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Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE (NMCB 3) 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 ...
Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...
that was one of the three original Construction Battalions authorized to be formed in 1942. In May 1942 Naval Construction Battalion 3 deployed to the
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
and designated Brigade Headquarters Battalion for the Hawaiian Area NCF. After seeing service in the south Pacific,the battalion was decommissioned mid-1944. In 1950 the battalion was reactivated and today is home-ported at
Port Hueneme, California Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. Port ...
.


History


WWII, CB 3

In December 1941, Rear Admiral
Ben Moreell Admiral Ben Moreell (September 14, 1892 – July 30, 1978) was the chief of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks and of the Civil Engineer Corps. Best known to the American public as the father of the Navy's Seabees, Moreell's life spanned ...
, Chief of BuDocks, recommended establishing Navy Construction Battalions and on the 28th requested authority to carry this out. On 5 January 1942, he got the go-ahead from the Navy's Bureau of Navigation to recruit construction tradesmen for three Naval Construction Battalions. When those three Battalions were formed the Seabees did not have a base of their own yet. Look So, upon leaving Navy boot, those men were sent to
National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
camps in Illinois, New Jersey, New York or Virginia to receive military training from the
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
. The 3rd began arriving at the "newly" opened Camp Rousseau mid-May 1942 as the first CB at Port Hueneme. From there the 3rd CB deployed by
Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
as Seabee detachments do today. An A Company detachment joined the Bobcats of Construction Detachment 1 on
Bora Bora Bora Bora ( French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the Frenc ...
, B Company went to
Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
, New Caledonia to build Cub 1, and C & D Companies went to
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
. A Co sent 2 officers and 100 men to Bora Bora to augment the Bobcats. In the fall of 1943 the Bobcats had completed their work and had received orders to join B Co at Nouméa. However, those orders changed redesignateing the Bobcats and A Co. as 3rd battalion 22nd Marines commanded by Colonel Ayers. At that time the remainder of A Co. (5 officers and 292 enlisted) was transferred to the
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
. Since neither the Bobcats nor A Co had received any advanced military training in the States the 22nd put them through USMC boot training in the field. When the Marines finished they took the Seabees back to Hawaii where the regiment received
amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...
training. With that completed the 3rd Battalion was tasked as shore party,
engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
and demolitions men for the landings in the
Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...
. At
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok 3rd Battalion was the assault Reserve. The 22nd Marines took part in the
Battle of Eniwetok The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought between 17 February 1944 and 23 February 1944, on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The invasion of Eniwetok followed the American success in the Battle ...
as an element of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. The 3rd Battalion was heavily involved in securing the island and had landed in the assaults on both
Engebi Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
and Parry Islands as well. However, at Eniwetok the Seabees were committed at 14:25 D-day to eliminate the Japanese on the western side of the island. The Army identifies them as "Marines" recording that they battled long into the night. At 0900 the next morning the Japanese launched a
counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
that reached the Seabee
command post Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
before being repulsed.H-026-2: Operation Catchpole—The Invasion of Eniwetok, 17 February 1944, NHHC, Samuel J. Cox, Director NHHC, NHHC Hq Washington Naval Yard, Washington D.C., May 201

/ref> All toll, the U.S.lost 37 while the Japanese lost 800 on Eniwetok. For its actions on Eniwetok the 22nd Marine Regiment received the
Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...
. When the Marshall Islands operations were completed the 22nd was sent to Guadalcanal. There it learned that over 1800 men had contracted the slow developing
tropical disease Tropical diseases are Infectious disease, diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropics, tropical and subtropics, subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, whic ...
Filariasis Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases. These par ...
from the Bora Bora jungles. It manifests as the dreaded
Elephantiasis Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling. It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels. It may affect the genit ...
. With the
military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
s over the Bobcats and A company were released by the Marine Corps (totaling 2 officers and 225 enlisted).NCB 3 History, NCB History List, NHHC, Seabee Museum Archives, Port Hueneme, C

