The Navy Seabees had existed as a member of the U. S. Navy since March 5, 1942, when they were officially established during World War II. The Seabee rates were considered a "reserve program", however, in that all construction rate Seabees were designated "USNR" during World War II.

After World War II reserve Civil Engineer Corps officers, who had official standing since November 3, 1915, when the Naval Reserve was established, participated in the Naval Reserve but in small numbers.

The Seabees achieved a milestone in 1947 when the Seabee rates on active duty were officially recognized as a permanent part of the Navy. They could be designated as "USN" status.

The Seabee Reserve Program was officially begun on December 31, 1947. Reserve Seabees were formally organized in July 1948. Each unit had an allowance of 5 officers and 40 enlisted men. The units were stood up at 100 Naval Reserve Training Centers.

During the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) the Naval Reserve provided 2,000 reservists who volunteered to return to active duty to take part in the airlift. No Seabee Reservists participated.

The active duty strength of the Seabees reached a low of 3,400 in the late 1940's.

The late 1940's era was characterized by the establishment of reserve Seabees as a recognized, functional element of the Shore Establishment Component of the Naval Reserve. They formed up at the various Naval Reserve Training Activities. The Naval Reserve had about 400 Naval Reserve Training Centers. Reserve Seabees were organized in over 200 of those during the late 1940's.

(1) Just prior to the Korean Conflict active duty battalions were designated as Mobile Construction Battalion (MCB) a name change from the World War II era of the Naval Construction Battalion (NCB).

(2) The Naval Reserve had existed since March 3, 1915 and the Naval Air Reserve since August 1916. In Naval Reserve operations after World War II there were two major components: Naval Air Reserve and Naval Surface Reserve.

(3) The Naval Reserve was subdivided into the Organized Reserve and the Volunteer Reserve, the structure of the Naval Reserve since the Naval Reserve Act of 1938.

(4) President Truman signed a bill in 1947 the National Security Act creating the Department of Defense and the command structure that continues to this day.

(5) President Truman signed a bill in 1948 providing retirement benefits for reservists for the first time.

* * * 1950's * * *

The Reserve Seabee program continued to grow as Seabee Companies each consisting of 4 officers and up to 50 enlisted men at a Naval Reserve Training Center. In June 1950 the units numbered 224.

In 1951 the total organized allowance of 234 Seabee Companies was about 1,100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men. There were vacancies and the actual reserve strength was less than the allowance.

Just prior to the Korean Conflict the Naval Reserve had 316 Naval Reserve Training Centers, twenty-one Naval Reserve air stations and 104 ships assigned exclusively to Naval Reserve training.

During the Korean Conflict (1950-53) selected reserve CEC and Seabees were called to active duty as involuntary recalls and individual volunteers.

The effect of the Reserve program was felt when the Korean Conflict began. The Navy called on the Seabee Reserve for skilled construction men to bolster the regular force. Within a few months more than 60% of the Seabees on active duty were Reservists.

During the Korean Conflict the Naval Reserve mobilized about 185,000 members. A significant number of that total were Seabees, about 7,500. They served in Korea, primarily as individual augmentees, assigned to the active duty units there. No reserve Seabee companies were called as units.

In 1956 The Naval Reserve had organized the Naval Air Reserve Training Command at Glenview, Illinois, and the Surface Reserve Training Command at Omaha, Nebraska. This was done as a corrective remedy of the condition of the Reserve programs in general in 1954.

In the late 1950's Reserve Seabees were organized more formally as a Seabee Division. Each Division was numbered for organizational purposes. For example, 4-20, Youngstown (Naval & Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Youngstown, Ohio), was one division of many in the Fourth Naval District. Each Division had a Line or CEC officer as a Commanding Officer, normally a LT or LCDR, if available. The size of each Division varied in size with some units well over 100 in number.

The Armed Forces Reserve Act of 9 July 1952 created three categories of reservists: the Ready Reserve of units and individuals, the Standby Reserve and the Retired Reserve.

In 1954 the Naval Reserve's Ready Reserve was about 140,000.

In February 1958 Admiral Arleigh Burke instituted the concept of Selected Reserve status, a force of about 130,000. About 16,000 others were in a volunteer drilling status but not paid for weekend drills. The others were in Standby Reserve status neither drilling monthly or being paid but with an obligation of some kind within the Naval Reserve after coming off of active duty status.

