POINT MUGU : 300 More Seabees Deployed to Mideast
About 300 Seabees flew from Point Mugu Wednesday morning to join 350 other county-based personnel now in Saudi Arabia. Another 900 men based in Port Hueneme are expected to join troops in the Middle East within the next month, authorities said.
The Seabees are a uniformed force of civil engineers and construction tradesmen.
Yesterday’s 11 a.m. flight completed the deployment of 650 men from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, which started Aug. 26.
Two other battalions based in Port Hueneme have orders to support Operation Desert Shield, said Kassie Gale, a spokeswoman for the Seabees.
About 100 men of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, now deployed in Puerto Rico, have flown to Saudi Arabia. And Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40, now in Guam, will also be redeployed.
“The only thing holding them back at this point is the availability of aircraft,” Gale said.
The fourth battalion based in Port Hueneme has not yet received orders to depart for Saudi Arabia, Gale said.
On Sept. 6, a cargo ship left Port Hueneme with 200 pieces of heavy construction equipment for the Seabees. Other equipment has been deployed from Guam, Gale said.
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