/ref> The 2 officers and 40 men were what remained of the original A Company, the balance was what remained of the Bobcats. B Co On 30 October the
USS Enterprise (CV-6) USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6) was a carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1930s. She was the seventh U.S. Navy vessel of that name. Colloquially called "The Big E", she was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Launc ...
pulled into Nouméa after taking two hits and two near misses during the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...
and B Co. was tasked to help. The Big E was the only
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
remaining in the Pacific West of
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, but had bomb damage to the
flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
at the bow and just aft of the forward elevator. The 500 pounder that struck there split in two upon penetrating the flight deck. The smaller portion detonated on the
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
deck putting a 4' bulge in the flight deck measuring 30'x60'. The larger portion passed down to third deck blowing out bulkheads, killing the ships Repair Party Number 2 mustered below. A third bomb was a near miss,
midships __NOTOC__ M ...
below the
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
, that broke ship frames 30, 31, and 34. The concussion cracked a
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
after- bearing support on one of the ship's
turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...
. The jolt caused the fore-mast to rotate in its socket enough to disable all the
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
mounted on it. It also affected the midships elevator. The other 500 lb. miss was
starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
below the waterline at elevator number 1. It caused rivet failure, ruptured an oil tank and flooded two more plus the machinery room for an ammunition elevator.Sections F & G, USS Enterprise (CV-6) War History, 7 December 1941 to 15 August 1945, War Damage Report 59, The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 12-15 NOV. 1942, NHHC, U.S. Hydrographic Office, 1947, p. 17-26 (section G1-1

/ref> That forced
Damage control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (runn ...
to flood additional compartments to restore
trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...
. Upon docking in Noumea the damage assessment Officer off the repair ship
USS Vestal USS ''Vestal'' (AR-4) was a repair ship in service with the United States Navy from 1913 to 1946. Before her conversion to a repair ship, she had served as a collier since 1909. ''Vestal'' served in both World Wars. She was damaged during the ...
told Adm. Halsey repairs would take 3 weeks.Then There was One, The Jersey Brothers, Sally Mott Freeman, Simon and Schuster, 2017, p.184-

/ref> Halsey replied they had ten days and he would give them some Seabees to get it done. B Company put 75 Seabees aboard to effect emergency repairs with 40 men from the Vestal. On day eleven the repair crews remained aboard when Adm. Halsey ordered the Enterprise back to Engagement (military), action for what would be the called the Battle of the Solomons. Underway to engage the enemy, the men of CB 3 focused on effecting repairs even into the battle. They had worked round-the-clock under the Enterprise's
damage control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (runn ...
officer. They even had had Nouméa harbor lit up during blackout to get the ship operational. The damage control officer wrote that on 11 November: "''She made the open sea with her decks shaking and echoing to air hammers, with welders' arcs sparking.. without watertight integrity.. leaking oil.. and with her forward elevator still jammed.''" On 13 November the ship's Captain notified Halsey at
SOPAC SOPAC has the following meanings: *The Southern Pacific Railroad (SoPac) *The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission * Social OnLine Public Access Catalog *South Orange Performing Arts Center * Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre * South Pacifi ...
that "''The emergency repairs accomplished by this skillful, well-trained, and enthusiastically energetic force have placed this vessel in condition for further action against the enemy''". Those repairs enabled Enterprise aircraft to take part in the sinking of the
Japanese battleship Hiei was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four s, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down ...
that day in the
First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...
. Over the next three days the Enterprise was involved in the sinking of another fifteen and damaging eight more. While it appeared that the forward elevator had been repaired the Ok to use it was not given until after the battle. It worked. Admiral
Bull Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the other ...
(Commander SOPAC Nouméa) knew how those Seabee repairs contributed to the battle's outcome. He sent a commendatory letter to the OIC of B Company, Lt. Quayle: "''Your commander wishes to express to you and the men of the Construction Battalion serving under you, his appreciation for the services rendered by you in effecting emergency repairs during action against the enemy. The repairs were completed by these men with speed and efficiency. I hereby commend them for their willingness, zeal, and capability.''" The Enterprise returned to Nouméa on 16 November for the Seabees to complete the repairs. She departed again on 4 December. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was included in the ''Enterprise''s Presidential Unit Citation The men off the USS ''Vestal'' and B Co. meet award protocol for eligibility: "they were physically present and participated in the action for which the Enterprise was cited." B Co. set up operations on Ile Nou upon arriving in Noumea. It was originally tasked with building a tank farm which was cancelled. War developments led to the components of Cub 1 being delivered to them instead of New Zealand. In addition to building the destroyer base they set up a pontoon assembly facility utilizing the labor of a Company of
buffalo soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...
s from the 24th Infantry Regiment. They also setup an aviation motor rebuild facility on Ile Nou.Noumea, South Pacific, Building the Navys Bases in WWII, Vol II (Part III), GPO Washington DC, 1947 Over the next two years a number of smaller detachments were sent to islands in both the Samoan and Fijian groups.Seabee Unit Histories
/ref> In 1944, the battalion was reformed in New Caledonia and departed
Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
on 22 May to return to
Camp Parks Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army base located in Dublin, California, that is currently an active military and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case o ...
, California where on 12 July it was ordered disbanded and then subsequently decommissioned on 16 August 1944.


