Reserve Seabees Train for Combat

A Navy reserve battalion of Seabees from four Eastern states began annual training this week at the Port Hueneme naval base, with an emphasis on combat readiness to prepare the unit for a possible call to active duty, officials announced Monday.

The Reserve Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23, based at Ft. Belvoir, Va., brought 640 reservists to the Port Hueneme base, said Navy spokeswoman Kassandra Gale. Usually, reservists train in smaller groups of about 200 to 300.

This year’s training is focused on “full-unit readiness.” Seabee battalions, trained in construction trades as well as combat, include about 600 members.

“They are here to review their construction and combat skills. It will be much more intensive in light of Operation Desert Shield,” she said, referring to the buildup of U.S. forces in the Mideast.

The reservists from Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland will train in marksmanship and defense against chemical and biological weapons.

The reserve unit is training in Port Hueneme because the nation’s only other Seabee base, in Gulfport, Miss., is occupied by another Seabee reserve battalion.

“Active-duty Seabee battalions have already been deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield, and it is prudent to bring our reserve battalions to the highest possible state of readiness,” said Rear Adm. Paul C. Rosser, commander of the Reserve Naval Construction Force.

Three of four Seabee battalions based at Port Hueneme are either in the Middle East or headed there. Meanwhile, the Navy has called about 40 members of a reserve Seabee unit in the area to active duty on the Port Hueneme base to fill in as clerks and record keepers, Gale said.