Naval Beach Unit Seven, (NBU-7) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

unit based at

United States Fleet Activities Sasebo U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet ...

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

Mission

Naval Beach Unit Seven is a one of a kind Navy command that provides a limited Defensive Combat Operations (DCO) capability in support of Amphibious Operations and Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief efforts (HADR). Using its assigned

Landing Craft Air Cushion The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from shi ...

(LCAC),

Landing Craft Utility A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers ...

(LCU) and Beach Party Team (BPT), NBU-7 supports the movement of troops, equipment, vehicles, and supplies from amphibious shipping to beaches around the world. Naval Beach Unit Seven reports to

Naval Beach Group 1 Naval Beach Group One, (NBG-1) is a United States Navy amphibious unit based at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado, California. Naval Beach Group Two is its sister unit based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia. Mission Sinc ...

History

Beachmaster Unit was formed from the Navy Shore Party of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Shore Party formed the nucleus to which the various land and naval elements were assigned for an operation. The naval elements included the

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII func ...

, a Naval Pontoon Unit, and a Boat Pool. Units called Beach Parties were formed and were composed of members of the ship's crew to ensure the mass movement and orderly flow of troops, equipment and supplies, through the surf zone, onto the hostile shore, and across the assault beaches to achieve the success of the amphibious operations. The original units consisted of approximately two officers and thirty men, to support the landing of the battalion of troops. In July 1948, the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

ordered the commissioning of the Beachmaster Unit as a separate command with designation as

Beachmaster Unit One {{Infobox military unit , unit_name = Beachmaster Unit One , image = , image_size = 200 , caption = BMU-1 Insignia , dates = July 13, ...

. Due to the operational need for a Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) NBG-1 created a Western Pacific Detachment (WESTPAC DET) consisting of LCACs, LCUs, and BPTs all in one geographical location, combining a Beach Master Unit and an Assault Craft Unit for the first time in naval history. This WESTPAC DET was commissioned on August 1, 2012, into Naval Beach Unit Seven(NBU-7) and is no longer associated with BMU-1. Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 and the 1224th Engineering Support Company, Guam Army National Guard worked together to load heavy equipment vehicles onto the amphibious dock landing ship for transport to

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

in support of disaster relief efforts after Super Typhoon Yutu on November 6, 2018. In November, 2019 the unit participated in Tiger Triumph, the first-ever tri-service exercise involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 held a change of command ceremony onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo where Commander Greta Densham was relieved by Commader Kirk Sowers, Dec. 12 2019.

Awards

Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 was announced as the fiscal year 2017

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

(SECNAV) Safety Excellence Award recipient for the expeditionary unit category on October 23.

Bi-lateral partners

Trivia

For many years (late 90's to early 2000's) there was a dog living around the base. It was named Chu-hi (after a local alcoholic beverage). At some point after 2015 it was adopted by a someone from the base to retire with honor.

References

{{reflist Amphibious units and formations of the United States Navy Military units and formations established in 2012