Korean Era, MCB 3

The Battalion was re-activated as MCB 3 on 15 July 1950 at
Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme, operated as an independent base from 1942 to 2000 as the West Coast home port of the Navy’s Construction Battalions. In 2000, the CBC merged with nearby Naval Air Station Point Mugu to form ...
, California. In November the battalion's first deployment was
top secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...
on
Amchitka Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refu ...
, in the
Aleutians The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...
. The DOD wanted to know the suitability of the island for the
nuclear tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
of upcoming Project Windstorm. The battalion drilled 34 test holes to learn the
hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
and cratering potential of the geologic
strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
on the island.(Amchitka photos), Thinking Outside the Box: Ingenuity is Key to Seabees’ Success, Steve Forbes Seabee Diamond Anniversary Ambassador, CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation, PO Box 657, Gulfport, M

/ref> On 2 October 1951, the battalion arrived in the
Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
where it spent the next 5 years building Naval Air Station, Cubi Point. The first problem encountered was moving the fishing village of Banicain, which occupied a portion of the site for the new airfield. The town and its residents were moved to
Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...
, which became New Banicain. The former village site is now under of earth. The next, and biggest, issue was cutting a mountain in half and moving the material to fill in
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
to create a long runway. CBs 2, 3, 5, 9 & 11 all blasted
coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
to fill a section of the bay as well as adjoining
swampland A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
. They removed trees as large as tall and in diameter from the construction site. It was one of the largest earthmoving projects in the world, equivalent to the building of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
. The construction took five years and an estimated 20 million
man-hour A man-hour (sometimes referred to as person-hour) is the amount of work performed by the average worker in one hour. It is used for estimation of the total amount of uninterrupted labor required to perform a task. For example, researching and wri ...
s. The $100 million facility ($ in 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. The following four years were spent on
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, Japan constructing Marine Corps Air Facility
Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military air ...
. The Battalion's next major construction job was an airstrip at
Nakhon Phanom Nakhon Phanom ( th, นครพนม, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeastern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Phanom Province. The town covers ''tambons'' Nai Mueang and Nong Saeng and parts of ''tambons'' At Samat and Nong Yat, all in M ...
, Thailand, after which MCB 3 served on
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
and
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
.