* * * 1960's * * *

The total Reserve Seabee force strength stood at more than 13,000 in 1960. This was approximately 10 percent of the Selected Reserve in the Naval Reserve.

In July 1960 eighteen (18) Naval Construction Battalions were organized nationwide, each with an allowance for a staff of eight Reserve officers and 26 enlisted, and up to 13 assigned Seabee divisions. A Seabee division was defined as a Seabee unit at a reserve center.

Original Reserve NCB	Unit Staff Location	State
2	Treasure Island ?	CA
12	CBC, Davisville ?	RI
13	Peekskill ?	NY
14	NAS Jacksonville ?	FL
15	NTC Kansas City	MO
16	Los Alamitos ?	CA
17	CBC, Port Hueneme	CA
18	Naval Base, Seattle	WA
19	Peakskill ?	NY
20	N&MCRTC, Youngstown	OH
21	NRTC Allentown	PA
22	NAS Dallas ?	TX
23	NAS Patuxent River	VA
24	Red Stone Arsenal, Huntsville ?	AL
25	N&MCRTC, Waukegan	IL
26	NRTC Chicago	IL
27	N&MCRTC Gary	IN
28	Naval Ammunition Depot. McAlester	OK

On 30 June 1961 there were 471 Naval Reserve Training Activities and 716,000 members of the Naval Reserve, of which approximately 130,000 were in Selected Reserve status.

Naval Construction Battalions were numbered and staffed, although during this era, they were not fully functional as a separate deployable unit. In July 1961, battalion unit annual duty for training was initiated on a cycle basis covering distinct phases: battalion organization, basic military qualification, operational and advanced military training, amphibious exercises and construction.

Seabee battalions had their headquarters in various locations, primarily at Naval Reserve Centers. The all-reserve organization consisted of an officer staff and enlisted staff. A battalion did not have an active duty staff, nor did it have a permanent drill site or construction equipment and did not perform consolidated (weekend) drills with their assigned Seabee Divisions. They operated as a training unit within the Naval Reserve under the operational control of the Naval Districts.

Some of the 18 battalions did perform annual training duty (two week duty) as a unit in the early 1960s. When consolidated active duty for training occurred the Seabee Divisions were ordered to a naval base for annual training duty. But often, during this era, individuals and small groups performed their annual duty independent of the assigned parent battalion due to the conflicting reporting relationships between the battalion and the Naval Reserve Centers.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) selected reserve CEC and Seabees were called to active duty as individual volunteers. No Seabee units were called. About 8,000 citizen-sailors of the Selected Reserve were mobilized from the Naval Reserve, primarily air squadrons and ship augmentees.

Battalion unit active duty for training was interrupted during the Cuban Missle Crisis and reserve battalions did not train as units on annual training in 1962.

During this period there was a change in the way drills were performed. Since the start of the Reserve Seabee program in late 1947, and through the 1950's, drills had been performed at Naval Reserve Training Centers during the week in the evenings (four 3-hour sessions per month). After much discussion units began changing to weekend drills. For example, the Reserve Seabee Detachment 9-46 in Racine, Wisconsin, changed to weekend drills in early 1963. The change had a positive affect on effective training time, on military skills training evolutions, and on general work production. This change was a key to later Detachment and Battalion operational success. A drop-off in member participation, as was feared to be the result of weekend training, did not materialize to any significant degree.

On 1 July 1967 the Senior Enlisted Advisor billet was established in units within the Navy and Navy Reserve.

During the last half of the 1960's, and in response to the Vietnam era, the Reserve Civil Engineer Corps Officers and the Reserve Seabees developed deployable units.

On 16 August 1967 the Reserve Naval Construction Regiment program was established. The new Naval Construction Regiments were also designated shore commands and the Mobile Construction Battalions as combat components of the Naval Reserve. The Chief of Naval Operations authorized four regimental staffs. The allowance for each was four officers and four enlisted in pay status.

In June 1968 the Chief of Naval Operations authorized two more regimental staffs. and each staff was then assigned three RMCBs for a total of 18 battalions and six regiments.

