Seabees Treat Young and Old to Base Festival : Port Hueneme: The cooperative relationship between the battalion and surrounding community is emphasized.

Five-year-old Joseph St. Clair lay on his stomach, his hands gripping the M60 E3 machine gun propped up in front of him, his eye trained on a target across a parade field at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme.

“Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat,” he said, in his best impression of an automatic weapon. “I’m going to hit one of those balloons.”

Joseph was at the base with his mother and three siblings Saturday for the first day of the two-day Seabee Friendship Festival ’93. About 6,000 people turned out Saturday for the festival, and an additional 6,000 are expected today.

Joseph, whose father is stationed in Guam with the Seabees, was one of hundreds of children who scrambled around the naval weapons and machinery on display for the occasion.

“He’s into that stuff,” said Joseph’s mother, Valerie St. Clair. “He has a few toys like that . . . he’d like more.”

David Brickhouse, 8, was particularly fond of the “Hummer,” a vehicle that gained famed during the Persian Gulf War. “I want one of these,” he said. “I think it’s cool.”

The festival opened with a parade of about 840 Seabees from the 31st Naval Construction Regiment whose bright white dress uniforms provided a sharp contrast to the morning’s gray skies.

An equipment parade, a carnival, a USO-style show, live music, ship tours and food booths were among the other highlights Saturday.

The Seabees were founded by the Navy in World War II specifically for construction duty overseas. Their ranks are made up of builders, electricians, mechanics, engineers, equipment operators, steelworkers and utility people.

Port Hueneme Mayor Orvene Carpenter, a former Marine, spoke at the start of Saturday’s festivities on the theme of the weekend: the cooperative relationship between the Seabees and the surrounding community.

Carpenter, CBC security head Bill Hudson and Oxnard residents Paul and Isabell Doyle were the festival’s guests of honor. Paul Doyle was commander of a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion at the base in 1962.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), council members from Port Hueneme and Oxnard and representatives from the Oxnard Harbor District were also in attendance.

Lt. Cmdr. Kara Paulie, emcee for the day, said personnel at the Seabee base, established in 1941, have always felt a close connection to Port Hueneme, which incorporated in 1948.

“It’s as if we’ve grown up together. . . . I see them as blended,” Paulie said. “I think you find integration here because of tradition and because families tend to stay in the area a long time.”

Seabee Craig Titzkowski, who attended the festival with his wife and two young children, said the friendship between the military and the community is stronger locally than it is elsewhere.

“More so than in a place like San Diego, where the Navy is overdone,” he said. “They’re tired of the Navy there.”

Titzkowski said mingling with the community helps maintain the positive relationship. “It’s real important for them to see where we’re coming from,” he said.

Gary Parker, a Seabee in Vietnam in 1968 and ‘69, was working at the food booth operated by the Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County. He agreed that it was good public relations to welcome civilians onto the base.

“(The base) is part of the community,” he said. “It’s good for the general population to come aboard and see where their tax money is going.”

As he doled out sausages, Parker reminisced with other former Seabees. He said the basic concept behind the construction battalions has not changed much over the years, but the methods are somewhat different.

“The machinery has changed, they are a little better trained,” he said. “During Vietnam they pushed so many people through so fast, we had a careless, carefree attitude.”

Today’s schedule includes a baby contest at 11 a.m. and a karaoke contest and band performance at 1 p.m. Ship tours will be offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a car show will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seabee displays, arts and crafts booths, informational booths and a video arcade will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The carnival will run 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Parking and entry are free. Enter through the Pleasant Valley Road gate.