Vietnam War, MCB 3

In May 1965 MCB 3 made its first of three visits to
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
, Vietnam constructing more than 500 facilities for the Marine Corps. One of the projects was a tough road job from the upper peak to the lower peak at the
Monkey Mountain Facility Monkey Mountain Facility (also known as Monkey Mountain SIGINT, Hill 621 or Panama) was a U.S. Air Force (USAF) and Marine base located on Sơn Trà Mountain east of Da Nang. History The base was located on the peak of Sơn Trà Mountain, overlo ...
. Seabee in Da Nang, Julius Lacano, Seabee Museum, Port Hueneme, C

/ref> They also began the task on creating a site on the lower peak for a missle battery. The peak started out as completely unusable and needed to be blasted and leveled to create several usable acres which was completed by the relief battalion. MCB 3's second and third tours took them to Chu Lai and Gia Le. On September 20 1965 USMC base
Camp Hansen Camp Hansen is a United States Marine Corps base located in Okinawa, Japan. The camp is situated in the town of Kin, near the northern shore of Kin Bay, and is the second-northernmost major installation on Okinawa, with Camp Schwab to the north ...
on
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
was commissioned after CBs 3, 9, and 11 completed the repurposing of
Chimu Airfield Chimu Airfield or NAB Chimu is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. The airfield was inactivated after October 1945. History World War II The Chimu Wan area was captured during the first week of the Battle of Okinawa. ...
for the Marines. In 1966 NMCB- 3 received their First Battle "E", and while in Chu Lai, the Battalion was named Pacific Fleet "Best of Type" on 11 September 1966 by Rear Admiral W. M. Heaman, Commander Construction Battalions. In the summer of 1967, MCB 3 Deployed to Phu Bai to support projects for the Third Marine Division. This began with improvements to the air facility at MAG (Marine Air Group) 36. Following that was the development of a complete rock quarry, north of Phu Bai. Part of the battalion started construction of
Camp Eagle Camp Eagle was a US military base in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has ...
in support of the 101st Airborne, while a detachment built a 5,000,000 gallon P.O.L. facility on Tan My island, east of the
Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
. During this deployment an urgent airfield was needed at
Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...
. The project was designated "top secret", site "X", and to be completed in under 45 days. MCBs 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 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 Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...
for the Battalion's colors. MCB 3's commanding officer, Cmdr. R.L Foley was posted TAD as commander of the Ghost Battalion and would receive the
Legion of Merit Medal The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
with Combat V for the job he did. At the same time MCB- 3 built a complete base surrounding their own camp that became Gia Le combat base. It was finished just in time to withstand the 1968
Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
and the Battle of Hue City. MCB 8 relieved MCB 3 in January 1968 and while deployed with the Marines in Gia Le, assisted their adjacent units with all types of construction, along with general engineering support as well as mortar support. This effort earned the "Better than Best" a Presidential Unit Citation from President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
upon their return to the States. In 1968 the Marine Corps requested that the Seabees make a name change from MCB as the Marine Corps was using MCB for Marine Corps Base, so the Navy created the NMCBs. In July 1968, NMCB 3 again deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam. They were first assigned to Camp Faulkner, to the south of the city, near Marble Mountain and next to the NSA (Naval Support Activity) Hospital. The battalion worked on "Igloo" bunkers at ASP-1 (Ammo Supply Point). NMCB 3 then became the first Seabee battalion to relocate while deployed to Vietnam when they moved north of the city to Camp Haskins South on Red Beach. While stationed at their new camp, NMCB 3 worked on building the NSA Bridge Cargo Ramp east of Da Nang city, to allow the offloading of LSTs. They also replaced the runway and turn-arounds with new matting at the An Hoa Marine combat base, made road improvements on highway 1 in the Hải Vân Pass, north of Da Nang and built the "Golden Gate Bridge" to replace the "Liberty Bridge", which had been destroyed several times, on "Liberty Road" between Da Nang and An Hoa. After preparing for a 5th deployment to Vietnam in August 1969, the battalion orders were changed and NMCB 3 was deployed to Camp Kinzer (present-day Camp Shields), Okinawa. While at Camp Kinzer, the battalion made numerous improvements to the camp itself, including the construction of a new subsistence building, barracks and roads. NMCB 3 also conducted major excavating projects at Marine Corp Air Station Futenma, which included baseball fields and a stadium. In October 1970, NMCB 3 again deployed to Camp Haskins South, on route one, north of Da Nang for a 5th deployment to Vietnam.


