Party Honors Seabees Back From Kosovo

A local hotel hosted a dinner and bash Thursday afternoon to thank a Seabee battalion for its work in Kosovo and other parts of Europe.

Seabees from Battalion 3 returned from Kosovo and other countries in December after spending seven months in the region building housing and other infrastructure to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s peacekeeping force.

On Thursday, with memories of gritty work and the sound of distant gunfire behind them, the Seabees and their families--an estimated crowd of 700--gathered in a ballroom at Oxnard’s Casa Sirena Hotel.

Capt. James A. McConnell Jr., commanding officer of the Naval Construction Battalion Center, said he thought of the troops as “his kids.”

One of only a few in uniform, McConnell surveyed the crowd of young men and women who, between gulps of soda and beer, devoured a spread that included turkey, roast beef and meatballs.

McConnell said he worries about all Seabee battalions when they deploy overseas, but he was particularly concerned about his troops in Kosovo because “it was in a hot area and nobody knew what it was going to turn into.”

“These troops are in harm’s way over there,” he said. “You worry about them and you worry about their families. It’s great when they’re back.”

The idea for the party came from an informal discussion between McConnell and Angelica Maya, a sales manager for Casa Sirena. The hotel, Maya said, was among several businesses that honored military officials at a November banquet. Since then, McConnell and Maya have been brainstorming ways to give hard-working Seabees a pat on the back.

Judging from the reaction of the whooping crowd of young troops and their children--who boogied all afternoon on the dance floor--the plan worked.

“This is great,” said Seabee Brad Koller, 23. “Somebody knew we were over there [and took] time to appreciate it.”