RNCR	Unit Staff Location	State
1	NRC, Los Alamitos	CA
2	Recruit Command Center, Chicago	IL
3	NRC Tuscaloosa	LA
6	Alexandria (Jones Point)	VA
7	NETC Newport ?	RI
9	NAS Dallas	TX

In June 1968 the existing Construction Battalion Divisions were renamed Mobile Construction Battalion Sub-units. There were about 200 Seabee Sub-units nationwide.

This organization provided two reserve naval Mobile Construction Battalions for the Vietnam Conflict (1963-1975):

• MCB 12, (Boston, Mass.) with service in Danang, RVN, in September 1968 - April 1969.

and

• MCB 22, (Dallas, Texas) with service in Danang, RVN, in August 1968 - March 1969.

In addition, individual reserve volunteer members had active duty during the Vietnam Conflict. Nearly 2000 reserve Seabees, including individual reserve volunteer members, had active duty during the Vietnam Conflict.

Over 100,000 Naval Reservists were activated for Vietnam, all voluntary recalled personnel, except for six fighter and attack air squadrons and the two Seabee battalions (above) which were activated as units for extended active duty.

In 1969 the Naval Reserve had authorization for approximately 128,000 men and women in the Selected Reserve.

In 1969 the 1st Reserve Naval Construction Brigade (1st RNCB), was established as a flag command and operated within the Naval Reserve to include all reserve Seabee units. The first Commander was RADM George Reider, CEC, USNR.

The active designation MCB was changed to NMCB (to avoid confusion with the abbreviation of a Marine Corps Battalion) during the later part of the Vietnam Conflict. As a result active and reserve MCBs in the early 1970's were redesignated as NMCBs and RNMCBs, respectively.

Added were two Regiments:

RNCR	Unit Staff Location	State
5	San Francisco	CA
8	N&MCRTC Pittsburg	PA

In 1971 the Reserve Naval Construction Force (RNCF) was established as an umbrella organization to include all CEC officers as well as the 1st RNCB. This era was characterized by a centralized management approach to the CEC and Seabee units and individuals. Included in that organization was management of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command units wherein many reserve CEC officers (assigned to units other than Seabee units) performed duty.

In July 1971 the manning allowance for a battalion mirrored that of active duty Seabee battalions with 24 officers and 738 enlisted; RNCF year-end strength in 1971 was 10,694 officers and enlisted.

The early 1970's saw the reserve Seabee battalions receive their own Permanent Drill Sites when 17 PDS sites were established. This provided a 'home' for each unit. The home was an adjustment in location from where the battalion headquarter units were originally established in the early 1960's.

The PDS sites often took the form of a Seabee camp with prepackaged Butlerhut kits from the Vietnam era serving as the basic building block for camp site construction. The site were build 'self-help' with Seabees working on their own battalion's site on Active Duty for Training periods and monthly drill periods.

The total strength of the Reserve Seabees passed the 11,000 milestone.

Along with the Permanent Drill Site the battalions received an active duty (full time) staff of up to six enlisted members. That allowed more command and control over their subordinate detachments, especially during the remainder of the year when the battalion was not on annual training duty.

On Memorial Day, May 27, 1974, the Seabee Memorial was dedicated on Memorial Avenue leading to Arlington National Cemetery.

The Naval Ready Reserve strength consisted of 114,900 Selected Reserve (SELRES) and 178,900 Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) for a total of 293,800 in Fiscal Year 1974.

At the end of 1975 all 17 reserve battalion Permanent Drill Sites were in place with Readiness Support Allowances valued at $750,000 on board. Assigned among the 17 PDSs were 112 active duty enlisted Seabees who were responsible for security and maintenance of the RSA's equipment, supplies, and vehicles plus the Permanent Drill Site (PDS) facilities.

RNMCB	Unit Location	State
2	Treasure Island	CA
12	CBC, Davisville	RI
13	Peekskill	NY
14	NAS Jacksonville	FL
15	Richards Gebaur AFB	MO
16	Los Alamitos	CA
17	CBC, Port Hueneme	CA
18	NSA, Seattle	WA
20	Rickenbacker AFB	OH
21	NAEC, Lakehurst	NJ
22	NAS Dallas	TX
23	Fort Belvoir	VA
24	Red Stone Arsenal, Huntsville	AL
25	Naval Base, Great Lakes	IL
26	NAS Glenview	IL
27	NAS Brunswick	ME
28	Barksdale AFB	LA

The Naval Reserve Selected Reserve was at a strength of 90,099 as of 31 Oct 1975.