Seabee teams

*0301 Bon Sar Pa, Jul 63 .. Special Forces Air strip *0301 Bu Prang, Nov 63 ... Special Forces Air strip *0301 Ban Don, Nov 63 *0301
Ban Me Thuot Ban, or BAN, may refer to: Law * Ban (law), a decree that prohibits something, sometimes a form of censorship, being denied from entering or using the place/item ** Imperial ban (''Reichsacht''), a form of outlawry in the medieval Holy Roman ...
, Jan 64 *0302
Tan Son Nhut Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018 ...
, Jul 63 *0302 Plei Mrong, Jul 63 ... Special Forces Camp *0302 Polei Krong, Aug 63. Special Forces Air strip *0302 Plei Kly, Sep 63 ........ Special Forces Camp *0302 Plei Me, Oct 63 ........ Special Forces Camp *0302 Pleiku, Nov 63 *0302 Plei Ta Nangle, Dec 63 *MMT #1 Hoc Mon, Mar 64 (well drilling team 1) *0307 Dran, Dec 67 *0307 Tan Son Nhut Apr 67 *0308 Thu Duc, Apr 67 *0309 Thoai Son, Jun 67 *0309 Long Xuyen, Jul 67 *0310 Long Xuyen, Aug 68 *0310 Bac Lieu, Nov 68 *0311 Can Tho, Aug 68 *0312 Ben Tre, Aug 69 *0313 Cao Lãnh (city), Cao Lanh, Sep 69 *0318 Ben Tre, Dec 70 *0319 Xuan Loc Base Camp, Xuan Loc, Nov 70 *0321 Kam Tan, Jan 72 *Commander Naval Construction Battalion U.S. Pacific Fleet, Tân Sơn Nhất, Republic of Vietnam, Completion Report 1963–1972. Seabee Team

MEDCAP A component of the Civic Action Program was the Medical Civic Action Program or MEDCAP. In 1967 MCB3's medical personal would make visits twice a week to the villages and hamlets around Hue and Phu Bai. The team consisted of a Doctor, Dentist and several corpsmen.


Cold War, NMCB 3

In November 1971 NMCB 3 was deployed to Guam to start construction of a new Seabee camp. The Battalion lived up to its "Better Than Best" motto by constructing enough permanent facilities to have the dedication of Camp Covington on 4 May 1972. In October 1971, MCB-3 advance party arrived in Guam, equipment operators and builders were detached to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam under direction of Admiral Morrison, COMNAVMAR by the request of the Commander of Andersen Air Force Base; to build 76 B-52 pads in support of the Vietnam War. Working 24/7 mission was completed in six months. The Battalion was deployed to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico early in 1974 to construct barracks and other base improvements. In February 1975 the Battalion deployed to Diego Garcia, a British territory in the Indian Ocean. There, NMCB 3 contributed to the massive NCF construction effort. NMCB 3 was named "Best of Type" in 1976 and winner of the Peltier Award for providing emergency assistance to all military commands on Guam. The Battalion did so while maintaining its projects' timelines in the aftermath of Super-Typhoon Pamela. From April 1977 to August 1982, the Battalion was divided into two "teams" (Blue and Gold) which rotated between Port Hueneme and Camp Shields, Okinawa. The Battalion was named "Best of Type" and awarded the Battle "E" in 1978, 1980 and 1981. Upon returning to homeport from their third rotation of the "Split Concept" (January 1980), Blue Team was tasked to nearby NAWC Point Mugu where they assisted in flood disaster recovery efforts. The following homeport of 1981, NMCB 3's Iwakuni Det Blue 4 was assigned to "Project Rimstone" as the night crew, (subsidizing the 31st NCR), located in Santa Barbara, the Det commuted nightly, from CBC Pt Hueneme, to President Ronald Reagan's ranch. Completing the project on time, the Seabees of this detail received Presidential letters of Commendation, Presented by J.M. Dougherty Commanding Officer of NMCB 3, on 22 October 1982. In March 1983 the reunited Battalion deployed for the first time to Camp Mitchell, Naval Station Rota, Spain where it was again named "Best of Type" in the Pacific Fleet. In 1986 NMCB 3 deployed to Guadalcanal to aid the clean-up of Typhoon Namu. For this they received the Peltier award along with the Humanitarian service medal. From 1983 to 1989 the Battalion made routine deployments to the European and Pacific Theaters and was named "Best of Type" in the United States Pacific Fleet, Pacific Fleet for FY 1987. In October 1989, while completing a homeport field exercise, the Battalion deployed its Air Detachment from Fort Hunter Liggett, California, to the San Francisco Bay area to provide earthquake recovery assistance. The Air Detachment personnel repaired severely damaged utilities at Naval Air Station Alameda and Naval Station Treasure Island.


