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Seabees Stand Up and Make History

Story Number: NNS030228-03
2/28/2003

By Equipment Operator 1st Class (SCW/AW) Kevin J. Cullen, 1st Naval Construction Regiment

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Navy Seabee Reservists from the 1st Naval Construction Regiment (1st NCR) have been called to active duty service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, marking the first time that a Reserve regiment has been "stood-up" since Operation Desert Storm.

An official ceremony signifying the 1st NCR's expanded role took place at Naval Construction Force Division's forward headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The event marked the official transition of the 1st NCR into a position recently held by active-duty personnel from the 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30th NCR), who are now forward-deployed meeting further challenges.

The primary role of the Seabees is to support Navy and Marine Corps units in the combat theater. Through their construction skills, the Seabees have a long history of providing rear area support, including camp construction, messing, hospitals, bridges, roads and water front support assets.

The regiment is tasked with executing the operational orders of the 1st Naval Construction Division, which presides over all Seabee activities. They carry out their orders by acting in the capacity of an advisor, administrator and supervisor to their subordinate units, who include naval mobile construction battalions, naval construction support units, construction battalion maintenance units, construction battalion units and underwater construction teams. In the event that the enemy engages them, Seabees are combat trained to defend themselves and their construction projects in battle.

As America's war on terror continues, active-duty components throughout the military are being strategically maneuvered like chess pieces on a global playing board.

Key command personnel from the 1st NCR continue to transition from their Reserve status at their former headquarters, located at the Naval Construction Battalion Center, (NCBC) Port Hueneme, Calif. Now manning the helm from their current home port in Pearl Harbor, part of the 1st NCR's task involves assuming command and control of all active-duty assets within the Pacific Command's (PACOM) area of responsibility (AOR.) This includes Seabee units currently deployed in Guam, Okinawa, multiple detachment sites within the Pacific AOR and nine construction battalion units within the continental United States.

The 1st NCR will also provide administrative and logistical support to the 30th NCR and forward-deployed subordinate units, as well as continuing to exercise command and control of its subordinate reserve units. In addition, 1st NCR will provide support to Commander, Pacific Fleet exercises.

Capt. Robert. C. Jackson, commodore, 1st NCR, wasted no time getting his organization up and running from California to Hawaii. During the ceremony marking the 1st NCR's relief of the 30th NCR, Jackson commented that Commodore William L. Rudich, Cmdr. Mark R. Libonate and the staff of the 30th NCR have left some big shoes to fill, but he was fully confident of 1st NCR's ability to get the job done.

"This is what we've been preparing and training for for many years," said Jackson. "We've taken the hand-off from the 30th, and now our job is to manage the Seabees in the PACOM AOR. If we do our job right, the transition will be transparent to our units and supported commands, now and when the 30th returns."

While the command staff sets up shop in their new surroundings, shipmates back home at NCBC tackle the logistic challenges of coordinating and dispatching assets and equipment to where it's needed around the world.

One mobilized Reservist from the 1st NCR is Senior Chief Constructionman (SCW) Paul E. Jones. Now activated, his role appears to have taken on somewhat of a mirrored transition to that of his fellow Seabees within his unit. He now serves as the equipment specialist for the 1st NCR. Part of his job includes managing the affairs of the huge embarkation of equipment from NCBC.

"The key to any important operation is communication and logistics," said Jones. "We're here to keep the equipment side rolling in the absence of everyone who has moved forward. When all is said and done, a smooth turnover should take place as if no one ever left - nothing ever changed. When the job is done, only then we can go home."