The command position of the Seabee Sub-unit was changed from Commanding Officer to Detachment Officer-in-Charge (Det O-in-C) in 1975. Sub-units became Detachments. They were numbered in accordance with their parent battalion. For example, the Seabee Detachment at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center, Twin Cities, Minnesota, was designated "Detachment 0425", the fourth detachment of RNMCB 25, then headquartered at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois.

Four Regional Representative offices were established in July 1976 to advise and assist regimental and battalion staffs with assignment orders, training orders, officer and enlisted assignments, and other matters.

The Naval Reserve Selected Reserve was at 97,000 as of the end of Fiscal Year 1976.

In July 1977 the billet of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Command (formerly Senior Enlisted Advisor) was changed to Command Master Chief within the Navy and Navy Reserve.

The "Father of the Seabees" retired Vice Admiral Ben Moreell, CEC, USN, passed away on July 30, 1978. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Naval Reserve Selected Reserve was 82,800 as of the end of Fiscal Year 1978.

In the late 1970's the RNCF directed an even more aggressive approach toward training with more duty at bases other than naval training bases. In addition, more whole unit and regiment level exercises were conducted. It was not unusual for Regiments and Battalions to serve at MCB Quantico, VA, or MCB Camp Pendleton, CA. Also, unit active duty for training was directed at Army bases such as Ft. Benning, GA. Some construction work by detachments was done out-CONUS at Naval Station Rota, Spain, and as far west as Guam. Crews also worked in the Caribbean and in South America.

* * * 1980's * * *

The Naval Reserve Selected Reserve was at a strength of 86,950 on 30 Sept 1980.

In October 1980 Naval Construction Force Support Units were established. Two units were stood up: NCFSU TWO (Colorado Springs, CO) and NCFSU FOUR (St. Louis, MO). NCFSU FOUR was formed from CBMU 302 Augment (Granite City, MO).

In October 1981 there were nearly 14,000 Reserve Seabees and Reserve CEC Officers plus other ratings in all units in the RNCF. This was approximately 16 percent of the Naval SELRES.

In addition, the concept of mobilization readiness was stressed even more with an exercise to test the concept of the fly-away of an battalion's Air Detachment (called a "Green Stinger"). A battalion's Air Det (approximately 110 men and equipment) was mobilized and air transported via Air Force C-130 aircraft from a location near a PDS site to a two week active duty period at a training location.

The RNCF-wide Seabee Readiness Rodeo was developed to provide a competition among reserve Seabees using their equipment operator skills and associated military skills.

Annual training duty for a battalion or regiment could become cold weather training at places like Ft. Drum, New York, and Camp Ripley, Minnesota.

The Naval Ready Reserve consisted of 93,900 in the Selected Reserve and 77,700 in the Individual Ready Reserve for a total of 171,600 at the end of Fiscal Year 1982.

In June 1983 Construction Battalion Hospital Units were formed. In October 1983 CBHU-113 was the first unit established at NRC Forest Park, IL. CBHU units were attached to a Regiment with an assignment to provide skills training to the Seabees assigned to the CBHU, a mobile base camp augment group to a Navy Reserve Fleet Hospital.

The Naval Reserve Selected Reserve was at a strength of 125,016 on 30 June 1985.

In July 1987 the strength of the Reserve Naval Construction Force in all of its units consisted of 18,000 CEC officers and Seabees.

Examples of other exercises were a Wooden Fist, a contingency construction crew training exercise, and a Sea Dragon, a ship embarkation exercise working with a Reserve Cargo Handling Battalion, port control personnel and the ship's crew.

RNMCB 16, Los Alamitos, CA, in January 1991 with service in Roosevelt Roads, PR,

RNMCB 23, Ft. Belvoir, VA, in November 1990 with service in Guam, with Pacific Area Detachments, and

RNMCB 24, Huntsville, AL, in January 1990, with service in Saudi Arabia, SWA, plus