The 1990s

In January 1990, NMCB 3 returned to Rota. The Air Detachment was dispatched for disaster recovery operations in North Africa where they repaired flood-damaged rail lines, significantly aiding in Tunisia's economic recovery. In March 1991, NMCB 3 deployed to Guam and provided Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with Typhoon Owen disaster recovery assistance in Yap. NMCB 3 also cleared runways and repaired utilities at Naval Air Station Cubi Point in support of Operation Fiery Vigil following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. NMCB 3 returned to Guam in July 1993, sending a Civil Action Team to Palau and a short-term detail to Saipan to help make preparations for the 50th Anniversary of World War II. Five's Seabees repaired facilities, utilities and schools following the worst earthquake to shake Guam in more than a century, measuring 8.2 on the Richter Scale. In September 1994, NMCB 3 embarked upon a 14-country, four-continent deployment. The Battalion supported the United Nations protection force operation "Provide Promise" by maintaining the U.S. Hospital at Zagreb, Croatia. It also installed surveillance equipment in Baghdad, Iraq. In November 1995, NMCB 3 deployed details to stateside U.S. military installations for the first time. It also ended a chapter in Seabee construction by completing projects on Diego Garcia. In January 1997, the Battalion's main body returned to Camp Mitchell, Rota, Spain. NMCB 3 Bees broke new ground in deploying to two Baltic region, Baltic locations new to Seabees, Estonia and Uzbekistan. There they provided construction support during "Operation Baltic Castle and a U.S. Humanitarian Aid Program (HAP) Operation Provide Hope. On 23 April 1998, NMCB 3 participated in the exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT '98). This was a first-time participation for Seabees in a combined fleet and multi-national exercise of this type. In Rayong, Thailand, NMCB 3 completed the construction of a second story addition to the Camillian Social Center. The center provides a place for Aids victims during their last days. The Battalion had the opportunity to show exactly how mobile they are when they received a call to action in 1998. A modified Air Detachment quickly deployed to Nairobi, Kenya, in support of Operation Resolute Response. The detachment assisted in disaster relief efforts, structural repair and the recovery of evidence and classified material following the U.S. embassy bombing. On 15 May 1999, NMCB 3 headed to Rota, Spain where shortly after arriving on station, the Battalion was called into action in support of Joint Task Force, Shining Hope. NMCB 3 repaired roads in Northern Albania that were weakened by the steady flow of more than 800,000 Albanian refugees from Kosovo and years of neglect. Shortly after Detachment Albania left, the mission changed and the Battalion sent an advanced party of 43 personnel into Kosovo. Within two weeks, the battalion integrated Detail Albanian's 150 personnel with an additional 184 Seabees from Camp Mitchell. The mission was to build 64 Davidson style Southeast Asia Huts (SEAhuts) in 90 days for an Army base camp at Camp Monteith, Gnjilane, Kosovo. Maintaining 24-hour operations for nearly two months, THREE stayed on schedule and completed the initial tasking in 89 days. By the time the Battalion departed for homeport in December 1999, they had built more than 80 SEAhuts and constructed more than of hardstand. In December 1999, the Battalion returned home after a successful deployment that once again earned them the "Best of Type" award for the Pacific Fleet and the right to wear the coveted Battle "E". They were also awarded the Navy Unit Commendation Medal for their work during the 1999 Pacific Deployment. In July 2000 saw the Battalion sent to Guam on a Pacific Deployment. The Battalion immediately tasked two Detachments for Training: one to the Seychelles to dismantle three ray domes, the other to Indonesia to build a road and repair a schoolhouse.


