." The Seabees cease listing the Public Works assignments at NAS Tanapag in 1953 while the CIA remained until 1962. However, MCB 9 deployed to Saipan in 1954 with one of their projects being the up-grading of the Public Works shops. MCB 10 Det Bravo deployed to Saipan from July 1957 until February 1958 with projects unlisted.

CIA Runway by MCB 6 Det Alfa on Swan Island

A year before the Bay of pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis the CIA took a "top secret" urgent/immediate project to the Seabees. The agency wanted two 220' radio towers with a supporting airstrip, dock, and quonsets erected on Swan Island, built asap, with no construction plans for the Seabees. The station would be independent-self sufficient. Det Tango of MCB 6 was given the project. LSTs 1046 and 1056 delivered men and materials from CBC Quonset Point. The Seabees had the CIA's "Radio Swan" on the air in short order.

Naval Intelligence: NAVFACs

The Navy built 22 Naval Facilities (NAVFACs) for its Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) to track Soviet submarines. They were in service 1954–79 with Seabees staffing all the Public works. In the 1980s the number of tracking stations was halved with the advent of the Integrated Underwater Surveillance System (IUSS). The NAVFACs were decommissioned by further advances in technology, the end of the Cold War and disclosures by John Walker to the Soviets.

The Seabees have also been tasked building Naval Communication facilities. One at Nea Makri Greece was built by MCB 6 in 1962 and upgraded by NMCB 133. Naval Comm Station Sidi Yahya was first built in World War II another is NavCommSta Guam. It started out on the island as the Joint Communications Agency (JCA) in 1945.

Naval Support Unit: Department of State/Embassy Security

Naval Support Unit Seabees securing a diplomatic compound in Dec. 2010. (Dept. of State)[196]
In 1964, at the height of the Cold War, Seabees were assigned to the State Department because listening devices were found in the Embassy of the United States in Moscow. Those initial Seabees were "Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, Detachment November". The U.S. had just constructed a new embassy in Warsaw. After what had been found in Moscow Seabees were dispatched and found many "bugs" there also. This led to the creation of the Naval Support Unit in 1966 as well as the decision to make it permanent two years later. That year William Darrah, a Seabee of the support unit, is credited with saving the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia from a potentially disastrous fire. In 1986, "as a result of reciprocal expulsions ordered by Washington and Moscow" Seabees were sent to "Moscow and Leningrad to help keep the embassy and the consulate functioning".

The Support Unit has a limited number of special billets for select NCOs, E-5 and above. These Seabees are assigned to the Department of State and attached to Diplomatic Security. Those chosen can be assigned to the Regional Security Officer of a specific embassy or be part of a team traveling from one embassy to the next. Duties include the installation of alarm systems, CCTV cameras, electromagnetic locks, safes, vehicle barriers, and securing compounds. They can also assist with the security engineering in sweeping embassies (electronic counter-intelligence). They are tasked with new construction or renovations in security sensitive areas and supervise private contractors in non-sensitive areas. Due to Diplomatic protocol the Support Unit is required to wear civilian clothes most of the time they are on duty and receive a supplemental clothing allowance for this. The information regarding this assignment is very scant, but State Department records in 1985 indicate department security had 800 employees, plus 1,200 Marines and 115 Seabees.[205] That Seabee number is roughly the same today.

Cold War Winds Down

As the Cold War wound down, new challenges and changes came for the Seabees starting with the increased incidence of terrorism. This was in addition to ongoing Seabee support missions for USN/USMC bases worldwide. Cold War Facilities still required support, like the Polaris and Poseidon submarines at Holy Loch, Rota. In 1971, the Seabees began the huge project on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. It was completed in 1987 at a cost of $200 million. With the extended construction timeline, it is difficult to inflation-adjust that cost into today's dollars. The complex accommodates the Navy's largest ships and cargo planes. The base served as a staging facility for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Additionally, Seabees were also tasked upgrading and expanding Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily for the United States Sixth Fleet.

In 1983, a truck bomb demolished the Marine's barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. From the Beirut International Airport Druze militia artillery harassed the Marines. NMCB-1 was in Rota and sent its AirDet to construct bunkers for the Marines.[207] EO2 Kirt May became the first Seabee post-Vietnam to receive a Purple Heart while on this mission.

CN Carmella Jones became the first female Seabee when she cross-rated to Equipment Operator during the summer of 1972.

International Terrorism

The Cold war did not end until 1991 and 9/11 was further off yet, but SW2 Robert Stethem was executed by the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah when they hijacked TWA Flight 847 in 1985. Stethem was a diver in UCT 1. The Navy named USS Stethem (DDG-63) in his honor. On 24 August 2010, during a shipboard ceremony, Stethem was posthumously honored to the rank of Master Chief Constructionman (CUCM) by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy and given the Prisoner of War Medal.

Persian Gulf War

Over 5,000 Seabees served in the Gulf War. In August 1990 the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) was assigned NMCBs 4, 5, 7, and 40. The first Seabees in theater were a Det from ABC 1, followed by a Det from ACB 2 and then CBUs 411 and 415.[209] Mid September Air-Dets from the four battalions deployed to construct air fields for Marine Air Groups (MAG) 11, 13, 16, and 25 of the 3rd Marine Air Wing.[209] NMCB 7 was the first Battalion to arrive. Camp Nomad was a NMBC-74 project at Ras Al Mishab for MAG 26. Camps were constructed for both the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions as well as Hq complexes for MEF I and II. In Saudi Arabia, Seabees built numerous camps, galleys, runways, aprons, helo zones, plus two 500-bed Fleet Hospitals near Al-Jubayl. The 3rd NCR was activated to provide a command echelon. NMCBs 24 and 74 also deployed in support of the Marines.

Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror

Seabees deployed in both initial invasions of the Afghanistan War and Iraq War. All active and reserve NMCBs and NCRs were deployed to building to work on civil infrastructure. One of the most visible tasks assigned to the NCF was the removal of statues of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.

In Afghanistan, the Seabees' main task was the construction of multiple forward operating bases. NMCB 133 deployed to FOB Camp Rhino and help build Kandahar Airfield where a detention facility was constructed as well.

Since 2002, Seabees have provided civic action support in the Philippines, most notably near Abu Sayyaf's jungle training area in the southern Philippines. Seabees work with Army, Marines, and Air Force under the Joint Special Operations Task Forces -Philippines.

Seabees have supported the War on Terror ever since the invasion with numerous deployments over the years.

Disaster Relief and Recovery

NMCB 5 attached to Combined Joint Task Force –

• Horn of Africa set tents for displaced flood victims in Ethiopia. (2006)
• Hurricane Camille hit NCBC Gulfport, Mississippi, NMCB-121 was in homeport and was tasked with base cleanup, rescue, and community outreach.
• Cyclone Ofa in 1990 NMCB 133 sent a det to American Samoa to aid the recovery.

1994 Northridge earthquake, Seabees supported the disaster recovery.

• Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Seabees provided disaster recovery to Homestead, Florida.
• Operation Restore Hope In 1992–1993 two battalions were sent for the humanitarian efforts in Somalia.
• Operation Sea Signal 1994 Seabees provided assistance to the Haitian Relief effort at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
• Operation Joint Endeavor In Dec. 1995, Seabees were in Croatia supporting the peacekeeping in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. NMCB 40 was tasked to the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Div. for dismantling FOBs during the IFOR/SFOR phase.
• Hurricane Georges Seabees deployed to the Caribbean with damage assessment teams, generators and water trucks providing disaster relief.
• Hurricane Mitch 1998 Seabees deployed to Honduras with Joint Task Force Bravo. They did road and bridge repair, debris cleanup, and erected camps. For NMCB 7, it was on their second humanitarian mission of the deployment.
• Hurricane Ivan NMCBs 1 & 74 deployed in September 2004 to the repair Naval Air Station Pensacola. They cleared debris, repaired roads, erected tents, and provided general support.
• Typhoon Nanmadol (2004) NMCB 7 provided disaster relief.
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami NMCBs 7, 40, and UCT 2 provided disaster relief.
• Joint Task Force Katrina 2005. Seabees from NMCBs 1, 7, 18, 40 and 133 plus ACB 2 and CBMUs 202 and 303 and UCT 1 were tasked the reconstruction of CBC Gulfport and the recovery of the Gulf Coast
• 2010 Haiti earthquake NMCB 7 provided construction support and disaster relief with UCT 1, ACB-2 and Army Engineers.
• April 2011 Miyagi earthquake Seabees from NMCB-133 and UCT 2 deployed to Japan as part of the relief effort.
• Hurricane Sandy NMCB 11 Air Det deployed to support disaster recovery in New Jersey and New York. NMCB 5 assisted disaster relief throughout the Sandy Hook area.

Naval Construction Force (NCF)

At present, there are six active-duty Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) in the United States Navy, split between the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet.

30th Naval Construction Regiment is located on Guam. Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme, CA is homeport to the Regiment's battalions.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5
22nd Naval Construction Regiment is stationed at Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi) the homeport to the Atlantic fleet CBs.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133
NCF Reserve From the 1960s through 1991, reserve battalions were designated as "Reserve Naval Mobile Construction Battalions" (RNMCBs). After 1991 "Reserve" was dropped with the integration of reserve units within the NCF making all battalions NMCBs

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, HQ Gulfport, MS. detachments in five states and Puerto Rico.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 18, HQ Port Hueneme, CA., detachments in six states and Guam.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22, HQ Port Hueneme, CA. detachments in five states.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25, HQ Port Hueneme, CA. detachments in six states.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 27, HQ Gulfport, MS. detachments in seven states.
Detachment: A construction crew that is "detached" from the battalion's "main body" deployment site. The size is determined by the project scale and timeline.

Battalion: The battalion is the basic NCF unit with a HQ Company plus four Construction Companies: A, B, C, & D. CBs are organized to function as independent self sufficient units.

Regiment: Naval Construction Regiments (NCRs) provide a higher echelon command to three or four CBs operating on close proximity.

Naval Construction Groups 1 and 2: In 2013, Seabee Readiness Groups (SRGs) were decommissioned, and re-organized as NCG-1 and NCG-2. They are regimental-level command groups tasked with administrative and operational control of CBs, as well as conducting pre deployment training for all assigned units. NCG-2 is based at CBC Gulfport while NCG-1 is at CBC Port Hueneme.

Seabee Engineer Reconnaissance Team (SERTs)

NMCB 40 Seabee Engineer Reconnaissance Team assess the structural capacity of a bridge during field exercises.
SERTs are the Special operations capable element of the NCF developed by the First Naval Construction Division (1st NCD) in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are intended to provide engineering assessments in the field in support of the United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions. A team has two CEC officers and eight enlisted Seabees, augmented by additional personnel as needed. A team has three elements: liaison, security, and reconnaissance. The liaison (LNO) element has an officer and two communications specialists responsible for communicating the assessments and intelligence. Reconnaissance has the other officer, who is the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), a BU or SW cpo with bridge construction experience. The team has a corpsman or medically trained member, the remainder are selected for being the most qualified in their trade. All are required to have the Seabee Warfare pin. In 2013, 1st Naval Construction Division along with SERT's were decommissioned. Today, UCTs performance demonstrate the SERT concept for NECC.

Wikipedia