Post 9-11

After September 11 attacks, 9/11 in 2001, NMCB 3 deployed to sites on three continents. The main body went to Rota, Spain. Detachments went to Camp David, Thurmont, MD; Tidewater, VA; Naples; Sigonella; Souda Bay; the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia; Stuttgart, Germany; and Gabon, Africa. With Camp Mitchell in Force Protection, Condition Delta, NMCB 3 deployed an air-Det there in December 2001. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom they built an Al Qaeda detention facility at Camp X-ray. The Det also constructed 65 SEAhuts for JTF 160 security forces and cleared a site to construct a 160-bed Fleet Hospital. In December 2002, NMCB 3 deployed to Camp Shields Okinawa with dets at 14 sites across the pacific and Southwest Asia. Despite changes in deployment schedules and preparations for Operation Enduring Freedom and with Operation Iraqi Freedom, NMCB 3 met all operational goals. The Okinawa deployment was followed by more support tasking for both "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom II". In April 2004 a new Pacific deployment began. The Battalion was made the lead in Task Force Sierra, a construction task force supporting several joint special operations commands. Detachments in support of OEF were in both the CENTCOM AO and the PACOM AO. In all, NMCB 3 had personnel at 36 different locations. The Battalion had two main body sites in Guam and Iraq with 8 primary detachment sites. July 2005 saw the unit returned to Iraq with 9 detachments in country. In addition Three had detachments to the Horn of Africa, Souda Bay, Guantánamo Bay, Guantanamo Bay, Andros Island, Bahamas, Rota, Spain, Bahrain, and the Seychelles Islands, Setchelles. NMCB 3 was the only CB to be tasked to provide 6 Convoy Security Teams (CST) while providing over 11,000 man-days of construction support to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). NMCB 3'S CSTs safely executed more than 130 successful convoy missions resulting in 17 combat action ribbon awards. In November 2005, NMCB 3 was relieved by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133, 133 in Fallujah, Iraq. The unit redeployed to Kuwait to set up main body operations in support of Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) and Area Support Group, Kuwait. The new main body deployment site was completely undeveloped. Integrating with NMCB 3 were over 145 personnel from NMCB 21 and 139 personnel from the Army's 63rd Construction Support Element. The Seabees worked with the Army to develop a master plan for what would become a CB main body deployment site for almost five years. Prior to returning home in early 2006, NMCB 3 completed over 20,000-man days of tasking on 58 projects for the CFLCC mission. A deployment to the Far East began December 2006. The main body went to Camp Shields, Okinawa, with detachments to Atsugi, Iwakuni, Sasebo, Fuji, Shizuoka, Fuji and Yokosuka, Japan, Camp Pendleton and San Clemente Island, Chinhae, Korea and Diego Garcia. Additionally, a short-fused detail was stood up to support Special Operations Forces for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During the deployment, NMCB 3 aided the DOD's civil military operations focus with five civic action training detachments: three in the Philippines and one each in Korea and Thailand. April 2008 saw the Battalion return to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). They assumed control of Task Force Sierra for a second time. The Battalion supported I MEF as they pressed the remnants of Al Qaida and stood up the fledgling Iraq Security Forces to take control of that country's defenses. Task Force Sierra again supported the tip of Security Forces to take control of that country's defenses. Task Force Sierra again supported the American effort to take out or capture Al Qaida and Taliban insurgent leaders. The Battalion racked up 72,000 man-days of construction supporting OIF and OEF while deployed. After an abbreviated homeport, the Battalion became the first Main Body to deploy to Naval Station Rota, Spain since 2005. After relieving NMCB 11 in August they reopened and improved Camp Mitchell and Naval Station Rota infrastructure. Civic action Detachments were sent to Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia to provide humanitarian aid in these Eastern European countries. Another 300 Seabees spread out across Africa drilling waterwells, renovating schools, training host national militaries and worked civic action Liberia, Cameroon, Djibouti, Kenya, Comoros and Uganda. From November 2010 to June 2011 NMCB THREE completed a deployment to Afghanistan where they supported US and Coalition forces spread across more than 30 different locations throughout Afghanistan. Key efforts included the completion of 110 tactical infrastructure projects, ranging from combat outpost builds to route construction, in support of I and II MEF, Special Operations Forces, and Task Force Helmand, a British Led Task Force. THREE's efforts contributed to improved counterinsurgency operations. From Feb-Aug 2012 NMCB THREE completed a deployment to Europe and Africa in support of EUCOM and AFRICOM. The Battalion had dets in 13 countries conducting HCA and ERC construction projects. The task was to sustain and improve international relationships with partner countries. They included: Djibouti, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Morocco, Togo, Ghana, and Liberia.


Awards: unit, campaign, service

NMCB 3 Unit Awards listed at the office of the Chief on Naval Operations *   Presidential Unit Citation (US), Presidential Unit Citation for the USS Enterprise B Company 75 man detachment *   Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Unit Commendation for the 22nd Marine Regiment A Company as 3rd Battalion 22nd Marines *   Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal *   World War II Victory Medal * Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (Vietnam), Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Award * Vietnam Campaign Medal service ribbon with ''60– '' Device : - 3 awards * Vietnam Service Medal: - 3 awards * National Defense Service Medal Vietnam, * National Defense Service Medal Desert Storm, and War on Terror * Chief of Naval Operations Letter of Commendation 2001 *   Iraq Campaign Medal (2003-2008) * Afghanistan Campaign Medal *   Navy "E" Ribbon : – U.S. Atlantic Fleet Battle "E" 10 times. *Peltier Award: - 3 times.Seabee onLine Magazine, 1322 Peterson Ave., S.E., Bldg. 33, Suite 1000, Washington Navy Yard, D.C. 2037

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See also

*Admiral
Ben Moreell Admiral Ben Moreell (September 14, 1892 – July 30, 1978) was the chief of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks and of the Civil Engineer Corps. Best known to the American public as the father of the Navy's Seabees, Moreell's life spanned ...
*Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 (ACB-1) *Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 (ACB-2) *Civil Engineer Corps United States Navy *Naval Construction Battalion *Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek *Naval Amphibious Base Coronado *Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi) *
Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme, operated as an independent base from 1942 to 2000 as the West Coast home port of the Navy’s Construction Battalions. In 2000, the CBC merged with nearby Naval Air Station Point Mugu to form ...
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 *Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 *Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 *Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 *Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 *Seabees in World War II *Seabee *Underwater Construction Teams


References


External links


NMBC 3
on Facebook
Naval Construction Force
(NCF) (at Seabee.navy.mil) * Seabee Unit Historie

* NAVDOCKS-100, January 1944, U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Administration Manua


3 NCB & NMCB 3 Unit Histories and Cruisebooks NHHC: Seabee Museum
search "deployment completion reports" {{DEFAULTSORT:Nmcb 3 Seabee battalions of the United States Navy